Final Project¶

My project is a Wi-Fi-controlled rover powered by an ESP DevKit-V1 microcontroller and four independently driven DC motors. I designed a custom PCB using KiCad that hold four motor driver chips, power distribution, and signal routing for the ESP. The rover is controlled through a web interface that I built, which sends commands to the ESP and communicates them into PWM and direction signals for each motor. I created custom omnidirectional wheels in Fusion 360 and improved their traction by molding new rollers using silicone and cast plastic. The chassis was also fully designed in Fusion 360 and 3D printed, with the final design inspired by a pickup-truck-style layout for mounting electronics. Power is supplied by a six-AA battery pack, which solved earlier problems with insufficient current from AAA and 9V batteries. Altogether, the project combines electronics, programming, mechanical design, and problem-solving to create a fully functioning, remotely operated rover.

My initial thoughts for the Project¶

My Final Project Idea has changed since week 1. Its purpose is to be remotely controlled from the users joystick giving them a camera view of the direction the project is moving. My working name for the project is land-drone but it could use some work. I want to be able to move it remotely (Still working on the distance) and view the camera remotely. It will be able to move side to side using mecanum wheels but that may be impossible but I am doing research to try and account for it only having 2 wheels but needs 4. The remote control should have buttons, two joysticks and a screen that displays the live camera feed. At the moment this is the plan. Now I am going to give in to my feature blindness and list a lot of things I would like to add to the moving: very high suspension, microphone, speaker, LEDS, jump ability with tail support(Will go over later). And everything I want to add to the controller buttons that activate different movement types (left, right, diagonal forward left right and vice versa), a microphone, and a speaker.

First Sketch

Open Spreadsheet

3D Models¶

Drone R6 by foxedfoxy on Sketchfab

Weeks I used¶

Embedded Programming

3D Scanning and Printing

Electronics Design

Electronics Production

Output Devices

Embedded Networking and Communications

Moulding and Casting

Interface and Application Programming

System Integration

Final project requirements¶

Here is my Slide!

Here is my Video!

Fab Academy Final Project: Remote-Controlled Rover¶

Overview¶

My final project is a fully functional remote-controlled rover that I designed, built, and programmed. It integrates electronics, mechanical design, networking, and communicative engineering. The project allowed me to apply and utilize skills from earlier Fab Academy units, including electronics design, 3D modeling, molding and casting, embedded programming, system integration, networking, input, output, computer controlled designing and cutting, and electronic production.

The rover is portable, modular, and can move in multiple directions through a custom web interface that anyone can open on their phone’s browser.

What Does It Do?¶

Move forward, backward, and turn left/right via a web-based interface
Respond quickly to user inputs through the ESP-DevKit-v1 microcontroller
Integrates multiple motors working at the same time
Operates from a portable battery pack

Future improvements include LED headlights, a movable camera with stepper motors, and smoother wheel rollers.

Step 1: Electronics & PCB¶

Weeks I used¶

Electronics Design

Electronics Production

Output Devices

Embedded Networking and Communications

Components¶

Microcontroller: ESP-DevKit-v1
Motor Drivers: 4x Toshiba motor drivers called the TB67H451FNG (one per DC motor)

Power Supply: 6x AA batteries for proper amperage and voltage

PCB Design: Designed in KiCad, milled on an EnderMill Pro milling machine; the design utilizes the Esp32-Devkit-v1 Microcontroller, the 4 Toshiba motor drivers, 4 120k resistors, 4 10uf capacitors, 4 0.1uf capacitors, 4 1 uf capacitors, 8 output headers, and finally a screw terminal for my power and ground. For this project I again took advice from Mr. Budzichowski and grounded my board which made it much easier to create as I would now only need to mill one side.

Thoughts¶

After multiple of these failture I felt like there was absolutley nothing I could do. Luckily Mr. Budzichowski helped me out enourmeous by providing me with advice on how to proceed and with the Toshieba motor drivers that he had used previously. After this I worked on creating the prototype seen below.

Functionality¶

Motors controlled via 2 input pins + 1 PWM pin per motor. A DC motor driver controls the speed and direction of a DC motor by regulating the voltage and current supplied to it. It normally uses an H-bridge circuit, which allows the motor to rotate forward and reverse by changing the polarity of the voltage. The driver receives input signals or PWM and Input signals from a microcontroller or other control system. It also protects the motor and control circuit from overcurrent or voltage spikes, ensuring safe operation.
Receives commands from a custom web server interface. When I click a certain button or move the digital joystick a certain way it triggers the PWM signal and the two Input signals to be sent in a specific pattern in order to spin the wheel either forwards or reverse and at what speed.

Challenges¶

Initial motor driver (L298N) did not work. Initially like a dummy I thought I could just use the preassembled L298N Motor driver and just attach it to a PCB. After that I tried recreated the L298N on a custom PCB and that failed too. Then I moved onto the Toshiba motor drivers.
Incorrect power sources initially (AAA, 9V, 12V motors), at first I used 3 triple A batteries which did not have the current or voltage to effectively power my rover, like I tried using a nine volt but didn’t understand exactly how low the amperage on it was before finally transitioning to 6 double A batters for 9 volts of power and 1 to 2 amps.
Pin misconfigurations almost caused failures. When creating the board I used 2 the input only pins as outputs which almost ruined the project before I caught it on Kikad and remilled the board.

Lessons Learned¶

Proper planning of power distribution is critical
Custom PCBs can save space and improve system reliability
Understanding microcontroller pins and capabilities before hand can prevents really bad errors