Being able to do everything with a phone is the future. In fact, I wish I could dock my phone and use it as my desktop computer as well. But we are a year away from that I am sure. For now, I will stick to simpler tasks, like driving a remote control car, in this case.
Using a Bluetooth to serial module, designer Eirik Taylor has constructed a remote control car that can be controlled with an Android phones, Java phones, and Windows. The method of control is based on UART polling instead of a hardware interrupt. Brute force, but does the job. In other words, the software constantly polls pins to see if a command has been received. He claims that it takes 15ms to respond to a command, and that the human response time is 200ms. It does sound like it will be unnoticeable.
The actual remote control car platform used was one of those cheap, can only turn left type toys. So, Eirik added a small servo motor to the car’s turning mechanism for left and right capabilities. This is the most expensive part of project, the $50 dollar servo controller. If you look at anything it’s worth a glance at what he did for the motion control of the servo.
I’ve been looking for a Bluetooth module to toy with, and this project has definitely sent me in the right direction. The project uses a Bluetooth to serial module called a GP-GC021, which seems to be based off of the NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR - LMX9830SM, and also used in NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR - LMX9838SB. I look forward to using one myself.
The best part, Eirik has posted all the schematics, design files, and source code for all the various phones. I decided to add them to this post as well. Enjoy!
If you make one, post the results here.
Cabe