PaulMakesThings has a pretty cool instructable on how to build a tiny Arduino Nano based robot. This robot uses two modified 9g servos to provide propulsion. There is a little bit of soldering and drilling, but should be manageable by just about anyone. This would make a great (cheap) intro to Arduino and making things in general!
Basically, the Arduino nano provides a PWM signal to drive the servos in the direction requested, a small battery allows the device to run autonomously. Paul has designed the project to allow the implementor to add sensors later on, allowing the platform to become as smart as you want it to be. Add some IR sensors for line following or ultrasonics for object avoidance or maybe even an NRF24L01 to add wireless control.
I don't know about where you live, but around here you need some good projects to beat the winter blues. This project would fit the bill.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Nano-based-Microbot/
why not bluetooth?
ReplyDeleteI don't see any reason why not. It would be pretty easy with a little HC-05 Module. The time consuming part would be making the app or controller to talk to it, but there are some good tutorials on how to do that.
DeleteThis goes most of the way:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Remotely-Control-LED-using-HC-05-Bluetooth-Arduino/
It's even for arduino. Pretty much all you'd have to do is replace the buttons with directions and the LED on/off commands with calls to the servo functions.