Wifi Robot
August 2008
|
| Introduction Hardware Software Measurements and Benchmarks Resources |
Introduction
Wifi Robot: A remote control car that can be driven over the internet or with a laptop wirelessly from up to 500m away. It has a live-feed network camera so that it can be driven without line of sight and a horn so that you can honk at people.
A while ago I discovered the Linksys WRT54GL router. It's very hacker-friendly in that it runs Linux and some of the hardware has been reverse engineered. A bunch of alternative firmware versions have been written for this router. The version that this project uses is the customizable Linux firmware Open-WRT. Along with great software for this router, a bunch of hardware hacks are possible. With a cheap, hackable, embedded Linux system at my disposal -- I knew I had to do something cool with it. So the Wifi Robot idea was born.
The goal of this article is to give a high-level overview of the project and provide some implementation details of the software and electronics. It is not meant to be a step-by-step how-to guide, but there should be enough information for someone with motivation and some background knowledge in electronics and software to be able to make their own Wifi Robot. All of the source code is being released under the terms of the GNU GPL v2, so by all means, use the code, and improve it!
Hardware
Car
Adding a network camera, router, heavier batteries, extra circuits, and a whole bunch of wires adds a lot of extra weight that the car wasn't designed for. Because of all of the additions, you'll need to find a pretty large RC car. Thrift stores often sell RC vehicles (without remotes!) for $3-5. I have bought a number of cars this way for taking apart. Vehicles in the 1:10 size ratio or bigger are appropriate; you probably don't want to go any smaller. I bought this car for $5 at Value Village.
I have taken apart about 20 RC cars. Nearly every single one of them used the Realtek RX2/TX2 chips or a pin-compatible alternative. The links are for their respective datasheets. What this means is that it's really easy to interface to the car's existing electronics without having to put in a bunch of our own circuitry. It's possible to hook up a microcontroller directly to these pins (Forward, Backward, Left, Right) and directly control the car. Being able to leverage the car's original circuitry saves a lot of time and effort.
Router
I've modified my WRT54GL to have 2 serial ports and a 1GB SD Card (acts like a 1GB hard drive). The SD card is not used in this project, but one of the serial ports is. One is a console port, the other is TTS/1 which we will be using. For this project I'm using Open-WRT White Russian v0.9. There are more recent versions, but we don't need the latest-and-greatest software features for this project. The software compilation guide (details later) uses this distribution, so that is why I chose it.
Later in the article links and information are given that can help you wire up your serial ports and get them working.
Microcontroller Selection
I evaluated three different microcontrollers for this project. Below is a summary of the evaluation.
Microcontroller |
PIC16F628A |
Arduino (ATmega168) Freeduino MaxSerial |
AVR Butterfly (ATmega169) |
Pros |
price |
very easy to program (C with many built-in libraries) integrated serial pre-packaged development kit, little or no soldering involved |
easier to program than the PIC (C) integrated serial little soldering involved |
Cons |
hard to program (assembly) have to wire up the circuit by hand extra serial hardware required (MAX232A) extra programmer required |
price | bootloader error (see below) integrated peripherals cause weird output voltages price |
I choose the PIC16F628A for a few reasons:
- I had a bunch of them around
- I have quite a bit of experience working with them
- I wanted a board with a small footprint, the PIC was the smallest footprint of all 3 options
- I wanted complete control over what the code was doing and this is very possible with assembly programming
I originally used the AVR Butterfly development board. It was working fine until the batteries ran low one time. There is an error in the AVR butterfly bootloader detailed here that corrupts the code and doesn't let you reprogram it unless you load a new bootloader. To me, I just knew my car was working one day and not the next. It took quite a while to debug the problem and quite a bit of time to fix it so I scrapped that control system. I also found the output voltages to be unpredictable because the outputs are also driving the integrated peripherals like the LCD screen.
Below I have included source code for the PIC and Arduino microcontroller platforms. Both have been tested -- so use whichever you feel most comfortable with. The Arduino (Freeduino MaxSerial) would be the most painless way to get running quickly. I bought this one.
Steering Circuit
I'm actually using two control boards in my car. The reason for this is that I blew the original drive transistors on the board that came with the car. Fortunately I was able to remove them and the RX2 chip (which was also blown) and salvage the steering circuit. Most of these toy RC cars have about 6 wires that go in to the steering motor assembly. This is because inside the assembly there's a metallic wiper that moves with the motor and the extra wires are used to relay which position the motor is in. Each different RC car will have a different setup for this wiper circuit, so it's VERY useful to be able to use the one that came with the car.
I blew the drive transistors because I was trying to drive the circuit at ~16V when the battery that drives the car would nominally be 9.6V. The transistors are rated for 5A, but evidentially I was driving them too hard and they failed in a spectacular plume of smoke. I took a board from another RC car and used its drive transistors. I'm running this circuit at 12V and it hasn't caused any problems. The transistors get quite hot though. Being able to use existing RC car circuits and not having to build your own H-bridges saves a lot of time and money.
Batteries
This project sucks some major battery power. I bought some high-end RC car batteries for about $50+shipping on eBay. They're 3800mAh and came with a 1.8A smart charger. They can be found with this eBay search. Each battery takes about 1.5hrs to charge (from being completely dead). They're 7.2V, however when they're just-charged they're ~8.3V and when they're dead (no longer able to move the car) they measure ~7.1V.
I replaced all of the RC battery connectors with standard ATX power supply Molex connectors. This was so that I could connect them using cheap connectors I already had and so that it would be easy to make a splitter connector for doing power measurements. The batteries are wired in series for about 16V when fully charged.
Power Rails
5V (7805 1A regulator) |
9.2V (from 12V-7812 rail) |
12V (7812 1A regulator) |
12V (LT1083 7.5A Regulator) |
microcontroller |
camera |
wifi router | drive board with motor controller |
The 9.6V rail was powered by putting 4 diodes in series with the 7812 12V rail. A diode takes ~0.7V to turn on. By putting 4 in series, we drop ~2.8V across them and now we have 9V for the devices that need less than 12V. After burning the first bunch of transistors I wanted to run the circuit at a lower voltage. The 7812 regulator is only rated for 1A but the motors would drain considerably more than that. Digikey sells a 7.5A 12V regulator for ~$14 which I bought. I attached it to a heat sink because I thought that it may get pretty hot. After quite a bit of use, it doesn't even get warn, so the heat sink was not required.
I didn't want to risk blowing the steering control circuit, so I put it on the rail closest to the original RC car battery voltage. The camera required 9V and the horn wasn't loud enough when I tried it on the 5V rail, so all of these devices are on the 9.2V rail.
All of the power electronics are on a prototype board and are stored under a project box.
Microcontroller Circuit
PIC
Arduino Hookup Guide
Signal |
Arduino Pin |
Forward |
Digital Pin 8 |
Backward |
Digital Pin 9 |
Left |
Digital Pin 10 |
Right |
Digital Pin 11 |
Green LED |
Digital Pin 7 |
Red LED |
Digital Pin 6 |
Horn |
Digital Pin 5 |
The Freeduino MaxSerial serial port can be connected with any standard serial cable to the serial port on the router.
The Freeduino MaxSerial uses serial pin 4 - DTR (data terminal ready) to reset the microcontroller and allow it to download new code. Under normal PC operation this pin is either +10V or -10V depending on whether the serial port is connected or not. However, this pin is grounded on the router serial port and isn't active. When the router serial port starts sending data, the MaxSerial resets. That's no good for us. We are going to pull-up the DTR pin to +9V. With this quick hardware modification, it basically adds a program-locked mode so that new code can't be uploaded and the microcontroller can't be reset by the serial port. If you need to reprogram it, just flip the switch. +9V is a pin with easy access on the Freeduino MaxSerial.
Note: If you're using a usb version of the Arduino, you may be able to just connect the RX & TX pins to a MAX232A and then to the router serial port and may not need this modification. I only have the MaxSerial version, so I can't verify either way.
Camera
(Left Image Source: http://panasonic.co.jp/pcc/products/en/netwkcam/lineup/bl-c1/partnames.html)
One of the coolest aspects of this project is the fact that the car can be driven without line of sight. That is accomplished using a network camera. The one I chose was the Panasonic BL-C1A. It was basically the cheapest wired network camera with good reviews. The software is Windows-only and isn't great, but it's usable. The software is required to get the live streaming view. More expensive models can be had that have pan and tilt capability, but they are considerably more expensive and I didn't need that functionality.
Edit:
As a couple of the commentors have pointed out, the camera actually has a very usable web interface making it not a Windows-specific device. You can view the live feed using the following command:
http://<camera_ip>/ImageViewer?Resolution=320x240?Quality=standard
Available resolutions are 640x480, 320x120, and 160x60. Available quality (compression) settings are precision, standard, and motion.
There's a good summary of the commands and review of the camera at this blog.
(Dimensions Images Source: http://panasonic.co.jp/pcc/products/en/netwkcam/lineup/bl-c1/partnames.html)
The video quality is quite good. However, it will often freeze at a frame for about 1 second and then start streaming again. Even with good connectivity. I'm guessing its controller isn't powerful enough to auto-focus and also keep streaming at times. Overall I'm happy with it.
See the measurements and benchmarks section below for bandwidth requirement measurements.
Looking at the inside of the camera it looks like its running on an ARM processor at 250MHz. According to their parts website, it also includes 64MB of RAM. I wonder how hard it would be to get Linux running on this thing...
Horn
I wanted to add the fun feature of being able to honk at people. It was a pretty simple addition. I bought a $3 buzzer for KW Surplus and hooked it up to the microcontroller using a transistor for greater voltage and current.
Putting it All Together
Only the base of the RC car was used. All decorative and non-functional parts were stripped off. The camera was mounted to the front with only a small modification to the mounting hardware that came with the camera. The circuit boards were bolted to the sides of the front part of the car using plastic nuts and bolts to avoid conductivity issues.
The PIC controller board was also bolted securely to the side of the car. A number of holes were drilled to allow for routing the wires. All wires were intentionally made longer than required so that the pieces could be easily moved around before they were bolted in permanently. After all of the pieces were secured, all of the slack in the wires was collected and zip-tied (see pic in Power section above). There were a lot of wires. Probably around 30 that needed to be routed to/from the front and back of the car, not including the Ethernet cable.
All of the power circuits were housed in the project box on the back of the car, with the exception of the LT1083 7.5A Regulator which is on the bottom of the car. I didn't put it in the project box because it was a late addition to the project (after blowing a board earlier), so it was the easiest place to add it. An LED on the back of the box glows red while the router is booting up. When the router sends an 'alive' message to the microcontroller, the LED turns green and I know that I'll be able to connect with the VB client application. This LED was very helpful when debugging.
All of the electronics were prototyped on a breadboard before being soldered and installed in the car. The batteries were secured using hot-glue and zip-ties. The router was a bit too wide to sit on the car without some extra modifications. I added a couple pieces of plexiglass to make the RC car base wider.
Future [Possible] Additions
There are a couple things I think would be fun to add:
Headlights, just super-bright LEDs. They would be very easy to add to the microcontroller circuit.
Current Sensor that could relay back how much current the car was using and display it in the VB app. The microcontroller could read the sensor and send back the data.
Software
There are three pieces of software that make this project possible. The VB6 Wifi_Robot client application (runs on Windows), the CarServer which is written in C and runs on the router running OpenWRT WhiteRussian v0.9 (Linux), and the microcontroller firmware. I've provided tested firmware for both PIC16F628A microcontroller and the popular Arduino (Freeduino MaxSerial). All software is released under the GNU GPL v2 license.
The following instructions assume you have a Linksys WRT54GL with OpenWRT WhiteRussian v0.9 installed and connected to the internet. See this guide for OpenWRT installation instructions.
Installing CarServer
If you just want to use the software
SSH in to your router then ...
# cd /tmp
# wget http://www.jbprojects.net/projects/wifirobot/carserver_1_mipsel.ipk
# ipkg install ./carserver_1_mipsel.ipk
Compiling and Installing CarServer
If you want to see how it works or modify it yourself
You'll need to download the OpenWRT SDK (Linux Only) and follow this guide for compiling software: Eric Bishop's Writing and Compiling A Simple Program for OpenWRT (just follow Part I)
Makefile place in /OpenWrt-SDK-Linux-i686-1/package/carserver/
Makefile place in /OpenWrt-SDK-Linux-i686-1/package/carserver/src
carserver.c place in /OpenWrt-SDK-Linux-i686-1/package/carserver/src
Your compiled ipkg will show up in /OpenWrt-SDK-Linux-i686-1/bin/packages. Then
# scp carserver_1_mipsel.ipk root@<router_ip>:/tmp/.
to copy it to the router. SSH in and install it.
Great Resource
There seems to a free e-book on the WRT54G series of routers called the Linksys WRT54G Ultimate Hacking. I believe it's meant to be free. Google Books has the whole book viewable. It can also be downloaded here: (password: ____ ) This book outlines how to add a serial port, setup the software, as well as a bunch of other hacks.
Edit: (September 20, 2008)
I've been contacted by one of the authors. It isn't a free e-book. You can view the whole book on Google Books here or for a more convenient format and to support the authors, check it out at Amazon. It's a great book!
Getting the Serial Port Working
We need to use TTS/1, so if you only add one serial port -- make sure its that one. Assuming you have OpenWRT WhiteRussian v0.9 installed, SSH in to the router. The instructions in the book linked above are a bit outdated. Here is the updated version:
# ipkg update
# ipkg install setserial
# cd /usr/sbin
# wget http://www.jbprojects.net/projects/wifirobot/stty.tgz
# tar -zxvf stty.tgz
# chmod 755 stty
Add the following lines to /etc/init.d/custom-user-startup to make the serial port work on start-up and have the CarServer automatically start.
/usr/sbin/setserial /dev/tts/1 irq 3
/usr/sbin/stty -F /dev/tts/1 raw speed 9600
/bin/carserver &
Running Wifi_Robot Client App:
wifi_robot_client.zip
This file contains both the VB6 source code and compiled EXE. You can just extract the wifi_robot_client.exe and config.txt you don't want to deal with the programming stuff. The project will open and compile in VB6 if you'd like to modify it. It's Windows-only, but if anyone wants to make an alternative client app, I'll be happy to post it here and give you credit. This software is just slightly modified from the Computer Controller RC Car project posted a few years back.
Microcontroller Firmware
PIC
You'll need a PIC programmer to burn the firmware. Personally I use a P16PRO40 that I bought on eBay. There are many pic programmers that you can purchase or make yourself for a few dollars worth of parts. You can compile the HEX yourself using Microchip's MPLAB or just download and program the HEX file provided. The PIC asm is based off of this PIC16F628 UART Test guide.
car_pic.asm
car_pic.HEX
Arduino (Freeduino MaxSerial)
You can follow these tutorials to get your Arduino up and running fast. The code can be downloaded to the Freeduino MaxSerial without an extra programmer.
car_arduino.c
If you're using a Freeduino MaxSerial, make sure you complete the small hardware modification that will stop the Freeduino from resetting every time it receives data from the router serial port. See the hardware section above for more technical details of the problem.
Download All Files
wifi_robot_software.zip
This zip-file contains all of the compiled binaries and source code mentioned above.
Disclaimer
I have done my best to ensure to all information above is accurate. If there are any errors, please e-mail at
and I'll make any corrections.
Measurements and Benchmarks
Top Speed
To get the maximum speed I setup to tape lines 3m apart and filmed the car while I made several passes. The camera records at 30fps, so I have +/- 3.3% error from the camera and maybe +/- 1% error from the tape lines.
The car could travel 3m in 0.7 seconds (21 out of 30 frames in 1 second).
Top Speed: 4.3m/s = 15.5km/h = 9.6miles/h
Distance
I took the router in to a big field. I could connect with my laptop up to 500m away (at 1Mb). After that distance, I could no longer connect. The alternative firmware (OpenWRT) allows you to increase the output power. I tried modifying this value, but it made no difference at all to the distance I was able to connect to it. Perhaps my laptop (Dell Inspiron 6000) which has always had good wifi connectivity (better than my friend's 6400), may be the limiting factor.
Data Rates
Control Signals: 3.5KB/s
Camera: 50-190KB/s
The camera used more/less bandwidth depending on how much light was in the image. If there was lots of light, it would use more bandwidth.
If the car was to be driven from very far away, the router would continually negotiate a lower speed until it reached 1Mb (megabit). At this speed, the camera wouldn't be able to send back data, but the control signals would still be working.
Power Measurements
I noticed whenever the current changed during car bootup and noted the time. The measurements were done on the battery side before the voltage was dropped down to whatever voltage the device needed. Measurements were taken when the batteries had been used for about 10 minutes and V=15.3V. Since the current was measured here, the current going in to the device at a lower voltage would be higher. All measurements were completed with a Fluke 187 True RMS Multimeter. The last measurement noted was when the device reached a steady-state.
Camera
Time (seconds) |
Current (mA @ 15.3V) |
Current (mA @ 9.2V) |
Power (W) |
0 |
39 |
65 |
0.6 |
5 |
58 |
96 |
0.9 |
8 |
98 |
163 |
1.5 |
Router
Time (seconds) |
Current (mA @ 15.3V) |
Current (mA @ 12V) |
Power |
0 |
185 |
235 |
2.8 |
23 |
263 |
335 |
4.0 |
30 |
250 |
319 |
3.8 |
Horn
Time (seconds) |
Current (mA @ 15.3V) |
Current (mA @ 9.2V) |
Power |
0 |
40 |
66 |
0.6 |
Car
State |
Current (mA @ 15.3V) |
Current (mA @ 12V) |
Power |
Booting 0 - 23s |
Fluctuates ~400 |
510 |
6.1 |
PIC+LED, Voltage Regulators, 2 control circuit boards (no router or camera) |
102 |
130 |
1.6 |
After Booting, not driving (steady-state) |
479 |
611 |
7.3 |
Driving - Accelerating |
5500 |
7012 |
84.1 |
Driving - Constant Speed |
4000 |
5100 |
61.2 |
Note: The driving measurements aren't as accurate because it's hard to read the multiemeter while holding a laptop to drive the car and running down the street after the car. heh. Those numbers are accurate +/- 0.1A.
Steering takes very little power. Once the wiper circuit detects that the wheels have turned, it stops turning them. This happens in < 1 second.
Its been my experience that the batteries last for about 1.5hrs under normal use.
Temperature / Over Heating
From the above power measurements we can see that the transistors are driving over 7A @ 12V when accelerating. They're rated for 5A, so they get pretty warm.
The transistor temperature after 25 mins of use indoors (hence lots of accelerating from starting and stopping and not going at max speed very often) was 89°C. The motor was also getting pretty warm at 85°C. When running the car outside, it doesn't seem to get near as hot. Probably because you're driving at a constant speed more often than inside. The transistors are rated for up to 150°C, so I think we're ok. I don't have any information on the motor though.
Project Costs
Item |
Cost* |
Car |
6 |
2nd control board (from another car) |
6 |
Router |
73 |
Camera |
115 |
Batteries |
67 |
Horn |
3 |
PIC circuit |
6 |
Misc: nuts, bolts, screws, project box, wires, connectors |
20 |
Total |
296 |
* Costs include sales tax and shipping and are rounded to the nearest dollar. Prices are in Canadian dollars.
Resources
Here are a bunch of related links that I've found informative, helpful, or interesting.
Description |
Link |
| OpenWRT, the Linux distro I'm running on the router (this page tells you how to install) | |
| WRT54G Ultimate Hacking Book | |
| WRT54G hacking site affiliated with the book | |
| Great TCP tutorials in a bunch of different languages | |
| Drive transistor datasheet | |
| 7.5A 12V regulator datasheet LT1083 | |
| Realtek TX2/RX2 Remote Control Car Chipset datasheet | |
| Pin-compatible TX2/RX2 datasheet | |
| Network Camera Information (Panasonic BL-C1) | |
| Eric Bishop's Writing and Compiling A Simple Program for OpenWRT | |
| Similar project to what I've done, but with a larger vehicle and its much slower | |
| Similar project to what I've done, but with self-built H-bridge (it overheats and stops working) | |
| MaxSerial Arduino-compatible Freeduino with a real DB9 serial port | |
| Lots of Arduino Information | |
| How-to for serial communication with the PIC16F628 |
If you liked the project or write-up, add a comment below or send me an e-mail at
.
Comments
I am having some trouble with trying to figure out the proper way to build a power rail. I am using a single 12 volt 4800 mah battery.
http://cgi.ebay.com/12V-4800mAH-Portable-Li-ion-Rechargeable-Battery-Pack-/290470829773?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a1691ecd
I need 12 volts for the router, 5 volts for the Pic and camera and 9.6 volts for the car. I have built a single adjustable voltage regulator using a LM317 but never a multi one. Any help or a link I would be grateful for.
John
Posted by John on 2010-09-3 @ 09:04
Hi. I wan't to make a similar robot and need a little help. My project is a wifi controlled gun mount with camera and lot of image processing. I know how to do image processing but don't know anything about linux and network programming. For image processing I'll probably be using OpenCV(a C++ library) or else MATLAB
Can someone please explain to me the purpose of each part of program?
first of all why do we need to replace linux with Open-WRT ?
What is the purpose of CarServer ?
How does the router send its packets to serial port ?
My other option is to use 2 laptops. Data sent from one latptop to other through wifi which manipulates the data and issues control signals through serial port. But I want to avoid using 2 computers.
Please help anyone
Posted by Saad Ali on 2010-08-31 @ 23:05
Information is structured and organised, but my oly query is if this can be done as a final year proj for a BE course(comp sc)??
Posted by Prarthana Sampath on 2010-08-31 @ 21:56
http://www.eluxuryc-mall.com/ louis vuitton purses <strong><ahref="hthttp://shannarileyblog.com
tp://www.cheapghdshair.net/">ghd hair straightener sale</a></strong> photo of a business suit in the window. He invested his savings, bought thousands of yards of fine Turkish fabrics, and recruited the best tailors from his hometown.'Nine-piece special' for $400He still remembers his first customer, a US soldier who was so pleased with his suit that he brought in a dozen friends who ordered the same. The shop also sold handbags, jewelry, and T-shirts for a nonexistent Hard Rock Cafe Baghdad, but most customers were lured by Ozkan's $400 "nine-piece special": pants, jacket, vest, two shirts, tie, belt, handkerchief, and cufflinks.Nearly two months after the fire, Ozkan's newly reloca<strong><a href="http://www.cheapghdshair.net/">ghd hair straightener sale</a></strong>
<strong><a href="http://www.edhardykleidungshop.com/">billig ed hardy</a></strong>
Posted by buy cheap wow gold on 2010-08-31 @ 20:37
this a very project for final year students and iam also done it. this site is very help to done my work better.
Posted by jitendra soni on 2010-08-31 @ 00:41
It's so tough to encounter right information on the blog. I realy loved reading this post. It has strengthen my faith more. You all do such a great job at such Concepts...can't tell you how much I, for one appreciate all you do
Posted by Instant Page Rank Booster Deals on 2010-08-29 @ 02:18
Its very awesome article,all the content is so beneficial and valuable for us.presentation of article is very good,so I will bookmark it for sharing it with my friends.Thanks for sharing nice and pretty post.
Posted by Bookmarking on 2010-08-29 @ 02:17
Wonderful article! Very nicely documented. :)
Cheers,
Ashish
Posted by Ashish on 2010-08-27 @ 06:58
I am a student and i m doing a project for my final year.
My project is about Wifi Controlled robotic car. In this project i want to control a robotic car placed in one wifi zone with the help of the mobile phone. The robotic car should have a camera which will capture images and send it back to the Mobile phone. I want to develop an application on the mobile phone using J2ME. Plz help me how should i start with the project. Plz guide me for the various components required for the hardware of the robotic car.
Waiting for your reply.
Posted by Rohan Botre on 2010-08-26 @ 21:58
damn. I need a thing like this! Not for useful purposes. But defentitly for fascination. :-)
Posted by mittelmeer kreuzfahrt on 2010-08-24 @ 12:25
its nice ....if the is an video tutor it ll be very nice......... am waiting for improvement........
Posted by SIDHARTH on 2010-08-24 @ 04:13
me and my group are planning to make this wifi robot but with some changes. we want to use arm processor do you think it will be compatible and the cost is also a problem so can u give any suggestions what can be done.
Posted by sibgat on 2010-08-23 @ 01:01
Hello
I have my WiFi Robot all built and working. I have been running all circuits off a power supply. I have been pricing batteries(2) on Ebay and they can been a little expensive.
Question:
I have a old laptop battery here, 14.8 volts. Can I use this to power the Car?
Posted by John on 2010-08-16 @ 21:29
The wifi robot control software is written for Windows. The router runs linux. You won't find a router running windows.
Posted by Jon on 2010-08-14 @ 20:43
If I wan't to make the code in windows then which language i can use?
Posted by Simran on 2010-08-14 @ 09:32
If I wan't to make the code in windows then which language i can use?
Posted by Simran on 2010-08-14 @ 09:31
Guide to add serial ports:
http://www.jbprojects.net/articles/wrt54gl_mods/
Posted by Jon on 2010-08-10 @ 23:03
where is the guide to add a serial port
Posted by chris on 2010-08-10 @ 22:55
u really have a smooth way to deliver information, thanks for the clear efforts ur making.
Posted by ClubPenguinCheats on 2010-08-10 @ 22:51
Press 't' to connect.
As long as the carserver software is running on the router and you can ping it, the vb client will connect.
Posted by Jon on 2010-08-10 @ 22:28
When I start the WiFi Client software in the box next to the arrows it states "NOT sending data".
I have a cable to the router, not wireless. I can ping the router and go online. Wondering why it's not sending the data. At this point I'm not sure were to look for the problem. Any help I would be grateful for.
Thanks
Posted by John on 2010-08-10 @ 22:15
You can just download the compiled version if you just want to use it. You don't need to compile it yourself.
However, to compile it yourself...
From the article:
You'll need to download the OpenWRT SDK (Linux Only) and follow this guide for compiling software: Eric Bishop's Writing and Compiling A Simple Program for OpenWRT (just follow Part I) <http://gargoyle-router.com/old-openwrt-coding.html>
Please read the article carefully. There is a lot of information there.
Posted by Jon on 2010-07-28 @ 23:12
Thanks. I'll go give it a try.
another thing. i tried compiling the carserver but it keeps looking for the carserver.o. why is that?
Posted by Benedicere on 2010-07-28 @ 21:02
Use X-WRT v0.9 instead on the router instead. I haven't tried it with any other versions.
Posted by Jon on 2010-07-28 @ 08:25
Hi Jon,
I am new to Linux system. I am using ubuntu 9.10. My router's firmware is Openwrt backfire 10.03. How will i compile the carserver? Here is the output when i tried to install your carserver.c:
Collected errors:
* pkg_hash_fetch_best_installation_candidate: Packages for carserver found, but incompatible with the architectures configured
* opkg_install_cmd: Cannot install package carserver.
Posted by Benedicere on 2010-07-28 @ 02:34
I used 0.1uF capacitors. That was recommended in the datasheet for the MAX232A. Different variations of the chip will recommend different values of capacitors, so check the datasheet for your particular chip.
Posted by Jon on 2010-07-24 @ 14:19
hi jon, just wondering are the capacitors on the max232 line driving chips 0.1uF or 1uF???
would appreciate it if you could just clarify this.
thanks and great project :)
Posted by phil harper on 2010-07-24 @ 06:47
hello, can you email me how the router connect with the pic microcontroller??? Thanks .
Posted by caskil on 2010-07-15 @ 07:59
can u use Linksys WRT54G router instead of Linksys WRT54GL router
Posted by Chris on 2010-07-9 @ 02:10
pls mail me the circuit diagram of hole project pls mail me as fast as u can
Posted by Chris on 2010-07-7 @ 23:14
@Huub
The wifi robot client is trying to connect to the carserver program on the router. The carserver program must be running on the router (see instructions for getting it to start automatically) and you must be able to connect to the router (i.e., be able to ping it). For testing, I would recommend you connect to the router using an Ethernet cable.
If the carserver program is running on the router and you can connect to it, the wifi robot client (VB App) will be able to talk to it and you won't get that error.
Posted by Jon on 2010-07-4 @ 09:20
Hello Jon,
Thanks verry much for the great project, i am now trying to integrate this in my highschool project. But i am having exactly the same problem as david, who posted this:
==================================================
Hi jon,
thanks for the great project and the great documents.
i have reached the last step now , but when ever i try to connect to the router using the vb6 program i get socket error 10061:connection is forcefully rejected.
i checked my antivirus and firewall , and even disabled them.
nothing seems to change.
what could be the problem?
is there a way to figure if the car-server is working probably ?
yours
Posted by david on 2009-11-15 @ 15:40
==================================================
Could you tell me how to fix it or maybe give me his email addres so that i can ask him how he fixed it? It would be a great help, since i really dont now what the problem could be.
Thanks in advance!
Posted by Huub on 2010-07-4 @ 08:56
fine article ....
anybody can simply manufacture,,,this wifi robot...
am really expecting such technical article again.
Posted by remshad on 2010-07-3 @ 04:35
I can't figure out where does the 4 wires from the Pic16f628a go on my steering assembly?
My steering box has 7 wires!
LOL
Any help I would be grateful for.
Posted by John on 2010-06-29 @ 18:48
pls mail me the circuit diagram of hole project pls mail me as fast as u can
Posted by yash wagh on 2010-06-24 @ 08:01
Great invention - looks pretty cool.
Posted by pub quizzes on 2010-06-23 @ 14:45
Hello
Can I ask complete Schematic map and circuit to send too me .
My Email Is : K.Aghaei@Gmail.com
I'm grateful for your help ...
And your project is really interesting .
Have nice moment .
Posted by Tavana on 2010-06-21 @ 02:33
great project
i will wish a new version with gsm via cellular
something like rc gsm controller
via tones something like that
thanks
nice project
Posted by cyterx on 2010-06-16 @ 17:26
I am Mr James Barry, a reputable, legitimate & an accredited company money
Lender. I loan money out to individuals in need of financial assistance. Do
you have a bad credit or you are in need of money to pay bills? I want to use
this medium to inform you that i render reliable beneficiary assistance as
I'll be glad to offer you a loan. No credit check, 100% Guaranteed.
email:jamesbarryloanhome@gmail.com
Posted by James Barry on 2010-06-10 @ 11:47
i am not having parts
where should i get it in india
Posted by akash pawar on 2010-06-6 @ 22:20
excellent article and nicely analysed.informative post n an interesting read
regards
Posted by Teichpumpe on 2010-05-30 @ 00:52
Some people must really be bored
Posted by Daniel on 2010-05-28 @ 15:34
Some people must really be bored
Posted by majorpain on 2010-05-28 @ 15:33
Hi there,
I'm trying to build a "3grobot" with a portable 3g router, so the car can be operated from a 3g connection. At the present I have a wifi webcam connected to a portable 3g router. After connecting to the Internet the 3g router updates it's ip (dyndns) and I can operate the ptz camera by accessing it's web interface.
Do you think you could make a v2 of this tutorial with a 3g router instead of the dlink router?
This is probably way out of this topic but I've found a portable linux box at http://www.korenix.com/jetbox-industrial-communication-computer-8152-overview.html, they're quite expensive at the present, MSRP: $975.00 at http://www.industrialdirect.com/JETBOX8152_p/jetbox8152.htm, but I imagine that's probably very easy to connect the 3g modem/3g router or any serial/usb device to this box and operate the car, camera or any other devices from a web interface.
Korenix.com also has cheaper models for lower prices and they're probably enough for this type of project. It would also be nice to have some sort of gps tracking device installed, with 3g we can control the car from long distances and we don't want to loose it.
A playstation gamepad to control the car would be 5 starts, (I'm probably asking too much!).
I'm not sure if you have the time, will or resources to build a project with the characteristics above, if you have, it would be a huge upgrade to this project.
regards,
Lobito
Posted by Pedro Lobito on 2010-05-28 @ 12:33
Verry nice job, but I was wondering if it would be possible to add a speaker to the robot and a microphone to the computer, so you could speak at bystanders?
Posted by huub on 2010-05-26 @ 13:13
How much
Posted by butterfly valve on 2010-05-24 @ 20:16
Fun toy car
Posted by steel valve on 2010-05-24 @ 20:15
I like you blog
Posted by safety valve on 2010-05-24 @ 20:14
can i use any version of Linksys WRT54G series instead of WRT54GL??
Posted by vespar on 2010-05-17 @ 01:36
I'm having a problem understanding how the linksys hooks up to the steering and drive portion of the car. Where do they hook up to each other? Is the max or PIC needed if you don't plan on hooking the serial port to the linksys? Is there a simpler way to interface between the linksys and controls of the car?
Thanks
Posted by ezugner on 2010-05-16 @ 05:14
wow! thanks for that great write up. this is exactly the project I have been thinking about and am so glad someone did all the hard work. We are looking at using a boat though to do some water quality sampling so should have similar needs. thanks again.
Posted by Sciphone i9 on 2010-05-12 @ 20:00
Hey,
very n1 jop!!
can you Programm that in C that 1 can use the ATmega169? i have no plan how to begin so it is very n1 if you do this. (my english is very bad i´m German but i hope it´s okay ;) )
CU
Stikkx
Posted by Stikkx on 2010-05-4 @ 04:42
Would it be easier to replace "carserver.c" with "ser2net" so that you don't have to hardcode /dev/tts/1 and it would be more compatible with any OpenWrt supported router? ser2net could be found in the OpenWrt packages.
Edit /etc/init.d/setserial
Code:
#!/bin/sh /etc/rc.common
# Copyright (C) 2006 OpenWrt.org
START=15
boot() {
/usr/sbin/setserial /dev/tts/1 irq 3
/bin/stty -F /dev/tts/1 speed 9600 raw
/usr/sbin/ser2net -u &
}
Edit /etc/ser2net.conf
Code:
# <TCP port>:<state>:<timeout>:<device>:<options>
1500:raw:3600:/dev/tts/1:9600 NONE 1STOPBIT 8DATABITS -XONXOFF LOCAL -RTSCTS
Anybody can easily replace /dev/tts/1 with /dev/ttyS0 for Atheros-based routers.
"stty" could be found in the OpenWrt "coreutils" package. Just run 7-Zip to extract it and upload to your router. But I think "ser2net" already took care of the serial port.
BTW, this is a great project.
Paul
Posted by fyi on 2010-04-29 @ 22:03
Hi!
I am going to do a project at the school. Your project is amazing, and I think, I'm going to do somethig similar. I want you to help me with the PIC, last year I worked with the PIC16F84A, but is not the same, well I'm not sure. I would be very grateful, if you could tell me about it! Thanks see ya!
Posted by Silvina on 2010-04-20 @ 16:48
Felicidades, es un gran proyecto, el Linksys debe recompensante, que estás brilliante hombre, que estás bien preparado en este dominio, este personas lo necesitamos en este mundo, creativo como usted, ¿quién hubiera pensado un ajuste también router Wi-Fi, una vez más felicitaciones! No se qué edad tienes ,pero los viajes espaciales te espera!
----------------------------------------------
Congratulations, it's a great project, the Linksys they should reward you, you're cool man, you are well trained in the field, such people need in this world, creative like you, who would have thought a Adjustment also Wi-Fi router, congratulations once again! I do not know what age you think space travel awaits you!
---------------------------------------------
Congratulations, is a great project, the Linksys should be rewarding, brightest you man, you're well prepared in this domain, it needs it in this world, creative as you, who would have thought an adjustment also Wi-Fi router, a Again congratulations! It is not how old you are, but space travel awaits you!
Posted by Koko-Madrid on 2010-04-18 @ 14:22
need to do this with an RC Helicopter
Posted by Buck Rogers on 2010-04-15 @ 02:46
i liked ur work
but i want to extend 1 thing in it
that how can i increase the range of wi fi control
that is from 500m to 1 km or more
thnks
Posted by pavan on 2010-04-7 @ 22:44
can we use WRT54g version 3.0? instead of WRT54GL?
Posted by Sarosh on 2010-04-6 @ 23:59
can we use WRT54g version 3.0? instead of WRT54G?
Posted by Sarosh on 2010-04-6 @ 23:58
The honk does not sound. I followed the schematic but what voltage has the buzzer be
Posted by Anthon on 2010-04-5 @ 19:11
I had know The version that this project uses is the customizable Linux firmware Open-WRT. Along with great software for this router, a bunch of hardware hacks are possible. With a cheap, hackable, embedded Linux system at my disposal -- I knew I had to do something cool with it. So the Wifi Robot idea was born.
Posted by solar street lights on 2010-03-30 @ 19:37
really very intreseting
Posted by hardik on 2010-03-27 @ 01:04
greetings from germany
Posted by Reiner on 2010-03-13 @ 08:54
hello sir,
I found this document very useful,I want to do a project like this I am doing MCA and do not know Electronics, so i want some more help on this project.can you send synopsis and report of your project.
kadambini(kadambini.kumari@gmail.com)
Posted by kadambini on 2010-03-8 @ 21:48
hey all, can anyone compile me the the program carserver_1_mipsel.ipk for fonera 2100? i'm trying but it gives me some errors :S thanks in advance
Posted by Pedro on 2010-03-6 @ 04:05
Hi sir...a awesome project..i need something like this for my final year engg.can u plz send me its synopsis n report.n plz let me knw whr xctly u r located so i can contact you.arindam_bangalore@yahoo.co.in
thnx a lot..
Posted by Arindam on 2010-03-2 @ 07:26
Thanks so much for the in depth-description, I'm looking into this for a final project in my engineering class.
Posted by Mike on 2010-03-2 @ 05:14
SO COOL
Posted by Joshua on 2010-02-22 @ 11:23
thanks for such detailed description.....we gonna do thz project for a national competition....and do tell the estimated amount for thz project sir....thankyou....viji
Posted by viji on 2010-02-22 @ 09:45
your project is very extra ordinary please suggest me a wifi based project which can be used in real time applications
Posted by ravikiran on 2010-02-18 @ 22:39
i am a beginner.... i am much interested in avesome project .... so could you please send me full details with circuits through email sir
Posted by anwar on 2010-02-12 @ 08:24
Hi, JB u share great information, i was searching for this information in verious sides for my Crocodile research project. I like to build one robotic vehicle, so it can be help me in my project. Thanks
Posted by harshal on 2010-02-10 @ 14:10
Hello Jon, I was wondering if you can help me with a problem in opening the "Wifi robot client app". The exe file gives me an error of... "component 'mswinsck.ocx' or one of its dependencies not correctly registered: a file is missing or invalid"
Thanks
Posted by Freddy on 2010-02-10 @ 14:00
sorry, my adress:andre.herrmann@freenet.de
Posted by Andre on 2010-02-8 @ 07:06
sir this is nice project please give me some details of how we create serial port on router thank you
Posted by vaibhav on 2010-02-8 @ 03:52
Hello,
I build this Wifi RC Car on the example of Jon's Car. It's based on a "Snowgroomer" Who is interested in this car, especiially in Germany? Please write me an Mail.
Regards
Andre
Posted by Andre on 2010-02-7 @ 07:30
@Jon, Jim: I'm a bit confused by the voltage divider to hook up an Arduino to the serial port. Shouldn't it be the other way round:
GND - 10k - WRT RX
Arduino TX - 10k - 10k - WRT RX
The way you drew it, only 1/3 of the Arduino's voltage will reach the WRT (i.e. 5V/3 = 1,7V). The other way round (as above), 2/3 of the voltage reaches the WRT (3,3V).
Or am I being totally stupid here?
Posted by Björn Giesler on 2010-02-4 @ 03:59
Hi Jon,
this is great. I want to do the same, but i don't know where to get such a car with a Realtek RX2/TX2 chips or a pin-compatible alternative. In germany we don't have thrift stores where i could find that cheap cars. they must not be that cheap but should have appropriate chips. could you provide more data about the cars, so i could google for them. maybe i can find them here.
Best regards
Robert
Posted by Robert on 2010-02-1 @ 12:00
hey first i congratulate to you that you create this robotic car.i am also trying to create robotic car but pls can you tell me how to insert the programming in IC's pls if possible give me the detail information of circuit and IC and also send me programming pls.
Posted by prathamesh on 2010-01-27 @ 22:27
We also are going to pull-up the DTR pin to +9V. With this quick hardware modification, it basically adds a program-locked mode so that new code can't be uploaded and the microcontroller can't be reset by the serial port. If you need to reprogram it, just flip the switch. +9V is a pin with easy access on the Freeduino MaxSerial.
Posted by ball valves on 2010-01-26 @ 17:13
Jon, this is a great project! You have inspired me to run out and buy all the parts. Do you have any more documentation on this project? I could use some clarification on a few things, Thanks.
Keep up the great work! (Everybody should donate to your great website)
Posted by Freddy on 2010-01-25 @ 19:11
Hey JB,
Great project!!
I was searching for a similar suject for my final year project when i came across ur site.
I would request u please 2 provide me some more details about how u interfaced wifi with the micro-controller.
please mail me at Zeon_12@live.com
Posted by Zeon on 2010-01-17 @ 10:26
Thanks for the information about the serial port. I'm going to try it soon. Nice Project!
Posted by Jay on 2010-01-10 @ 08:08
Thanks to give this much information to me.I search like this info. since 6 months but i cant get it.I request u sir pleas send me more info. about Wireless Robot. If u have the circuit dia of Wireless Robotic kit then please send me.WISH U VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR SIR.
Posted by Yogesh Madake on 2010-01-6 @ 21:13
Thank you for sharing such wonderful
Posted by Dans Kursu on 2009-12-28 @ 05:47
Hi Jon,
I build also a car according to your project. Everything works very well with your Sourcecode and my hardware.
Best regards from Germany
Andre
Posted by Andre on 2009-12-26 @ 04:15
Jon, i am thinking to build this project.
Can you please attach the circuit diagram and the code used to develop this using the ATmega168.
Posted by supro on 2009-12-24 @ 08:11
Your project is very interesting! I am a undergraduate. At present, I have applied your project to my study by taking PIC16f628a and a file (files ถ้ามีหลายตัวน่ะ) which you suggested on website in order to test PIC16f628a. Then I put the program into it and tested in hypertiminal that was showed PIC16f628 alive; however the hypertiminal showed unreadable language.
Therefore, I would
would like you to suggest me to how to set the hypertiminal.
Please email me at mitileelub2005@hotmail.com and kindly let me know as soon as possible.
Posted by sutheera on 2009-12-17 @ 00:00
hey..
how did u attach cam to u r nicrocontroller..?
Posted by janakiram on 2009-12-14 @ 16:03
Hello Jon,
I'd like to use this project as a sort of reference for one me and my team are building, mostly since at the start many of our ideas came from this page, which we are very thankful for. If you have a problem with this, please e-mail me and notify me of any concerns.
Once again, thank you for the ideas.
Posted by Edemio on 2009-11-28 @ 20:17
im very impressed with ur project...
i would like to know is it to costly for me to build dis kind of robot...
how much is the cost...
can i use the infrared red cctv for the camera..
please reply...
Posted by azrol on 2009-11-27 @ 07:28
ok, makes sense for the most part, but i dont get how you can just connect to the router. Does the router just Emit the wireless signal, or does it get it from somewhere else? Im confused.
Posted by Michael on 2009-11-23 @ 15:10
Hi jon,
thanks for the great project and the great documents.
i have reached the last step now , but when ever i try to connect to the router using the vb6 program i get socket error 10061:connection is forcefully rejected.
i checked my antivirus and firewall , and even disabled them.
nothing seems to change.
what could be the problem?
is there a way to figure if the car-server is working probably ?
yours
Posted by david on 2009-11-15 @ 15:40
Great job. I noticed a lot of people in the comments had requested more detailed information (or documentation) on building the project, and I was wondering, if such information exisited, if you could send it to me as well. That would be very much appreciated, as I'm very much looking forward to doing this project.
Kind regards,
Doug
Posted by Doug on 2009-11-2 @ 15:52
thanks for sharing...
Posted by 电磁铁 on 2009-10-30 @ 04:59
thanks for sharing.
Posted by 电磁铁 on 2009-10-30 @ 04:56
Hi Jon,
Thanks for putting this page together and explaining everything in such methodical, logical detail. I'm considering doing a similar project, though I am constrained by lack of money. I do have a lot of hardware around though: most of it getting old now. I think I might use an old PDA (Sharp Zaurus SL-5500?) instead of WRT54GL, though I have one of those as well. The current drain of a PDA is fairly large, compared to a WRT, and I'd need a camera as well. I have a camera CF card and could use that. Also, I might use a Bluetooth Arduino, if I can only get the hang of uploading programs to it (it is really picky about when it will accept code). I found this site after typing 'wifi robot', having seen the Rovio Wi-Fi robot in a catalogue. I was totally shocked at how expensive the Rovio is, and I am determined to do this myself and save money/re-use my junk. Thanks! Lex
Posted by Lex Landa on 2009-10-29 @ 17:18
Hey man
really superb project ! i mean really amazing, me and my friends started on a project similar to this one so far so good, but after we did the hack on the router, same one ur using wrt54gl , we are not able to configure it correctly !!we did alot of searching and nothing is working for us ..
would you pleasseee
pleasseeee send the code u used to this email
gothiclord@hotmail.com
We are stuck !! :(
Posted by karim on 2009-10-22 @ 01:46
Its awesome, i just appreciate this invention its really superb.Impressed and i got its pic and introduce it on "http://www.cheapwebhostingseller.com">cheapwebhostingseller</a>, lot of my friends were ask about it and i gave your site's URL and after checking this they were speechless,one of my friend also got the pic of Wifi Robot and saved it in his favorite ="http://www.businesswebhostingplans.com">web hosting</a> files.
Posted by leslie on 2009-10-16 @ 04:16
sir, can you send me your documents about what you have done? i really need your documents for our thesis... thank you so much sir!!!
Posted by Chester Lumauig on 2009-10-16 @ 02:13
hey man,
amazing project !!! am choosing something similar as my project , am a 4th year engineer
can you please send me all the details and step by step how did you build ur project ?!
and the exact things u used
please,
you would help me alot :)
Posted by Adam on 2009-10-8 @ 12:45
Really nice project, but i think its quite expensive. You can use serial to Wifi modules which are low cost.
Anyway its a cool project.
Posted by Binu on 2009-09-30 @ 01:44
i am having troble with camram interface and conection
Posted by matt on 2009-09-26 @ 15:22
this is a great project, you would need much more Mhz if you want to route the path with some AI engine.
I really like the project, I'm doing a similar one with the automation of a sailboat.
Please visit my page, I would like your opinion.
www.hernancurras.com.ar/projects.html
cheers,
hernan
Posted by Hernan G Curras on 2009-09-24 @ 07:48
Maybe in version '2.0' of this wifi robot, you can use a Fonera 2.0 router (www.fon.com). Fon has a smaller form factor, low in power consumption, USB webcam support, apps, but also USB GPRS/UMTS/EDGE/HSDPA stick support. Only a solar panel is missing to recharge the batteries :-)
Posted by Timmy on 2009-09-14 @ 13:04
why not connect a gps to the serial port and send the info back to a pc, and get the pc to drive the car using a tomtom like software, it wouldnt be to hard to program using google maps too ...
Posted by Richard on 2009-09-6 @ 05:58
THIS IS EXCELLENT!
the most incredible BOT i've seen so far-bravo!
i'll really appreciate if u like include the circuit diagram so interested folks could try it out even if its just the main wireless transmitter receiver circuitcommunicating with the iphone. Thanxs man...keep it up!
Posted by andrew on 2009-09-2 @ 14:22
Sir. can you send me step by step the procedure on how to make one of these "wifi robots"? it looks impressive to me and i am interesting in making one of these. I also want to ask if i can use more affordable camera rather than using this one??.. thanks for your answer. Godbless and gudluck to your other projects..
Cedie,
from now on, i'm one of your fans.. :)
Posted by Cedie on 2009-08-31 @ 08:02
Hi Jon,
I'm teaching a course in technological design and am interested in using this project for one of my class projects. Can you please send me any/all details you have for building this project step by step. Thanks Jon
Joe
Posted by Joe Fragale on 2009-08-28 @ 21:38
hi i m student of4th year e.c.
in this detail u are explain the wifi car control but how to make car receiver circuit..
microprocessor circuit is tx circuit or receiver circuit?
my mail id is :- shaharpit6522000@yahoo.com.au
Posted by shah on 2009-08-26 @ 08:15
SIR I M ARPIT SHAH
SIR
IN THIS SITE ALL REQUIRE DETAILS ARE AVAILABLE FOR MAKING WIFI ROBO
PLESE TELL ME..........
Posted by shaharpit on 2009-08-26 @ 01:56
hi
i m arpit shah
student of engg.
plese send me more details about wi-fi robots
Posted by arpit on 2009-08-26 @ 01:40
sir , firstly i would like to congratulate u for ur excellent and innovative work......sir we are working on a similar kind of project...we are having a toy car and it works with dual frequency remote control...but we are to trying controlled it by our computer system.....but we are facing problem in interfacing.....we dont know how to interface it with the system and what are the software and hardware requirements .....how can we get those things in india.....how much it will cost.....which battery should we use so that it works better and must be compatible with our car........sir, how can we increase the range of the transmitter so that it can run on a bigger area.....sir, please guide us with your valuable and technical knowledge........
Posted by arun garg on 2009-08-18 @ 08:26
would it be possible to use a simple, cheap usb camera with a router with usb capability?
Posted by S on 2009-08-10 @ 18:24
Hi..................
well doen jon
Posted by Anuruddha Lankananda on 2009-08-9 @ 02:21
hello sir i m doing m.tech project same as u mentioned above.this nice project. so that i need ur help sir,i have problem how to interphase webcam and wifi router to pic microcontroller and there interphasing programming.can u send me all details above i have mentioned plz. sir help me
Posted by KAPIL KOTANGALE on 2009-08-7 @ 02:46
This is a great project. please send me the detail information of this project i want to build it by using PIC16F628A
Posted by mihir on 2009-08-6 @ 08:01
can u sent me the detail of this project.please
really want it for my project....
yeddthy@yahoo.com
thanxxx!!
Posted by yed on 2009-08-3 @ 09:47
can u sent me the detail of this project.please
really want it for my project....
Posted by fareed on 2009-08-3 @ 09:46
if i want this robot can work using window os,what type of router should i used
Posted by nami on 2009-07-11 @ 02:56
this is wonderful project.....i want to built one.
can u sent me the detail of this project.please
bean_5725@yahoo.com
Posted by nami on 2009-07-10 @ 20:19
this is an awesome project . I'd like to ask sth.Is it possible instead of open wrt to use ddwrt. i would appreciate your answer. thank you
Posted by george on 2009-06-30 @ 02:31
I am 12 yrs old and I want to build this... you think you could either send me a simplified version of this article or send me pics of what a finished procject looks like.
EMAIL: clubpenguinman@ymail.com
P.S. Money's tight, is there a budget-friendly version of this? If so Email!!!
Posted by Tech-Wiz Kid on 2009-06-29 @ 22:03
instead of modding the router can't you just get the router and use a ethernet to serial adapter ???
Posted by Tom on 2009-06-13 @ 02:28
this is hilarious :) Great work
Posted by x on 2009-06-12 @ 21:01
I am trying to do this project and the RC car that I am using has a motorola MC14042BCP chip. Could you tell me how you figured out which pin is for what? The car is a radio shack flame thrower 2. Thanks
Posted by jeremiah on 2009-06-10 @ 10:12
Hi,
If there's any one who completed this project please email me cause i have some questions, i am stuck on something and cannot find any help. My mail is staticxl2@o2.pl or staticxl2@hotmail.com i prefer 1st mail but if anybody will have mailing error please try the 2nd one.
Posted by StaTicX on 2009-05-26 @ 04:22
This is an awesome project. I'm going to try building this, but slightly different. Thank you for sharing!
Posted by Adrian on 2009-05-19 @ 17:04
Jon could You kindly reply emails i sended You ? I am still stuck on the problem i was taking You about.
Please
Posted by staticxl2 on 2009-05-18 @ 09:43
Hi,
I want to thank you for this amazing project. I build my own wifi robot after reading this article. I used PIC18F1220 which enabled me to use C18 and this way I used PWM and IC for driving DC motor.
Thanks a lot.
Posted by plachtic on 2009-05-14 @ 03:31
hi i wold like to do this proyect but i'm new to all this programing and electronics i was wondring if you can send me some links or some help in where to star from tank you
Posted by axel on 2009-04-29 @ 06:31
It would be great if someone comes up with a way to control this via a web page (php maybe?). Unfortunately I'm not that knowledgeable
Posted by David on 2009-04-24 @ 00:21
For the post before this:
This tutorial in jb projects is awesome, however I ran into the same exact problem as you regarding the custom-user-startup.
I am really new too all this, but I did find a build of OpenWRT 0.9 on http://x-wrt.org/ that has the custom-user-startup.
Note that it will not show up in the ssh directories until you actually add something in the web GUI to the startup file.
Hope that helps!
Posted by Dave on 2009-04-19 @ 11:41
please I have a problem and i cant figure it out
i have done all things but when coming to the part of
/etc/init.d/custom-user-startup
i didnt find custom-user-startup how can get it and also how can i edit it ..to put the lines
/usr/sbin/setserial /dev/tts/1 irq 3
/usr/sbin/stty -F /dev/tts/1 raw speed 9600
/bin/carserver &
Posted by Mohamed on 2009-04-17 @ 14:58
sry 2 burst ur buble but those arent "high-end" rc batteries those are cheapshit batteries high-end batteries are made by venom racing and why did you build that on shuch a shitty platform why not a real rc car?
Posted by Ryan Borden on 2009-04-10 @ 13:22
its very good idea. but how many pay this project?
Posted by uçak biletleri on 2009-04-10 @ 07:01
this is very interesting and funy usage idea. ty for information. maybe i can do it.
Posted by uçak bileti on 2009-04-10 @ 06:57
Hi, I'm doing your project. is very good. please could send me the diagram of the power source. you used to feed each component. thanks. my email is neto@live.com
Posted by Ernesto on 2009-04-9 @ 15:06
hello i was wondering if you have all the programing on the article from your website
Posted by wyatt on 2009-04-6 @ 15:02
Great project. Helpfull Information. Very good code. Using the information on this site and the links i was able to build my Road Geek (Wifi Robot) using a different motor controller circuit and different router.
Thanks for everything Jon Bennet.
Pedro Vieira
Posted by Pedro Vieira on 2009-03-30 @ 04:09
Jon, if you;
ddwrt a new router. Set it to repeater bridge mode and connect to the car through that router.
Add the netgear 7dbi antennas (2set, $15ea ebay) to both routers.
You'll get a MUCH larger driving distance.
With the new router you could connect a directional antenna for theoretically miles of coverage.
car+wrt(AP mode)> - - -wifi- - -...
...- - - <wrt(repeater bridge)>----eth---<comp
Posted by NT on 2009-03-28 @ 13:54
Your are a bad-ass. Excellent work and documentation. When I hit the lottery, and donate money for hacking, you will be on the short-list of candidates. Real talk.
Posted by Terry on 2009-03-23 @ 05:06
Hie,
I want to develop this project , I am using an Arduino USB , and I want an expert opinion
I know that I have to do this :
ARDUINO RX - WRT TX
ARD GND - 10k Resistor - 10k Resistor - WRT RX
ARD TX - 10k Resistor - WRT RX
But I want to know if it seems like this
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/7613/pcb.jpg
Your project is very well , I hope you'll continue to develop this kind of cool things
Bye
Ben
Posted by Ben on 2009-03-16 @ 07:33
hye...can i have the information about how to configure the router to have the serial com port.that is connected to microcontroller PIC16F877A..secondly how to install wrt54gl firmware?
Posted by hafiz on 2009-03-11 @ 05:49
hi
how did you know how to benchmark your robot?
I am doing an assignment on RC cars i have to modify one but i have to do it according to legal benchmarks and standards, is there somewhere i can go for this info?
Ive looked nearly everywhere i can think of with no luck, all i want to know is how to benchmark my RC car!
Hope someone can help!
Posted by Samantha on 2009-03-7 @ 21:43
hi
i am trying to make this projects "wifi-robo car".
i am finding some difficulty in making of serial port on the router.
please check whether i am right or wrong:
you have used AD233AK adapter kit to make serial port on the router which consist of max233 and you have also use it outside the router to connect it to the pic micro-controller.
Sir ... why r two MAX233 connected side by side.
i will be thankful i you guide to built serial port on the router.
Posted by foxcat44 on 2009-02-10 @ 22:17
hi
i am trying to make this projects "wifi-robo car".
i am finding some difficulty in making of serial port on the router.
please check whether i am right or wrong:
you have used AD233BK 233A CTS RTS adapter kit to make serial port on the router which consist of max233 and you have also use it outside the router to connect it to the pic micro-controller.
i will be thankful i you guide to built serial port on the router.
Posted by manmohan garg on 2009-02-10 @ 12:23
it is avery good project in future use for many purposes.
Posted by vipul on 2009-02-5 @ 06:16
nice n gr8 work dude
Posted by foxcat on 2009-02-4 @ 20:58
Jon,
This is a great project ... i love it. I have a Linksys WRT54g-TM with DD-WRT v.24. I execute
I SSH into the router and then:
# cd /tmp
# wget http://www.jbprojects.net/projects/wifirobot/carserver_1_mipsel.ipk // then I //
# ipkg install ./carserver_1_mipsel.ipk //then I get the following error:
ERROR: File not found: /jffs/usr/lib/ipkg/lists/whiterussian
You probably want to run `ipkg update'
Any suggestions? thank you
Stephan
to Stephan
I ever do that as u,aften that,i changed white russian openwrt rom,it works,u need flash ur router in openwrt white russian 0.9 version
Posted by rfour on 2009-01-28 @ 21:10
car_server.c
fd = open("/dev/tts/1", O_WRONLY);
if (fd < 0)
{
printf("Could not open port.\n");
}
can i change fd = open("/dev/usb/tts/0",o_WRONLY);
because i need the usb work as ur rs232 1 ,can i?
Posted by rfour on 2009-01-28 @ 21:06
usbserial.c: FTDI FT232BM Compatible converter detected
usbserial.c: FTDI FT232BM Compatible converter now attached to ttyUSB0 (or usb/t
ts/0 for devfs)
when my arduino decimila plug router 7231-4p,it show the information above,i try to run the command u give me,it is not work,i don't know how to used usb to arduino,
/usr/sbin/setserial /dev/usb/tts/0 irq 3
/usr/sbin/stty -F /dev/usb/tts/0 raw speed 9600
/bin/carserver &
Posted by rfour on 2009-01-27 @ 20:56
Jon,
my wrt54g v2.2 router has worked good with arduino decimela usb,only change the ic's first pin(reset pin) with 5v voltage,then add a max232 ,then it will work...it is exciting....thanks so much,but one day,my wrt54g v2.2 was blocken by my one imprudence,i feel very depressed....:(,just because i want add a seires GPS in my wifi car,now,i only have another router,it is belkin 7231-4p,it has a usb port and serial 0 ,i try to used its serial 0,but it is not work with 115200,and seems main program used its port,the 7231-40 don't have serial 1 prot for me add max232,i don't know how to set ur car server to usb into my usb decimila..can u help?thanks so much
Posted by rfour on 2009-01-27 @ 19:22
Jon,
This is a great project ... i love it. I have a Linksys WRT54g-TM with DD-WRT v.24. I execute
I SSH into the router and then:
# cd /tmp
# wget http://www.jbprojects.net/projects/wifirobot/carserver_1_mipsel.ipk // then I //
# ipkg install ./carserver_1_mipsel.ipk //then I get the following error:
ERROR: File not found: /jffs/usr/lib/ipkg/lists/whiterussian
You probably want to run `ipkg update'
Any suggestions? thank you
Stephan
Posted by Stephan on 2009-01-24 @ 05:04
Note: If you're using a usb version of the Arduino, you may be able to just connect the RX & TX pins to a MAX232A and then to the router serial port and may not need this modification. I only have the MaxSerial version, so I can't verify either way.
I have made a usb arduino decimila into max 232
but it is not work,when i test the tx port ,it was work,only rx no work,and show me
avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00
avrdude: stk500_disable(): protocol error, expect=0x14, resp=0x51
i think is it arduino bootloader don't give port to my max232,can u help?give me some advices?
thanks...
Posted by rfour on 2009-01-11 @ 01:12
great idea This is awesome!
Posted by kazuyoshi tlacaelel on 2009-01-10 @ 05:22
i have made one from ur teaching,thanks..but have a problem in openwrt linux,i post it to u,i don't know why?
root@openwrt:~# /usr/sbin/stty -F /dev/tts/1 raw speed 9600
then....it answer me...
/usr/sbin/stty: can't load library 'libgcc_s.so.1'
what do i need to do then?please help
Posted by rfour on 2009-01-8 @ 09:59
how can the Microcontroller circuit be modified for a pic16f84 to be used, in my country there is only this ic
Posted by Salman on 2009-01-2 @ 23:24
hi,
I was wondering if the software will run on Vista.I was also wondering if you needed 2 different circuits and if you need a steering and drive circuits.
Bye
Posted by Patrick on 2008-12-23 @ 19:25
Jon and Jim:
Thanks for all the helpful information you have posted. My partner and I are embarking on attempting to build this cool little car. We'll be using the USB Arduino, and from what I can garner here, there are two methods:
1) Arduino RX/TX to Serial Male on Linksys Router VIA MAX232A -> Serial Female
2) Arduino RX/TX to Serial Male on Linksys Router VIA 3 10k resistors (as Jim suggests)
Is this correct? Any other hints from anyone who has done it with the USB Arduino board?
Thanks very much! Really enjoyed your video example...
Posted by Sue on 2008-12-21 @ 19:02
This looks awesome, but could you go more in depth on how you are able to control the car with the micro controller, like what pins go to what? And, I looked up and have read a great deal about the router, but was unable to find out how to get the TTS/1 COM port, or whatever port needed, wired to the router.
Another idea, I have a couple old laptops that don't have screens, and their keyboards are well not in great shape, lol but in 8th grade I used one to make a "robot car" it had a webcam and everything. I used the parallel port, and attempted to use your Computer controlled RC car design and modify it so it would turn relays on and off which in return would turn 12vdc drills on and off... That was unsucessful, but I had head lights, a siren, and webcam that all worked. I am still not totally sure what I was trying to do was actually possible...
But, lol I am going to attempt this but instead of the network cam and router, I am going to use one of those laptops, and run everything into the computer there. I'd just connect a usb webcam, wire everything through i guess that micro-controller and use vnc or remote desktop connection to "wirelessly" connect to the laptop on the car.
Thought that might bring some ideas for other projects.
Also, if you can possibly help with the interfacing between the computer and the RC car's board or say a series of relays, please help lol.
Thanks.
Posted by Patrick on 2008-12-17 @ 07:01
Nice project!! What do you recommend, to have a position encoding on motor shaft in this project? I am just rebuilding it, but I would like to use continuous servo + encoder...
Posted by Kiev on 2008-12-17 @ 03:15
awesome
Posted by matevž on 2008-12-16 @ 04:54
this is great men,
Posted by Dawid on 2008-12-15 @ 14:38
when i try to run the exe provided ..it says
'mswinsck.ocx or one of its dependencies not correctley registerd a file missing or invalid'
what to do??
Posted by shukk on 2008-12-14 @ 07:50
When you wired the micro controller to the rx2, how did you do it? I know that if you try to solder to a chip it will fry it, right?
(Arduino is what im using)
Posted by Price Powell on 2008-12-9 @ 18:36
question can you do the same thing to a d-link DI-524??
Posted by Tex on 2008-12-7 @ 22:02
Now I know what to do with that old router.
Posted by j4y on 2008-11-28 @ 00:35
you have done some modifications on your project can you send them for me [router / camera ].
plz help me and don't forget nothing for free .
plz tell me the price of those circuits as fast as you can. another email
" andrewlove_2010@yahoo.com "
Posted by andrew on 2008-11-25 @ 02:19
iam in need of the modification that you made on the router to have two serial ports
Posted by engineer beshoy adel on 2008-11-25 @ 02:14
Hi,
will Linksys WAG54G work for this project?
Posted by Freddy on 2008-11-20 @ 09:07
I read Wifi Article i like it very much. I donot have any background in Linux can i do this project. I am not able to understand how to load operating system on WRT54G. Please help me.
Posted by Mudit on 2008-11-19 @ 22:57
hi, i was reading the proyect and it is very amazing what you have done, i was wondering if you can send me more info or help me to built one as yours. may be some electronics diagrams and a little more explanation connecting the router to the pic and the RX2. i have already a linksys WRT54GS V7 and a netgear WGR614V2. i dont undesrtand how you send the data to the router and how the router send it to the pic and then to the rx2. so i will waiting your mail with some help to start building my own wireless car
have a great day and again congratulations
Posted by hector Zarate on 2008-11-19 @ 00:13
hi, i was reading the proyect and it is very amazing what you have done, i was wondering if you can send me more info or help me to built one as yours. may be some electronics diagrams and a little more explanation connecting the router to the pic and the RX2. i have already a linksys WRT54GS V7 and a netgear WGR614V2. i dont undesrtand how you send the data to the router and how the router send it to the pic and then to the rx2. so i will waiting your mail with some help to start building my own wireless car
have a great day and again congratulations
Posted by hector Zarate on 2008-11-19 @ 00:13
Could you post a list of links to each of the components other than the car body and the wireless router? thanks
Posted by Bradley on 2008-10-29 @ 14:31
hey nice work on the car really nice wanted to know if i can send u a car so u can do the same to my car i would love to give this kid who lost his dad in the war. and i would love to give him this toy he loves cars last year i got him a car if u saw what he can do with it it's nuts i make gaming pc and server. let me know if u would like to make one more car for a kid that lost his dad over this war he lives 3 house away from me his name is nick. he looks up to me because me and his dad was great friends let me know email me or u can call me at 9084824165 i dont have alot of money but what ever i can do to make the boy happy ps great work really you out did your sefl!!!!
Posted by Ricardo on 2008-10-27 @ 23:11
@Jessica
Thanks for your comment. In answer to your questions:
1) Yes, the PIC output pins output VCC which is 5V.
2) Yes, the other I/O pins can be used. Note that RB1&RB2 are used for serial communication. Nigel's Pic Tutorials are a good place to learn PIC programming with practical examples (http://www.winpicprog.co.uk/pic_tutorial.htm). There are many other sites on the net that cover basic PIC programming in ASM.
Good luck! E-mail is a better way to reach me if you have more questions.
Posted by Jon on 2008-10-25 @ 16:28
Jon.
I stumbled upon this project while searching for a way to overclock my WRT54GL. Needless to say it will no longer be serving its intended purpose :)
I have a few question regarding your project
1) Does the PIC output the same voltage as VCC (5V) on the pins that are controlling the movement? I am trying to make a custom H-bridge for it since I have a car with a dead control board. I will be using some transistors to switch to a higher current/voltage.
2) Can I use RA4 - RA7 for additional outputs. How about the other outputs starting with RB*? Do you perhaps know of a guide showing an example of how this can be done(if it IS possible)?
Thanks and AWESOME project!
Posted by Jessica on 2008-10-24 @ 15:17
Good work. You know my favourite part? The inbuilt protection mechanism where if you try to go back and forth or left and right at the same time, you can't. That's so exiting!
This is so great. I guess if you've got a hackable linux router, you gotta do something cool with it. Eh?
Posted by Shams Shafiq on 2008-10-24 @ 07:36
i'm going to do a project like this... can we use this process for a vehicle....?
Posted by roman charles on 2008-10-20 @ 04:43
I am interested at your project.Could you kindly e-mail me completed instruction?Many appreciated.
Posted by Jack on 2008-10-16 @ 00:22
@Indu
The camera is a network camera, so it is attached to the router with a normal Ethernet cable.
Posted by Jon on 2008-10-12 @ 23:12
Really nice project!
I think, instead of add ultrabright leds, you most install "near infrared spectrum LEDs" and remove the IR filter from the camera lenses so you could drive the unit even at 0 lux!
Cheers!
Posted by Probo on 2008-10-11 @ 13:32
nice work
Posted by pushkraj on 2008-10-11 @ 11:55
great project dude...
i hav one doubt
sorry if i am stupid...how is the camera connected to the router?
Posted by indu on 2008-10-10 @ 21:52
nice work.
Posted by sam on 2008-10-8 @ 09:55
WoW this is a very nice project ,very good work..
Posted by hex0 on 2008-10-7 @ 17:21
i am interesting in this project and i love it. can you made a car like to me?
if you can how much it will coast me ?
thank you
Posted by sulaim on 2008-10-7 @ 11:02
Make sure your router is connected to the 'net.
Then (as listed in the article) :
SSH in to your router then ...
# cd /tmp
# wget http://www.jbprojects.net/projects/wifirobot/carserver_1_mipsel.ipk
# ipkg install ./carserver_1_mipsel.ipk
Posted by Jon on 2008-10-3 @ 14:53
I have installed in my WRT54GL dd-WRT software and I need how can I install the "carserver_1_mipsel.ipk"
in this operative system. If I execute the "ipkg install ./carserver_1_mipsel.ipk" sentence it show this message:
ERROR: File not found: /jffs/usr/lib/ipkg/lists/whiterussian
You probably want to run `ipkg update'
Thanks and sorry for my english.
Posted by fernando on 2008-10-3 @ 14:34
good project...i want that about compnents/....
Posted by vineet agrawal on 2008-09-26 @ 08:20
Would you make one of these for 350 dollars?
Posted by Evan on 2008-09-24 @ 11:37
Hi, you you post how to wire it all up? and how did you connect the camera to the router I may but the camera and use my router to make it wireless. I have the same one.
Posted by Evan on 2008-09-24 @ 11:29
Hey, nice project!!
For distance you could plug in along the way another router running dd-wrt (of openwrt too) in universal repeater mode. Your signal will be repeated and you will get better coverage. You can also get an external wifi card for your laptop and attach an external router (google pringle can antenna).
Increasing the antenna strength on the router made no difference because your laptop still had its normal low strength and couldn't "talk back" to the router.
If you want to take this to another level you can also hook up a 3G connection (via another openwrt compatible router with a USB port) or via serial, and control your RC car (or RC plane!) via the internet, at that point you can add GPS and what not, hopefully not get arrested.
Cheers!
David
Posted by David on 2008-09-23 @ 15:51
very amazing!
Posted by Ahmad on 2008-09-23 @ 15:45
I'd definitely make you one for $7500, but in general -- I'm not getting in to that business.
Posted by Jon on 2008-09-22 @ 21:23
just wondering how many 0s?
Posted by nils on 2008-09-22 @ 15:47
@nils
Add a couple more 0s onto that figure and we can talk. =P
Posted by Jon on 2008-09-21 @ 23:13
im just wondering if i can buy one of these for $75?
Posted by nils on 2008-09-21 @ 16:48
Hey Jon,
Awesome job, I saw this today over at www.dailywireless.org and now I want to build one! Can you please give some more detailed instructions and schematics on how to put everything together, for anyone into electronics and stuff like this it is pretty straight forward and looks fairly easy but you did not go into much detail or show how the power regulators and the battery wiring is all connected. Could we get a schematic for all of that?
Basically I just don't understand the power connection and the voltages regulators and how t wire all that up, a simple schematic of that and an overall connection diagram would be great.
Mark-
Posted by Mark on 2008-09-21 @ 09:46
Larry,
I was under the impression that the e-book was free. I've updated my links.
Great book!
Jon
Posted by Jon on 2008-09-20 @ 22:07
Jon, cool project!
Only one beef. How about a link to Amazon for the Linksys WRT54G Ultimate Hacking book, instead of a link to a pirated copy to support the authors?
- Larry Pesce (Co-Author Linksys WRT54G Ultimate Hacking)
Posted by Larry Pesce on 2008-09-20 @ 20:31
Neat!
Posted by Tim on 2008-09-20 @ 09:20
Pete:
Yep, check your inbox.
Posted by Jon on 2008-09-13 @ 12:47
Hey Jon,
Did you manage to find the cost, for the chip and postage ?
Many Thanks,
Pete
Posted by Peter James on 2008-09-12 @ 10:37
Way to go dude....
This I like...
:)
// Henke - Sweden
Posted by Henke on 2008-09-9 @ 10:06
Jim:
Thanks for looking in to it. I had forgotten that they're using different voltage levels.
Your voltage divider circuit looks good.
Posted by Jon on 2008-09-7 @ 21:08
Jon,
Checked out the TX/RX pin connections for the arduino.
This should be the perfect solution for all arduino boards (USB/SERIAL). The voltage for the arduino RX/TX pins D0 and D1 are 5v. The WRT TTL TX/RX pins are 3.3v. 3.3v is sufficient to trip the arduino inputs but the 5v maybe too high for the WRT!
So we need to drop the 5v to ~3.3v for the RX of the WRT. This can be done with a simple voltage divider circuit.
So the connection goes something something like this:
ARDUINO RX - WRT TX Directly wired.
ARD GND - 10k Resistor - 10k Resistor - WRT RX
ARD TX - 10k Resistor - WRT RX
This drops the voltage enough so as to not damage the WRT. (ATTENTION: the RX/TX lines should be disconnected from the ARDUINO before connecting it to a PC via USB or it could fry a few since the ARDUINO uses the same lines for USB connection through the FTDI CHIP!!!!!)
This solution may sound more complicated but actually requires fewer parts (I am all about fewer parts!) only three resistors.
Thanks Jon for all your hard work on this project. Around the first of the year hopefully I will have my Project completed and I will return here with a post to the write-up as well as any changes I make to your source code.
Posted by Jim on 2008-09-5 @ 10:44
Jim:
Yes, connecting the RX and TX pins of the Arduino right to the router RX and TX pins should work. I thought about it, but didn't try it. Since I decided against using the Arduino, I added the tested code I posted to the project afterwards because the microcontroller is so popular.
If you connect them directly, you won't be able to easily connect the router to a PC serial port. It was important for me to have this feature while developing to assist in debugging. By all means, try it out and if it works fine let me know and I'll add the info to this article. I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work.
Pete:
It won't cost much to send them there. I'll get an exact figure early next week and e-mail it to you. I would estimate $5 CAD (about 2 pounds). And yes, I do have Paypal.
Jon
Posted by Jon on 2008-09-4 @ 22:36
I have a question. This project is very similiar to one I have been planning for a while. I really like the use of a router for the wireless capabilities of this project (I have now changed the layout of my project based on your work!) Thank you for that.
On to my question. Could you not just directly connect the ttl RX/TX Pins of the router to the Digital Pin 1 and 2 of the Freeduino (which I believe accepts ttl input). I realize you probably used the serial connection because you already had the router hacked for it. For those of us with USB xxxduino boards may find this option easier. That is if the xxxduino board will handle the signals properly.
Sorry for the ramble but you seem to have done quite a few experimentations with openwrt xxxduino control. Just wondered your thoughts.
Posted by Jim on 2008-09-4 @ 19:13
Hey Jon,
Ah many thanks :), btw i'm lovin the project, and hopefully i can build one too haha, i have a little bit of electronics knowledge so hopefully all will go well.
Thumbs up to you tho
How much do you recon it'll cost for the chip and sending it to uk ?
Also do you have paypal ?
Pete
Posted by Peter James on 2008-09-4 @ 09:34
Hi Pete,
I'd be happy to send you a pre-programmed chip. I'll just charge the cost of the chip + cost of shipping.
The MAX232 isn't a programmable chip and can be bought from many major online retailers or as a free sample from http://www.maxim-ic.com/samples/ .
If anyone else wants a pre-programmed chip and the demand isn't too great, I'll be happy to send them for whatever the actual cost is.
Jon
Posted by Jon on 2008-09-4 @ 00:25
Hey there Jon,
I was just wondering if u could sell the chips, PIC16F628A and MAX232A programmed ?
It'll save me time and money buying the programmer for the MAX232A chip ?
Of course i would pay for your labour costs :)
Let me know by email :)
Pete
Posted by Peter James on 2008-09-2 @ 13:01
i thinks its a brilliant idea. Thanks i'll try it
Posted by m4l3_Bug5 on 2008-08-31 @ 09:14
Hi, perhaps you could use a Fonera with freewlan extensions... it's smaller than a Linksys and there are tons of guides to explain how to use the "non used" gpio's on the board to go left/forward/ etc without needing an extra micro controller...
some people allready wrote drivers to controll these gpio's...
an example can be found here :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KACkqpPyNNk
he used the onboard webserver of the fonera
it would be great if one could use a Sony PSP or Nokia Wifi mobile or Nintendo DS to move the car... and have the cam show what's on the road :-)
the webcam can be connected to the "wan" interface of the fonera...
and La fonera could even use an existing wifi station to "uplink" to so it becomes also a wireless mobile accesspoint while you drive it on it's "myplace" interface!
Posted by steven on 2008-08-30 @ 06:27
Too bad Tesla's dream of wireless power was squashed by the powers that be years ago. If we had wireless power now we wouldn't have to worry about battery packs, solar panels, etc... Wireless power is making a comeback though, maybe it'll be the norm within 20 years.
Great job, Jon. I have one of these routers so it may be a project I would like to work on and possibly help extend. Thanks for all the great resources!!!
Posted by Heath on 2008-08-29 @ 10:12
iphone/ipod app is calling
Posted by Rob on 2008-08-29 @ 05:36
Thank you Roger and Greg for pointing me in the direction of figuring out the web streaming options.
There is a way to get the streaming view in a standard browser, so the Windows software is not required.
I've updated the Camera section of the article with the appropriate commands.
Posted by Jon on 2008-08-28 @ 17:30
wow dude u really inspire me to do this project i was thinking into do the same but im thinking into use a bigger car,add joystick control, a gps system to the project, some solar panels and a wifi card from att. wow congrats its awesome
Posted by mokopato on 2008-08-28 @ 16:16
Jon,
I can't help but wonder if there isn't a configuration issue then...I run several of those cams (exact model) for my business and for a few clients...all have good refresh rates, and no problems with motion. The cam I'm looking at right now is getting about 12fps @ the highest res. and quality. Granted all are over a wired network, but I don't think bandwidth is the issue here. Maybe try the latest vs. of Firefox? (much better scripting speeds)
Posted by greg on 2008-08-28 @ 14:43
The Windows-only software is required to get the streaming view. Yes it runs a webserver, but the refresh rate is VERY slow compared to that of using the software.
I'll investigate whether using 'http://192.168.1.253/SnapshotJPEG?Resolution=640X480' as one poster mentioned produces images at an acceptable refresh rate.
With the software I was able to get around 15FPS.
Posted by Jon on 2008-08-28 @ 14:31
Actually, that particular network cam works just fine in Linux...I'm confused by the writer / posters who say it doesn't. Yes, the cam comes w/ a Windows app that lets you view but of course you don't need that. The cam runs a webserver (as most network cams do) and you can connect and view w/ Firefox on both Windows and Linux systems with no problems.
Just resize your browser window so only the image shows..it can be adjusted for size and res. in the settings.
Posted by greg on 2008-08-28 @ 14:24
Very Nice, I am impressed. Bringing wifi+linux to a project for 70$ is amazing.
if only the IP camera worked in linux... then I would have some interesting ideas.
Posted by Colin on 2008-08-28 @ 12:45
Just wanted to say, Great job Jonathan!
I started in on a similar project using a fon and a PSoC MCU last year, currently waiting on a servo to replace the one that came with the truck, as well as getting the motor driver finalized.
PS: My site detailing my version of the project is at http://zarnochwf1.com/?q=node/13
Posted by Walter on 2008-08-28 @ 11:05
Nice! i may try the same thing with a fon, since its much smaller, and runs the same software, i could pack it all into a tiny box :D
Posted by Derek Vance on 2008-08-28 @ 10:33
Great project! There's a better way to use the camera though. That camera will serve up the current frame as a jpeg with the URL >> http://192.168.1.253/SnapshotJPEG?Resolution=640X480 <<. (use your IP obviously.) It's case sensitive and must match exactly. I shell out HTTPGET to read this URL to a JPEG, and when the JPEG arrives stick it in an image control. It's slower than a stream but better on a slow connection because you can control the frame rate. And you can get the actual image data to do processing.
Posted by Roger Williams on 2008-08-28 @ 10:05
wow! thanks for that great write up. this is exactly the project I have been thinking about and am so glad someone did all the hard work. We are looking at using a boat though to do some water quality sampling so should have similar needs. thanks again.
Posted by pithed on 2008-08-28 @ 09:36
I'm speechless. Awesome!
Posted by Kris on 2008-08-28 @ 09:33
Awesome!
Posted by phokur on 2008-08-28 @ 09:06