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  • Author Author: ninjatrent
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BeagleBone Devastator Robot Introduction

ninjatrent
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The BeagleBone Devastator Robot

 

Parts List

 

Turnigy 1600mAh 2S 20C LiPo Battery

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-1600mah-2s-20c-losi-mini-sct-pack-part-losb1212.html

 

The " 2-wire JST-ZH (1.5mm pitch) " connectors needed for the motors were purchased from a seller on Amazon.

 

Logitech Webcam

https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Widescreen-Calling-Recording-Desktop/dp/B006JH8T3S

 

DF Robot Devastator Tank Mobile Platform

https://www.amazon.com/DFROBOT-Devastator-Tank-Mobile-Platform/dp/B014L1CF1K?ref_=bl_dp_s_web_5611171011

 

Recommended Accessories

https://github.com/beagleboard/beaglebone-blue/wiki/Accessories

 

 

 

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BeagleBone Robotics Cape Specs

 

  • 9-Axis IMU: Invensense MPU-9250
  • Barometer: Bosch BMP280
  • 4 x H-Bridge DC motor controllers
  • 8-Channel Servo/ESC output
  • 5V 2A switching regulator for robust power supply (8V -18V input voltage)
  • 6V 4A regulated power supply to protect servos
  • Charges a 2-cell LiPo battery
  • 4 Quadrature encoder inputs
  • GPS input with EM-406/EM-506 style UART connector
  • Headers for I2C, UART, SPI, ADC, PWM, GPIO connectivity
  • Supports DSM2 and DSMX satellite radios

 

 

https://beagleboard.org/capes

https://github.com/beagleboard/capes/tree/master/beaglebone/Robotics

https://github.com/StrawsonDesign/Robotics_Cape_Documentation

 

Robotics Hardware API

Robot Control Library: Main Page

librobotcontrol Source Code

https://github.com/StrawsonDesign/librobotcontrol

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https://beagleboard.org/black-wireless

Custom Aluminum Heatsink is not included.

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The BeagleBone Black Wireless has been mounted on a acrylic base with nylon stand and screws.

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I'm using this Turnigy 2S 1600mAh 30C LiPo Battery Pack. Any 2S lipo battery pack should work.

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I've swapped the factory installed WiFi Antennas on the BBB W for the following

2.4GHz Mini Flexible WiFi Antenna with uFL Connector

https://www.adafruit.com/product/2308

 

 

Unboxing the Robotics Cape

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Quick Start Guide

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The Robotics Cape comes factory sealed in anti static bag.

 

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I hoped there would be a JST Cable Bundle in here. *sigh image

 

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Mr. Scissors has gone missing and Mr. Generic Boxcutter has lost his edge but we have managed to safely extract the Cape.

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Comes with free desiccant pack. These little packs are great for absorbing excess moisture.

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12V DC Barrel Jack for supplying power to the lipo charge circuit.

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There is much to take in when viewing this cape so I will mainly focus on the connections that will be used.

The M1 and M2 2-wire JST-ZH (1.5mm pitch) motor drive connections located bottom right.

LiPo Battery Connetion located top center of photo.

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8 x Servo Power Rail

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Conformal coating close-up

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Florescence of Conformal Coating is revealed when exposed to UV light.

 

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This is the Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920.  It is compatable with all BeagleBoard Computers and there are extensive resources and support for using this camera with the BeagleBone Debian Linux OS Images. I have removed the factory mount from the webcam and attached the cam to a microservo.

 

https://github.com/RobertCNelson/boot-scripts/tree/master/tools/software/mjpg-streamer

I am currently running this mjpg-streamer script.

The live stream has been successfully viewed with the Chrome Browser and VLC Media Player on Windows 10 and VLC for Android.

 

Further information on using the C920 Webcam with the BeagleBone

Beaglebone: Video Capture and Image Processing on Embedded Linux using OpenCV | derekmolloy.ie

Capturing Images and Video on the Beaglebone | derekmolloy.ie

Streaming Video Using RTP on the Beaglebone Black | derekmolloy.ie | derekmolloy.ie

UDP Unicast and Multicast Streaming Video using the Beaglebone Black | derekmolloy.ie

 

 

The Devastator Robotics Platform from DF Robot

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This chassis kit was fairly easy to assemble. In order to decrease the amount of slack in the drive tracks, it was necessary to carefully remove one link from each side.

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Video stream from the Logitech camera connected to the BeagleBone Black Wireless. Viewing stream on Windows 10 Laptop with Chrome Browser.

https://github.com/RobertCNelson/boot-scripts/tree/master/tools/software/mjpg-streamer.

 

  • Hi Trent,

     

    This looks really great! I can imagine it's a lot of fun (and effort) working on this project!

  • a really good mobile robot solution. I feel envious.

     

    Dubbie

  • in reply to balearicdynamics

    Hi Enrico,

     

    The Robotics Cape is an open source design and there is full documentation of the pinouts on the GitHub page for the Cape. There is a link on the libroboticscape page that leads to python code for this cape as well. The libroboticscape seems to be written in c and I'm not very experienced with this programming language but there are provided examples and project templates that have allowed for a simple demonstration. Most of the provided examples work very well with the edumip chassis that is designed for this cape and the BeagleBone Blue.

     

    I plan to further develop this robot to hopefully include facial recognition and object avoidance in the future. This might require lidar or ultrasonic sensors.

     

    There is a HAT for the Pi Zero that is named Redbear IoT. It has a wifi chip similar to the chip on the Pi 3 and has the same antenna connection. It is a uFL antenna connection but it might have another name. I agree and would like to see Raspberry Pi consider an external antenna solution in the future.

     

     

    The antenna that were selected provide better signal gain. I might eventually have to purchase larger antennas as some loss of signal strength in certain areas of the home have been noticed.

     

    Enrico, Thank you very much for looking at this project. It is still at it's beginning. I hope to upload some video of the robot in motion later this evening or tomorrow. I forgot the project deadline and there have been severe unrelated issues , this is the progress.

     

    Thanks Enrico

  • Well documented project (frankly I can say hyperdocumented...)!

     

    Interesting approach and very very appreciated the links to the corresponding GitHub repository for every part. I am wondering if the robot cape of the BBB is essential of in theory the normal BBB WiFi GPIO can be used as well.

     

    The solution of the antenna replacement soiunds good, did you tested the efficiency respect the small onboard antenna? Maybe this kind of solution can also be ported to the Raspberry PI 3B+ that has a very small antenna and a soldering point for an external antenna (not suggested but I think it will be a good idea.

     

    Waiting for the next parts of the project.

    With compliments. Enrico