Need assistance with 4WD autonomous robot

Projects General Guidance
1

I would like to build a 4WD robot that can do the following:

  1. Avoid obstacles in it's way
  2. Send and SMS with it's current GPS co-ords when a condition is met
    3a) Ideally be able to recharge it's batteries via solar power
    or
    3b) If not recharge then detect when power is at X% and send a final SMS with last GPS co-ords
  3. If possible being able to set some boundaries of the area the thing would drive through

My first question is this, on a scale of 1 - 10, how simple of a project is this for someone with 0 Arduino experience, 0 electrical experience and some minor scripting experience.

My second question is, I have been looking 4wd Arduino kits which seem simple enough to understand. However knowing nothing of Arduino, is there certain things I should be looking out for or avoiding if pushing ahead with this project?

Thanks so much for reading and for taking the time to reply.

2

ParzivalUK:
I would like to build a 4WD robot that can do the following:

  1. Avoid obstacles in it's way
  2. Send and SMS with it's current GPS co-ords when a condition is met
    3a) Ideally be able to recharge it's batteries via solar power
    or
    3b) If not recharge then detect when power is at X% and send a final SMS with last GPS co-ords
  3. If possible being able to set some boundaries of the area the thing would drive through

My first question is this, on a scale of 1 - 10, how simple of a project is this for someone with 0 Arduino experience, 0 electrical experience and some minor scripting experience.

My second question is, I have been looking 4wd Arduino kits which seem simple enough to understand. However knowing nothing of Arduino, is there certain things I should be looking out for or avoiding if pushing ahead with this project?

Thanks so much for reading and for taking the time to reply.

On a scale of 1 to 10, about 1,000.

Paul

Perhaps I should explain: You list all the areas you have no experience in and yet you have no plan to get that experience, hence, I suspect it will not get done.

3

Expect a couple of enjoyable years learning how to accomplish all those goals, on a robot that roams around indoors.

Since GPS works well only out of doors, it sounds like you want the robot to explore the countryside. That would be completely out of the question for a beginner.

4

Well I will be honest, I wasnt expecting that answer :stuck_out_tongue:

Let me me explain a little more.

When I say no experience, I mean I havent used or played with arduino before.

However I have worked in and around IT for over 20 years. I also have built and raced RC cars for a little while.

I also, as stated, can code/script to a small extent and looking the code for some Arduino projects, it more or less makes sense.

My plan was to build a proof of concept, starting with one of the 4WD Arduino kits, adding a GPS/SMS bridge (if thats the right word) to it and going from there.

Still too ambitious?

5

Why don't you try building a 4WD donkeycar http://www.donkeycar.com. Not Arduino based (raspberry pi) but better suited to what you want to accomplish. There is a lot of support using either machine learning or openmv. If you have not plowed this road before you will appreciate the support.

6

charliesixpack:
Why don't you try building a 4WD donkeycar http://www.donkeycar.com. Not Arduino based (raspberry pi) but better suited to what you want to accomplish. There is a lot of support using either machine learning or openmv. If you have not plowed this road before you will appreciate the support.

Very interesting thank you.

I have a little more experience with Pi's, mainly with setting them up to display screens for streaming movies etc.

I am assuming I still need something like an Arduino to control the motor's/SMS/GPS side of things?

7

The donkeycar kit ($100 US) contains everything you need minus the pi and car. No need for Arduino. Not sure about adding SMS/GPS but probably possible with pi alone. A recommended 4WD car is $100 US.

8

Thanks Charlie, I have assigned you some Magic Internet Points (Karma)

9

However I have worked in and around IT for over 20 years.

Have you worked with indoor/outdoor localization, basic navigation, PID control, sensor data processing, and obstacle detection/avoidance? If so, your task will be easier.

This very basic 4WD kit features wheel encoders, and is pretty well designed for indoor navigation. I have one in my collection, with encoders on all 4 wheels to detect slip. It requires decent motor drivers, like two of these.

For short range obstacle detection, these TOF sensors work well, for longer range, consider LIDAR-Lite V3.

1 Like