RC control for Sumobot?
I was thinking that converting a Sumobot to be RC controlled might be a good educational tool because kids could get a feel for the capabilities of the robot, and just have fun competing against opponents with different strategies. I think that perhaps one could evaluate an opponent more efficiently this way.
Anyways I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations for suitable controller (both tx and rx solutions) that would be suitable. I guess one could use a 2 channel controller for a tank style control system (I've heard that you can easily rotate the sticks in some controllers?), but perhaps kids would find it easier to have separate steering and velocity. And I believe that this would require a controller with mixing - is that the right term? I can check out what the local hobby shop stocks, but don't want to spend too much money on this compared to what RC enthusiasts might spend for a serious long range controller. I don't think that a cheap universal IR remote would be very satisfying, but if anyone has a different opinion please let me know. A bonus would be if two of these controllers could operate in close proximity - hopefully this is standard now, but I don't know.
For the RX side ideally I would just move the servo headers to it, and feed it from the existing power supply. So it could be quickly converted back to an autonomous mode. Perhaps a stretch goal would be to use a third channel to switch the servos from RC to autonomous mode. Maybe there could be a sort of cyborg version of sumobots where the human could give x seconds of assistance per match. Or parts of an ring (arena?) are shrouded in the "fog of war" so the human needs help there.
Anyways I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations for suitable controller (both tx and rx solutions) that would be suitable. I guess one could use a 2 channel controller for a tank style control system (I've heard that you can easily rotate the sticks in some controllers?), but perhaps kids would find it easier to have separate steering and velocity. And I believe that this would require a controller with mixing - is that the right term? I can check out what the local hobby shop stocks, but don't want to spend too much money on this compared to what RC enthusiasts might spend for a serious long range controller. I don't think that a cheap universal IR remote would be very satisfying, but if anyone has a different opinion please let me know. A bonus would be if two of these controllers could operate in close proximity - hopefully this is standard now, but I don't know.
For the RX side ideally I would just move the servo headers to it, and feed it from the existing power supply. So it could be quickly converted back to an autonomous mode. Perhaps a stretch goal would be to use a third channel to switch the servos from RC to autonomous mode. Maybe there could be a sort of cyborg version of sumobots where the human could give x seconds of assistance per match. Or parts of an ring (arena?) are shrouded in the "fog of war" so the human needs help there.
Comments
Ken Gracey
This shouldn't be too hard and can be done several different ways.
As Ken showed, you can use a second microcontroller as the remote but using normal RC gear is also a possibility.
You're right about the need for channel mixing if you want to control the robot with one joystick. RC gear is not nearly as expensive as it used to be. There's lots of places online where you could find inexpensive remote controls. HobbyKing is one of my favorites if I don't need the part right away. If I can find a part at their US warehouse I try to purchase it there since the shipping is faster and less expensive.
Here's a six channel transmitter/receiver set.
When purchasing RC gear, make sure you get "Mode 2" transmitters. "Mode 1" transmitters swap a couple of the controls (IMO, in an illogical way). Mode 2 transmitters are far more common in the US than Mode 2.
If your radio gear doesn't do channel mixing, you could mix the incoming channels with microcontroller. You might want to mix the channels yourself anyway since then you could also monitor a channel for an override switch.
Here's my example of converting a BOE-Bot to RC. Since I was using a PropBOE, I could record the path as I manually steered the robot and by flipping a switch on the remote I could then have the robot repeat the path it just traveled.
If you use a second microcontroller for the remote, you can also receive telemetry back from the robot. Here's one of my custom remote projects.
XBees are pretty easy to use. My one complaint about XBee is they kind of cost a lot. (I don't imply they aren't worth the price. I have lots of XBees.) One transceiver I like to use that costs less than the XBee but is harder to use is the Nordic nRF24L01+. You can purchase these on ebay for a little more than a dollar each if you buy several at once. There is code available to use these inexpensive transceivers with both the Propeller and Basic Stamp. The Nordic transceivers use six I/O pins so you might want to go the XBee route. I have information about using the nRF24L01+ transceivers in post #1 of my index (see signature).
Duane - I'll check out your links in detail over the weekend. That Hobbyking unit looks like a good deal, and hopefully it's fairly rugged. I'll probably buy it or something similar.