oddWires Arduino Robotics Kit With Motor Shield User manual

Document No. ODD-008 Fall 2014
Arduino
Robotics Kit
With
Motor Shield

Contents
Overview.........................................................................................................................................1!
Robot Construction Steps 1!
Kit Contents................................................................................................................................... 3!
Hardware Pack Contents .............................................................................................................. 4!
Install the Arduino IDE and USB Drivers .................................................................................... 5!
Getting Started with Arduino on Windows 5!
Getting Started with Arduino on Mac 6!
Getting Started with Arduino on Linux 6!
Your First Arduino Sketch............................................................................................................. 7!
Sweeping the Servo by 180 Degrees .............................................................................................10!
HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Distance Sensor..........................................................................................12!
Code 13!
Constructing the Chassis .............................................................................................................14!
Installing the Arduino Uno ..........................................................................................................18!
Installing the Motor Shield ..........................................................................................................20!
Installing the Servo.......................................................................................................................23!
Installing the Ultrasonic Distance Sensor 24!
Final Construction and Testing ...................................................................................................25!
Ideas for Extending your Robot...................................................................................................26!
LDR (moth) 26!
PIR Sensor (movement sensor) 26!
IR Remote Control 26!

oddWires Arduino Robotics Kit
1
Overview
The oddWires Robotics Kit for Arduino with Motor Shield is designed to be built and used by individuals,
educational institutions and anyone who wants to learn about robotics. It offers fantastic value for money
including a complete, extensible chassis with an Arduino Uno to control and manage the robot.
If you want the version where you do more with LEDs, MOSFETs and so on see the oddWires Robotics
Kit for Arduino. In that version you build a robot with the same chassis, but you develop a motor control
board from a prototype board.
The robot itself consists of a chassis onto which you will mount an Arduino Uno together with a stackable
Arduino motor shield that comes assembled. You do need to solder some pin headers to the board. This
shield has terminals for the two motors, a terminal for the servo and a terminal for the 6V battery holder
that will supply the power for the motors, the servo and the Arduino Uno. The connections from the
ultrasonic distance sensor will be made to pins on the motor shield.
Once the motor shield is functioning, you can then add a servo-mounted ultrasonic distance sensor to
enable the robot to maneuver using its own logic.
Sketches are supplied at several levels from introductory to a complete robot controller. All of these sketches
are extensible and you can add all sorts of additional sensors and enhance the initial robot behavior.
oddWires Robotics Kits include a genuine Arduino Uno R3

Overview Arduino Robotics Kit
2
Robot Construction Steps
•Check your kit contents list and ensure you have all components.
•Install the Arduino IDE and, if necessary USB drivers.
•Construct the chassis and the 6V power supply.
•Install the Arduino Uno and the motor shield.
•Add the servo and the ultrasonic distance sensor (there are separate sketches to test each step).
•Load the final sketch and test your completed robot.

oddWires Arduino Robotics Kit
3
Kit Contents
Chassis
Quantity
Paper-wrapped Acrylic Chassis Base
Motors with Leads
Wheels
Castor Wheel
Hardware Pack
1
Motors with Leads
2
Wheels
2
4 x AA Battery Case
1
Hardware Pack 1
1
Hardware Pack 2
1
On/off switch
1
Arduino Uno
Arduino Uno R3
1
USB cable
1
Motor Driver Board
Motor Shield
1
Connecting Wire (2 colors)
2
Inline Terminal Block
1
Servo
Servo with Lead and Accessories
1
20 way M-M Split-able Ribbon Cable (split off what you need for testing)
1
Breadboard (for testing purposes)
1
Ultrasonic Sensor
Ultrasonic Distance Sensor Module HC-SR04
1
40 pin header (break up with snips for the size you need)
1
Ultrasonic Distance Sensor Mount
1
1 x 4 way ribbon cable F-F or 4 F-F wires
1
20 way F-M Split-able Ribbon Cable (split off what you need for testing)
1

Hardware Pack Contents Arduino Robotics Kit
4
Hardware Pack Contents
Part List
Quantity
Motor Mounts
2
Rotors
2
M3 x 30mm Screws, Pan-Headed
4
M3 x 8mm Screws, Pan-Headed
9
M3 Nuts
13
M3 x 12mm Female-Female Stand-Offs
4
M3 x 25mm Female-Female Stand-Offs
2
M3 x 15mm Female-Female Stand-Offs
4
M3 x 6mm Screws, Pan-Headed
14
On/Off Switch
1
Castor Wheel
1
These parts are used as follows:
Castor Wheel
M3 x 15mm Female-Female Stand-Offs
4
M3 x 6mm Screws, Flat-Headed
4
M3 x 8mm Screws, Pan-Headed
4
Arduino Uno
M3 x 10mm Female-Female Stand-Offs
4
M3 x 6mm Screws, Pan-Headed (only two stand-offs are screwed to chassis base)
6
Motors
Motor Mounts
2
Rotors
2
M3 x 30mm Screws, Pan-Headed
4
M3 Nuts
4
Servo
M3 x 25mm Female-Female Stand-Offs
2
M3 x 8mm Screws, Pan-Headed
2
M3 x 6mm Screws, Pan-Headed
2
M3 Nuts
2
6V 4 x AA Battery Case
M3 x 8mm Screws, Pan-Headed
2
M3 Nuts
2
Note: hardware may be in one pack or the following may be in a separate pack:
M3 x 25mm Female-Female Stand-Offs
2
M3 x 15mm Female-Female Stand-Offs
4
M3 x 6mm Screws, Pan-Headed
14
Tools and materials required for assembly
Soldering iron
Solder
Pliers
Wire snips & wire stripper
Cross-Head Screwdriver

oddWires Arduino Robotics Kit
5
Install the Arduino IDE and USB Drivers
This text is based on the Getting Started text from the official Arduino site under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.
Getting Started with Arduino on Windows
Download the Arduino environment
Get the latest version from the download page (http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software).
When the download finishes, unzip the downloaded file. Make sure to preserve the folder structure. Double-
click the folder to open it. There should be a few files and sub-folders inside.
Connect the board
The Arduino Uno automatically draws power from either the USB connection to the computer or an
external power supply.
Connect the Arduino board to your computer using the USB cable. The green power LED (labeled On)
should light.
Install the drivers
Installing drivers for the Arduino Uno with Windows8, Windows7, Vista, or XP:
•Plug in your board and wait for Windows to begin its driver installation process. After a few
moments, the process will fail, despite its best efforts
•Click on the Start Menu, and open up the Control Panel.
•While in the Control Panel, navigate to System and Security. Next, click on System. Once the System
window is up, open the Device Manager.
•Look under Ports (COM & LPT). You should see an open port named "Arduino UNO (COMxx)"
•Right click on the "Arduino UNO (COMxx)" port and choose the "Update Driver Software" option.
•Next, choose the "Browse my computer for Driver software" option.
•Finally, navigate to and select the driver file named "arduino.inf", located in the "Drivers" folder of
the Arduino Software download (not the "FTDI USB Drivers" sub-directory). If you are using an
old version of the IDE (1.0.3 or older), choose the Uno's driver file named "Arduino UNO.inf"
•Windows will finish up the driver installation from there.
When you connect the board, Windows should initiate the driver installation process (if you haven't used the
computer with an Arduino board before).
On Windows 8, 7 or Vista, the driver should be automatically downloaded and installed. You can check that
the drivers have been installed by opening the Windows Device Manager (in the Hardware tab of System
control panel). Look for a "USB Serial Port" in the Ports section; that's the Arduino board.

Install the Arduino IDE and USB Drivers Arduino Robotics Kit
6
Launch the Arduino application
Double-click the Arduino application. (Note: if the Arduino software loads in the wrong language, you can
change it in the preferences dialog. See the environment page
(http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/Environment#languages) for details.)
Getting Started with Arduino on Mac
Download the Arduino environment
Get the latest version from the download page (http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software). When the
download is finished, double click the .zip file. This will expand the Arduino application.
Install the Software
Copy the Arduino application into the Applications folder (or elsewhere on your computer). No drivers are
required to be installed.
Connect the board
The Arduino Uno automatically draws power from either the USB connection to the computer or an
external power supply. Connect the Arduino board to your computer using the USB cable. The green power
LED (labeled On) should go on.
A dialog box will appear telling you that a new network interface has been detected. Click "Network
Preferences...", and when it opens, simply click "Apply". The Uno or Mega 2560 will show up as "Not
Configured", but it's working properly. Quit System Preferences.
Launch the Arduino application
Double-click the Arduino application. Note: if the Arduino software loads in the wrong language, you can
change it in the preferences dialog. See the environment page for details
(http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/Environment#languages)
Getting Started with Arduino on Linux
Getting Started on Linux depends on your particular distribution. Details can be found here
(http://playground.arduino.cc/Learning/Linux).

oddWires Arduino Robotics Kit
7
Your First Arduino Sketch
Open the blink example
Open the LED blink example sketch: File > Examples > 1.Basics > Blink.
Select your board
You'll need to select the entry in the Tools > Board menu that corresponds to your Arduino.

Your First Arduino Sketch Arduino Robotics Kit
8
Selecting an Arduino Uno
Select your serial port
Select the serial device of the Arduino board from the Tools > Serial Port menu.
Select the serial device of the Arduino board from the Tools | Serial Port menu. On Windows this is likely
to be COM3 or higher (COM1 and COM2 are usually reserved for hardware serial ports). To find out, you
can disconnect your Arduino board and re-open the menu; the entry that disappears should be the Arduino
board. Reconnect the board and select that serial port.
On the Mac, this should be something with /dev/tty.usbmodem (for the Uno).

oddWires Arduino Robotics Kit
9
Selecting an Uno
Upload the program
Now, simply click the "Upload" button in the environment. Wait a few seconds - you should see the RX and
TX LEDs on the board flashing. If the upload is successful, the message "Done uploading." will appear in
the status bar.
A few seconds after the upload finishes, you should see the pin 13 (L) LED on the board start to blink.
Congratulations! You've got Arduino up-and-running.
If you have problems, please see the troubleshooting suggestions
http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/Troubleshooting).

Sweeping the Servo by 180 Degrees Arduino Robotics Kit
10
Sweeping the Servo by 180 Degrees
In this section we learn how to use a servo with Arduino. We will sweep the shaft of a RC
servomotor back and forth across 180 degrees.
This example makes use of the Arduino servo library.
Hardware Required
•Arduino Board
•(1) Servo Motor
•Jumper wire
Circuit
Servomotors have three wires: power, ground, and signal. The power wire is typically red, and
should be connected to the six-volt power supply. The ground wire is typically black or brown and
should be connected to a ground pin on the Arduino board AND the 6V power supply. It is essential
that there is a common ground. The signal pin is typically yellow, orange or white and should be
connected to pin 9 on the Arduino board.
Click the image to enlarge
Image developed using Fritzing. For more circuit examples, see the Fritzing project page

oddWires Arduino Robotics Kit
11
Code
// Sweep
// by BARRAGAN <http://barraganstudio.com>
// this example code is in the public domain.
#include <Servo.h>
Servo myservo; // create servo object to control a servo
// a maximum of eight servo objects can be created
int pos = 0; // variable to store the servo position
void setup()
{
myservo.attach(9); // attaches the servo on pin 9 to the servo object
}
void loop()
{
for(pos = 0; pos < 180; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 180; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
}

HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Distance Sensor Arduino Robotics Kit
12
HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Distance Sensor
The HC-SR04 is an ultrasonic distance sensor. It detects the distance of the closest object in front
of the sensor (from 2 cm up to 3m). It works by sending out a burst of ultrasound and listening for
the echo when it bounces off of an object. The Arduino board sends a short pulse to trigger the
detection, then listens for a pulse on the echo pin. The duration of this second pulse is equal to the
time taken by the ultrasound to travel to the object and back to the sensor. Using the speed of
sound, this time can be converted to distance.
Hardware Required
•Arduino Board
•(1) HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Distance Sensor
•Jumper wire
Circuit
The 5V pin of the HC-SR04 is connected to the 5V pin on the Arduino, the GND pin is connected to
the GND pin, and the Trigger pin is connected to pin 8 and the Echo pin is connected to pin 9 on
the Arduino.
Image developed using Fritzing. For more circuit examples, see the Fritzing project page

oddWires Arduino Robotics Kit
13
Code
/*
HC-SR04 for Arduino
Original project from http://www.swanrobotics.com
This project demonstrates the HC-SR
The distance presented in the code is in mm, but you can uncomment the line
for distance in inches.
The schematics for this project can be found on http://www.swanrobotics.com
This example code is in the public domain.
*/
const int TriggerPin = 8; //Trig pin
const int EchoPin = 9; //Echo pin
long Duration = 0;
void setup(){
pinMode(TriggerPin,OUTPUT); // Trigger is an output pin
pinMode(EchoPin,INPUT); // Echo is an input pin
Serial.begin(9600); // Serial Output
}
void loop(){
digitalWrite(TriggerPin, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(2);
digitalWrite(TriggerPin, HIGH); // Trigger pin to HIGH
delayMicroseconds(10); // 10us high
digitalWrite(TriggerPin, LOW); // Trigger pin to HIGH
Duration = pulseIn(EchoPin,HIGH); // Waits for the echo pin to get
high
// returns the Duration in
microseconds
long Distance_mm = Distance(Duration); // Use function to calculate the
distance
Serial.print("Distance = "); // Output to serial
Serial.print(Distance_mm);
Serial.println(" mm");
delay(1000); // Wait to do next measurement
}
long Distance(long time)
{
// Calculates the Distance in mm
// ((time)*(Speed of sound))/ toward and backward of object) * 10
long DistanceCalc; // Calculation variable
DistanceCalc = ((time /2.9) / 2); // Actual calculation in mm
//DistanceCalc = time / 74 / 2; // Actual calculation in inches
return DistanceCalc; // return calculated value
}

Constructing the Chassis Arduino Robotics Kit
14
Constructing the Chassis
Identify the chassis components:
1 x chassis plate
2 x wheels
2 x motors
1 x castor wheel
1 x hardware pack 1
Here’s the chassis plate with its
protective paper removed.

oddWires Arduino Robotics Kit
15
Here’s the motor, mounting plates
and two long machine screws & two
nuts. Solder the black & red leads to
the motors as shown.
Slip the two mounts into the positions
shown in the next photo. The mounts
should be positioned so that the piece
that will hold the motors to the base
will be on the top of the finished
chassis. Loosely tighten the nuts until
you have the motors aligned, and then
tighten. You should not over-tighten
anything, as the base is acrylic not
metal!
Both of the motors attached with
mounts (note mirror image). Keep the
screw heads on the outside to avoid
the wheels being fouled by the screw
ends.
Here’s another view of the motors
installed on the chassis base.

Constructing the Chassis Arduino Robotics Kit
16
Mounting the castor wheel requires:
4 x 15 mm standoffs
4 x pan-head screws to attach the
standoffs to the base
4 x pan-head screws to attach the
castor to the mounts
Screw the stand-offs to the chassis
with the pan-head screws.
Mount the castor wheel with more
screws.

oddWires Arduino Robotics Kit
17
Here is the assembled chassis.
Another view.
Battery box installed underneath.

Installing the Arduino Uno Arduino Robotics Kit
18
Installing the Arduino Uno
Insert two of the smaller standoffs from
Hardware Pack 2 in the position
shown in the photo and fix with a
couple of 6mm M3 screws.
Add a standoff to the Uno in the
position shown.
Then fix the Uno into position using
another two M3 screws.