First look at WRPC with ABE

This is a pre-pre-pre alpha look at the basics of communication between WRPC and ABE. Spot the bug at the end of the clip :)

Wireless Reprogrammable PS2 Controller (Part III)

(or how I came to ditch veroboard)

Okay…

So, in the last post, I was about to build a vero-board model of the WRPC, having successfully demonstrated proof of concept on breadboard.

The reasons I chose veroboard for the next phase was that:

1. There are a lot of pins on microcontrollers and my drill press isn’t compatible with the 0.8mm bit.
   (read that as: I don’t wanna hand-drill a billion holes)

2. Less effort than a custom PCB

Point B became more than arguable over the course of development, as you’ll soon read about. For those of you either not on Google+ or just not reading what I post (fine, then!), here’s how the progress reports went:

Drama - Act 1, Scene 1

One fine day on Google+…

Later…

Finally…

Why did it fail?

The veroboard approach failed because either:

1. I somehow made the tiniest little melt or jumper or something but because of how immensely complicated the back of the board became (because I wanted it to look nice), diagnosing it became impossible (but I still tried).

   OR

2. Nothing was wrong with the veroboard, even though diagnosis was impossible. There was a mistake in the breadboard to veroboard conversion.

As it turns out…

When I finally caved and rebuilt the breadboard circuit with new parts (I will desolder and harvest the veroboard later), it did have an error. It didn’t make much sense to me at the time (and at time of writing, I’m just accepting it for now) but somehow connecting the second ground pin on the Atmega when pin 8 was already grounded caused an issue with reprogramming the board with the Wixel. If you’re interested, compare the schematic from the original post with the one below.

What I learned (VERO == UGLY)

Only use veroboard for circuits that will be out of sight or those that you don’t care how they look. If you try to get clever and reverse-wire a vero, it will only come back and bite you in the arse.

Onwards and Upwards

Once I threw out the vero idea, rebuilt the breadboard (and spent hours tracing down the source of the error), I was ready to arrange the PCB. After a few hours of rework, here’s the completed design courtesy of Fritzing:

Smaller than the vero model and much sexier.

I have included a full set of breakout header traces for both microprocessors and space for two stabilizing capacitors on the regulator, should I desire to add them.

Press-n-Peel

Now, the main reason I wanted to avoid a custom PCB for a prototype in the first place was because of all the dicking around with transferring a design to the board itself.

To that end (and because UV boards are bloody expensive), I bought some Press-n-Peel film from techniks.com. I have tried several different ways of PCB transfer, but I will have to say that provided you’re willing to do a bit of trial and error (like any method) with your printer settings, iron heat and method, Press-n-Peel film will give you the best PCB-making experience for your buck.

It took me 5 attempts to work out the correct combination of printer setting, iron heat and method but after those five attempts, I had this:

You’ll notice some minor touch ups because for this one (funnily enough) I used an imperfect piece of film. Murphy can eat my shorts as usual. Anyhow, it was only a short, soft scrub from that to this (custom type/art was added post-Fritzing in Inkscape, but more on that later):

And after all the etching and glazing…

…and all the drilling work (which I’m not that good at by hand) I realised…

…that I’d printed the bloody thing out BACKWARDS.

Well! Isn’t this just a full-on bag of …. F…un ….

Nevermind.

While it did massively increase the complexity of the soldering job (I soldered the microcontrollers on the reverse side) and changed the overall look of the finished board, I still managed to pull it off without losing it (somehow). I even held it together when my soldering iron died in the middle of it (I fixed it again).

The final (hardware) product

After this very very long and dramatic journey, with more twists and turns than I could even be bothered writing about (yes, there were more), here it is - the finished hardware:

Afterthoughts

I have written myself a reminder to do this, so I’ll get to it when I can spare another moment… I am going to post the settings that worked best for me with the Press-n-Peel film because I didn’t find that many articles that were very helpful about it online.

Until then…

Wireless Reprogrammable PS2 Controller (Part II)

Standalone Migration

I’ve spent several hours over the weekend arranging the schematic and new Vero board version of the PS2 Controller project, as well as freeing it from the Arduino tether. The controller now functions completely standalone exactly as it did when hooked up to the Arduino.

There are many benefits of migrating to a standalone from an Arduino-based project.

Some of these are:

1. Reduced project cost (chips and resonators are WAAAY cheaper than an entire Arduino board)
2. Freeing up your Arduino for another project
3. Reduced physical footprint

Vero and Schematic Diagrams

In the first post I promised that I would publish the schematic once I was happy with it and I’m making good on that. This is version 1.0 of the Wireless Reprogrammable PS2 controller in both Vero and Schematic forms.

Next Steps

From here, I will be making the Vero version, assembling the controller as one unit and designing and implementing ABE’s menu system, so there are more posts to look forward to yet. :)

Wireless Reprogrammable PS2 Controller (Part I)

Awesome Sauce Wixel & Arduino/Atmega Based PlayStation 2 Project Controller

The Reason

Ok, so I was at my girlfriend’s family’s place on some recent holiday and I was being asked to show off what my robot ABE could do. I did the fully automated things by turning him on and doing a few little pre-programmed responsive actions (covering his “eyes”, covering both IR sensors etc¹) but I quickly realised that in order to show off his full bag of tricks, I would have to send him a few commands (or at least requests). At the time, the only way to do that was to take my other Wixel unit, plug it into my computer and send it some serial love. I had no computer setup there, nor my other Wixel.

The Design

At first I had intended to add two interrupt buttons to ABE and I even studied Schmitt circuitry to that end. Then, I had a better idea - I would add an infrared remote to him. While I was looking into that option, I had the best idea yet. Why should I waste even more power on extra components when ABE already has inbuilt wireless comms via the Wixel? Why don’t I just build a Wixel-enabled remote control?

The Better Design

To begin with, I ordered an LCD from Little Bird Electronics along with a few other parts for various new ideas. I had intended to use some old contact pads I had laying around for the buttons but I couldn’t come up with a design that I liked. It had to be light, portable and I had to want to use it.

After a bit of pondering, I remembered that I had an extra PS2 controller in a box doing nothing except tangling my other cabling up. Surely someone had already thought of this before? Google time!

Feasiblity Study

I looked around for an Arduino library to communicate with a PS2 controller and I found it right here. Thanks to Bill Porter, I had my answer. Not only was it possible but much of the work and testing was already done. Music to my ears, and a BIG thanks to Bill.

What I wanted

I wanted a compact, portable replacement for communicating with my robot via the Serial Monitor. This was my general requirements list:

It must…

1. be compact and portable… (duh)
2. allow multiple user inputs to the robot
3. allow human-readable output from the robot
4. look professional and slick so I will want to play with it (oooh shiny!)
5. not interfere with the ability to wirelessly reprogram ABE

What I ended up making

I ended up making a comfortable, portable replacement for communicating with any of my projects that include a Wixel

It…

1. is pretty compact and portable (at least hand-held) and is fairly light
2. allows multiple user input to the robot via:
   • 10 digital buttons (all with changed, down and up event notifications)
   • 4 analog pressure-sensitive buttons
   • 2 biaxial analog stick controllers (with two additional digital buttons underneath them)
   • a microprocessor-driven LCD-Menu interface (that I’m writing AFTER this post)
3. allows 32 5x8 pixel backlit LCD characters over 2 lines for human-readable output and interaction
4. looks professional (the Sony part… my bit looks nice enough :)
5. allows pass-through reprogramming of ABE when the controller is plugged into a USB port using the standard Arduino IDE

Sweet - I’ve totally decimated my requirements list (that’s a good thing)!

Oh, and as an added “I wonder if I can….” bonus, I’ve also managed to design it in such a way that if ABE is plugged into the computer USB port, the controller itself can be wirelessly reprogrammed (without having to remove the chip). Woot!

What does that mean?

Well, it means I can remote control ABE and any other project that I’m making that includes a Wixel.

It means I can make stand-alone programs for the controller (and I have a few sneaky projects in mind) and its 2.4GHz transceiver (Wixel) - I could even theoretically reprogram ABE in-the-field.

It means - I’ve made myself a new toy to play with. :)

The LCD Bracket

To make a slick-looking controller, you’ve got to have slick-looking curves. Because I still have a fair bit of the stuff and because it’s durable, mouldable (if you’re really careful with a blowtorch or hot air machine) and strong, I decided on using more perspex. I wanted the bracket to tilt the LCD screen slightly towards the user (me) for good visibility and comfort. I also wanted not to mess up the beautiful aesthetics of Sony’s controller.

I scribbled up the design (above) on my whiteboard one afternoon and measured it carefully onto a piece a day or so later. To cut it, I used a fine-grade hacksaw and to sculpt it, I used a pocket blowtorch (very carefully) and a padded vice. I beveled the edges afterwards with some hand-files and wet-and-dry.

Bracket Parts List

• 3mm x 6mm (M3) Screws
• 10mm Hex Spacers
• 90mm x 3mm x 120mm Sheet of Perspex

After I’d drilled all the bracket holes, I also drilled holes in the PS2 controller’s lower shell. I had to be extremely careful to keep my M3 screwheads away from the interior circuitry but there was enough clearance for them to co-exist peacefully. Holes in the perspex were threaded using an M3 tap tool, so no extra nuts were needed (keeps the minimalist aesthetic).

PS2 Controller Wiring

The wire pinout provided at Bill’s site was a little different from the one I had, but it was noted that the colours were succeptable to frequent change.

Bill’s Site Pin/Wire layout:

1. Brown = data
2. Orange = command out
3. Grey = dualshock power
4. Black = ground
5. Red = power
6. Yellow = attention
7. Blue = clock
8. White = ?
9. Green = ack

My Pin/Wire layout:

1. Brown = data
2. Orange = command out
3. Purple = dualshock power
4. Black, Grey (both) = ground
5. Pink = power
6. Yellow = attention
7. Blue = clock
8. N/C (shield and bare wire also both N/C)
9. Green = ack

PS2 + Arduino

In order to link up the PS2 controller to the Arduino, I needed Bill Porter’s library called PS2X.

Download PS2X from Github

Once I had wired it all up as explained in the very top of the code (see the breadboard diagram below for the cheatsheet), I turned it on but it didn’t seem to work straight away.

Not to worry!

Bill has an absolutely brilliant section on his site that’s dedicated to troubleshooting the library. What a guy!

Bill’s Brilliant Troubleshooting Guide

It turned out that all I needed was a single resistor to act as a pullup for the controller. Simple as that.

PS2 + Arduino + LCD

After I’d linked up the controller to the Arduino (and yes, mucked about with it for a good half-hour), I added in the LCD. This was probably the easiest part. The wiring is only 4 pins (power, ground, SCL, SDA) and the sample code in the DFRobot-provided library gave me all I needed to find-and-replace all of the Serial.print calls in Bill’s demo with lcd.print.

Download the DFRobot LCD Library for Arduino from DFRobot

…more fiddling and mucking about ensued…

PS2 + Arduino + LCD + Wixel

For the home stretch (a few days later - I’m a busy guy), I added the Wixel into the mix. The following links came very much in handy:

• Pololu Wixel Pinout
• Pololu Wixel User’s Manual
• Pololu Wixel Shield for Arduino schematic

For this part, (ABE has a Wixel Shield) I wanted the circuit to function similarly to the Wixel Shield. That way, I would be able to program both ABE and the controller remotely and still allow full communication between the two (without buying or powering more hardware). What followed was a simple (remember, this is version 1.0) design that was mostly voltage dividers² and pullup resistors.

The Circuit

I’m going to write this in point form so that it reads simply. It’s not that complex a circuit, though. Here’s how it works:

1. The Arduino powers everything from its 5V pin
2. All grounds are connected (as they should be)
3. The PS2 controller pins (shown on board left to right, pin1 to pin8) connect to Arduino digital pins, power and ground
   (pins 3 and 8 are not connected)
4. The LCD pins connect to the I2C bus (SCL,SDA), power and ground
5. The Wixel takes its power directly from the Arduino 5V pin (it has its own regulator)
6. Arduino Transmission (TX) lines are voltage-divided down to about 3.3V for the Wixel’s RX inputs
7. The Wixel Transmission (TX) lines are connected directly to the Arduino (because 3.3V is still considered HIGH by 5V logic)
8. Various pullup resistors were required to keep the Arduino/Wixel logic in certain states at certain times (especially during program-loading)
9. The single transistor is part of a quick on-board digital inverter (NOT gate). When the Wixel wants to reset the Arduino (when programming), it sets P0_0 to HIGH. However, to reset the Arduino, the RESET pin has to be pulled LOW. This is a very simplified version of the connection shown on the Wixel Shield schematic (but it works well).

N.B. I can’t remember if I put the right resistance values into Fritzing before I generated the breadboard graphic.

Stay tuned for the next post. I’ll add a schematic with values and details of the next steps, and if required, I’ll post some more explanation about the inverter, pullup resistors and logic conversion. By then, I should have some code to post too.

---

ABE is (at the time of writing) programmed to start in different "modes" depending on the condition of some of his sensors at time of startup. If an object of greater than 31°C is less than 10cm away from his sonar sensors (i.e. a human hand over his eyes), he will start up in standby mode. If both of his IR sensors detect obstacles on startup, he will start to sing a tune. ↩

The Wixel runs at 3.3V whereas the Arduino runs at 5V. I bought a logic converter for the job but it was actually simpler to construct the circuit from basic components as I have. ↩

ABE

In the beginning (of 2012), there was ABE…

Earlier this year, I brought to life a small, cutish robotic creation called ABE. ABE stands for Autonomous Base Explorer (or something like that). It’s a working title. Here are some pictures of ABE with indications of what his parts are and what he (yes, he) can do. I’ll add more detail later (perhaps).

Robot Definition Statement

A mobile, terrestrial, wirelessly programmable and interactive, human-interactive expandable robot prototype with multiple sensory inputs and feedback devices, capable of self-navigation and autonomous task completion. (bloated, I know)

Current Working Title

ABE = Autonomous Base/Building Explorer

What Can He Do?

ABE can do quite a number of things. Based on the Arduino UNO, he has a highly flexible programmable microprocessor. Apart from that, there’s the other sensors and capabilities. Here’s a short list:

He Can…

1. Measure distance from himself to an object in centimeters using sonar
   • Measurements are in centimeters
   • The sonar sensor (SRF05) is mounted in the pan and tilt sensor array
   • The beam pattern is shown here:
     
   • Sensor supplier’s information
2. Measure the temperature in a 90 degree field of view
   • Operating ambient temperature is between -40 and 85 degrees Celcius
   • Measurement temperatures range from -70 to 382.2 degrees Celcius
   • Measurement resolution is 0.02 degrees Celcius
   • Measurement accuracy is +/- 0.5 degrees Celcius at Room Temperature
   • It is immune to IR & Sunlight
   • The Infrared Temperature sensor is mounted in the pan and tilt sensor array
   • Sensor Datasheet
3. Detect obstacles using front left and right mounted IR proximity sensors
   • Measurements are only the existence or not of an obstacle
   • Sensors are angled to allow approximately 7cm forward detection and enough sidewards detection to allow approximately 1-2cm clearence for the wheels.
4. Pan and tilt the sonar and temperature sensor
   • The pan range is approximately 180 degrees, with 90 degrees being full forward
   • The tilt range is less than 180 degrees, with 45 degrees being level, 120 degrees being up and rear facing and a minimum tilt of about 10-20 degrees
5. Indicate the direction of sensing for sonar and temperature using a low power laser
   • The laser is mounted on the pan and tilt array to allow him to indicate the direction of the sonar and temperature sensor
   • The laser can be turned on and off
6. Play simple tunes using the front-mounted piezo
   • Currently, he plays Edna’s theme from The Day Of The Tentacle by LucasArts
   • Of course, this is most useful for human feedback
7. Sense knock patterns on the front of the bot using the piezo
   • This is untested but completely plausible (it would require the piezo also be connected to an analog input as it is not currently so connected)
8. Convey information to humans using a green 7-segment display
   • Currently, this is used to show the current mode of the robot, it being programmed for multiple modes of use. Future plans are to have a debounced microswitch mode button on the bot itself
9. Move itself around using two continuous rotation servos and a third caster contact point
   • Wheels are rubber
   • Caster is ¾" plastic ballbearing caster, located at the bot’s rear
10. Operate without being connected to any non-mobile power source
    • On-board batteries are 9v and 6v (latter for the servo power)
11. Communicate with a computer or other electronic device by means of a Wixel wireless serial link
    • Presently, this is used to provide feedback to the developer and to provide instruction to the robot
    • Future plans are to change the interface to use PHP and serproxy instead of the standard Arduino IDE serial monitor
12. Be completely reprogrammed at any time over-the-air using the Wixel wireless serial link
    • This is limited by the range of the pair of Wixels, which is about 12 meters
    • The Wixels themselves must first be programmed when connected locally (only needed to be done once)
    • Programming may be battery intensive