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  • Author Author: ninjatrent
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Test Driving the BeagleBone Blue RTV

ninjatrent

Test Driving the BeagleBone Blue RTV

The BeagleBone Blue Road Test Vehicle. This test vehicle is powered by the BeagleBone Blue and was constructed from lightweight and cost effective recycled materials.

The BeagleBone Blue is ready to go. https://beagleboard.org/blue

 

Available at http://www.newark.com/beagleboard/bbone-blue/beaglebone-blue-robotics-platform/dp/95Y0640?st=beaglebone%20blue

 

What is BeagleBone Blue?

 

BeagleBone Blue is a complete, Linux-enabled robotics computer. Community-supported and fully open-source, the real-time performance, flexible networking and rich set of robotics-oriented peripherals make building mobile robots quick and affordable.

 

Processor: Octavo Systems OSD3358 1GHz ARMRegistered Cortex-A8

  • 512MB DDR3 RAM integrated
  • Integrated power management
  • 2×32-bit 200-MHz programmable real-time units (PRUs)
  • ARM Cortex-M3
  • On-board 4GB 8-bit eMMC flash storage programmed with Debian Linux

 

Connectivity and sensors

  • Battery: 2-cell LiPo support with balancing, 9-18V charger input
  • Wireless: 802.11bgn, Bluetooth 4.1 and BLE
  • Motor control: 8 6V servo out, 4 DC motor out, 4 quadrature encoder in
  • Sensors: 9 axis IMU, barometer
  • Connectivity: HighSpeed USB 2.0 client and host
  • User interface: 11 user programmable LEDs, 2 user programmable buttons
  • Easy connect interfaces for adding additional sensors such as: GPS, DSM2 radio, UARTs, SPI, I2C, 1.8V analog, 3.3V GPIOs

 

 

 

The chassis is composed of layers of scrap PETE, ABS, Lexan and project foam board bound by strips of black Duck Tape. The front steering assembly and rear drivetrain were salvaged from a RC Truck. These materials were recycled from the scraps of previous projects.

 

Additional parts

 

 

2S1P LiPo Battery with 3-wire JST-XH (2.5mm pitch) charge connection

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

 

Tower Pro SG92R Micro Servo

SG92R | Tower Pro

https://www.adafruit.com/product/169

 

2-wire JST-ZH (1.5mm pitch) Wire Jumper Connection

30 SETS JST ZH 1.5MM 2 Pin Female Single Connector with Flat Wires 150MM 28AWG

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0738CV1LP/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

OS Image and Software API

 

This BB Blue is running the  latest Debian Stretch IoT Image and the Robotics Hardware API (libroboticscape).

 

Debian Stretch IoT Image

https://beagleboard.org/latest-images

 

Robotics Hardware API (libroboticscape)

http://www.strawsondesign.com/#!manual-install

 

 

Previous blog posts related to this post

 

BeagleBone Blue Pan Tilt Servo Test

 

Beaglebone Blue Road Test Vehicle

 

BB Blue Pan Tilt Servo Lipo Battery Test

 

BeagleBone Blue - Drive Motor and Steering Servo Tests

 

 

 

 

 

These tests were run at 100% of the BeagleBone Blue's available motor driver power.

There are some minor issues with steering and loss of traction.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay tuned for updates.

 

Trent

  • Good to see the car up and running. I agree that the floor surface probably isn't helping, although I assume that there are no changes from the video of the steering with the wire used to hook the steering servo motor to the steering rack.

     

    Thanks for posting

     

    Kind regards

  • in reply to neilk

    Hi Neil,

     

    It does perform better at lower speeds. There is still issues with steering.

    I was just curious as to how fast it would go.

    If I could keep it straight it might be possible to obtain a top speed. The issues with steering are a result of a terrible design made worse by my redesign.

    The chassis is too light (maybe 5 grams of material not including drivetrain and wheels). If I move the LiPo battery closer to the rear, this might decrease wheel spin. The current  weight ratio to front is about 65/35.

    At least acceleration is not an issue. The BB Blue is a surprisingly powerful SBC.

     

    Thanks for checking out my project.

     

    Trent

  • These tests were run at 100% of the BeagleBone Blue's available motor driver power.

    Moving very fast!!!!!!!

     

    Does it behave any better at lower speeds? The video gives me the impression that it is moving too fast for effective control. Traction on that floor surface could also be a problem.

     

    Still looks impressive

     

    Neil

  • in reply to genebren

    Hi Gene,

     

    Thanks for checking out my project. The issues with steering can't be resolved. There is too much play in tire camber and alignment. These tests were performed after I immobilized the steering assembly so that the test vehicle might travel on a straight path.

    Even at lower speeds there are still issues with stability control. If I move the LiPo battery closer to the rear where the drive motor is located, it might decrease spin outs by increasing the weight ratio to the rear.

    The sole purpose of this project was to create a vehicle to test the BB Blue. After these tests, I am considering swaping out the blue for a PocketBeagle  and H bridge. There is another more permanent  application planned for this BB Blue.

     

    Trent

  • Nice update on your project.  Looks like the steering needs a bit of adjustment.  I notice that the pit crew (cat) rushed out to check on the car, but it did not seem to find anything too interesting to work on.

    Keep up the good work and keep having fun.

    Gene