Smart WIFI Video Car( Arduino Control )

All of us have a exploration desire of unknown place. When I and my partner watching the movie "The Martian" and see that there is a robot car in Mars—— A planet that is Fifty-six million kilometers away from our earth. “He” work at Mars with our protagonist and pass back the image into earth of there. What a cool “boy”！we couldn’t suppress our desire to DIY a smart robot car. But we are just a couple of indoors man, we don’t have money and high-technology. Never mind! We were maker and we can make imagination to reality. Okay, please think about what common technology now we can use to control our car? It called “WIFI”, you must be familiar to it，with the rising of WIFI technology in recent years, there are many electric products utilize it, like mobile phone, watch, Smart Home, even in omnibus. So we decide to DIY a different and special robot car based on Arduino, we give it a name called: “Smart WIFI Video Car”.

The function of this robot car is easy to understand by its name. YES! You can control it to obtain images of the surrounding environment by the camera, and synchronous upload video to your Android client. At the same time, you can control it with your android app. Convenient and simply. we add a pan-tilt for controlling the camera to providing more wider view range of the car. It move fast and react quickly. You can adjust the direction of car according to the video. So if you want to “explore” some place narrow and may damage to your health, you can remote control your car as movie shown. Of course it not only for playing but also studying.

Try to get your imagination start and make it more smarter. And we will try our best to improve it. Let’s work together!

Have a look! What a cute and shy boy!

Step 1: WHAT SHOULD WE PREPARED

Module Preparing: OK! Let’s begin. You should prepare these before assembling, both of them are cheap and easy to buy.

1. Crowduino UNO X1 - A 100% Arduino compatible board

2. Crowtial- Motor base shieldX1 - A motor driver shield to control the motor and connect to other sensors

3. Crowtail- WIFI module X1 - Transfering the video stream and control commands

4. USB camera X1(Capture video). - Used to capture the video

5. 4WD Utility CarX1 - The best platform for mobile application.

6. Pan-Tilt X1 - Control the movement of the camera

7. Battery and battery holder.

Step 2: Assemble His "BODY"

1: LEGS(motor)

It has four ”legs”, you should welding wires on them to make sure it can run up. then you need to fasten them to chassis by using motor bracket as above pictures show.

2: BODY(acrylic chassis)

Install four copper cylinder brackets on the down- chassis for fasten up- chassis,and three copper cylinder brackets on the up-chassis for Crowduino. you can choose each piece of chassis as down-chassis and left one for up-chassis.

3:FEET(wheel)

At last. let’s install the wheels. A basic 4WD Mobile platform has been completed.

Step 3: Assemble His “BRAIN”

After assembling the car, we need to start the electronic parts---the brain. The first role is the Crowdunio UNO, fasten it on the three copper cylinder. the next one is Crowtial - Motor base shield. Plug it onto the Crowduino UNO. Then we should link the motor to the “brain”, there has something important enough to pay attention to it. Like human’s nerve, you also couldn’t make fault at this step. Or you will destroy the brain. Please observe the above sketch picture carefully.

Step 4: ASSEMBLE HIS POWER

We need two batteries and a battery holder.

Fix the holder on the up-chassis. and The red cable connect to the VIN of Crowtial- Motor base shield, the black cable connect to the GND of Crowtial- Motor base shield(DO NOT MIX UP). Unfortunately we make the mistake due to our careless. So we lost a Crowtial- Motor base shield. Forget this unhappy experience and let’s go on…

Now it's time to power it and make a test to insure that can run up rather than going round. It’s ashamed if we make a “smart car” into “stupid car”. Connect the Crowduino UNO with USB cable to PC and Upload the test code into it. if you see that the wheel can’t run in the same direction after powering your car , please exchange the two wire of the motor. For example: if the Motor 1 go forward, but the Motor 2 go back, Now we just change the cable of motor 2, the red cable to OUT2,the black cable to OUT1, then test again.

Step 5: ASSEMBLE HIS "EYE"

Now search an eye for him is emergency. This eye require to be turn to multi-directions. So we combine the pan-tilt with the webcam.Genious! Let's work!

1:Install the Pan-Tilt.

The Pan-Tilt have four holes in the chassis, fix the Pan-Tilt on it with screw.

2: Plug the camera onto the Pan-Tilt.

3: Bind the WIFI module.

4.Connect the WIFI module to the UART port of Crowtial- Motor base shield.

5.Connect the Pan-Tilt to the Crowtial- Motor base shield, up-servo link to D7 and down-servo link to D6.

6.Connect the camera to the WIFI module with a USB cable.

Finally, we can clean up the cable, and make it looks more comfortable! Okay! A WIFI VIDEO REBOT CAR has been completed.

Step 6: LET IT WORK!

At last we’ll show you how to make it work；

1: Upload the code(when upload the code, please CUT OFF the connection of WIFI module and Crowduino.)

2: Download the APP from attached files at the end of essay

3: Install the APP into your Phone (the APP just for android system)

4: Power the WIFI Video Car, it will work and you need to wait for a moment, then open your phone Wifi switch to search for the WIFI signal called ”Elecrow”. Connect to it without password input.

Ok! sit down and have a relax. Oh yeah, Let's take a look at what others doing now, uh-huh!

Step 7: EXPANSIONS

You must want to do some interesting experiment by using it. so we 'll demonstrate two kinds of application for you. one called Ultrasonic Obstacle-Avoiding Robot Car and left one called Tracking Car.you need to prepare the Crowtail- Ultrasonic Ranging Sensor module and pieces of Crowtail-IR Reflective Sensor. The black tape in the picture is use for making a black track, This track round in a circle for testing the tracking car.

Step 8: ULTRASONIC OBSTACLE-AVOIDING ROBOT CAR

if you want to use some expand function like ultrasonic obstacle-avoiding, you can choose the Crowtail- Ultrasonic Ranging Sensor, simple to assembe and start to work easily. First you need to remove the webcam then tighten the Crowtail module to pan -tilt. At last you need to link to the Crowtail- motor base shield(USE THE D2/D3 PORT),and the up-servo is not necessary.plug it or not don't have influence. Ok! Download the code and upload to the "BRAIN". Power the car and let it run to have a test.

Step 9: TRACKING CAR

And the other common application is TRACKING CAR. in our experiment ,three pieces of Crowtail-IR Reflective Sensors are in need. First of all, in order to make it looks more comportable,we should to remove the pan - tilt. Then we can install the acrylic pillar to the down- chassis. Now we'll fix three Crowtail-IR Reflective Sensors on down- chassis. It time to make it become a F1 racing car. Download the code and upload it to your Crowduino. Power your car you'll see it run fast along the track. Well done!

Step 10: IF YOU WANT TO SHARE YOUR IDEA?

Both of us want our baby to study more and become more outstanding. So we try to make our smart wifi video car more smarter. but my partner and me don't have enough nice ideas and our knowledge and skills also can't support more powerful function development work. so may be you can become "his" new good teacher and teach him more skills. Please contact us soon. Our email address is " [e-mail]".

Code and android app also be provided in below upload files.

Comments

[a.rehman85]

All setup , WiFi connecting , video also coming but motor not working once I giving command from app .Help !!!!

[kong fu panda]

please send the model name of wifi and how to connect to arduino and camera and the shield name on my email [e-mail]

please i need it necessary

[kong fu panda]

hi

what is model name of this wifi module and can use other module please answer?

[محمدح25]

hi, how to make this car can record the live video and save the video file ?

[jkearns21]

Hi, I want to use this with arduino leonardo, Can someone please help me with what I need to change in the code. I remember something about having to change serial to serial1. Im completely lost though. Have everything done just need to upload the correct code with changes for leonardo.

Thanks

[druid001]

Please reply. The language sometimes is not clear. I am at step 6. I have uploaded the elcrow wifi car sketch. I have green lights on the crowduino and motor shield but the wheels do not move at all. Please advise.

[wwasantha]

Even I had a problem like you but finally I done it well, with follwing changes.follow them to get rid of this troubles.

I used normal Arduino uno R3 board instead of criwduino board. Then only i able to uploaded the program codes without any error messages. Crowtail motor shield and crowtail wifi mofule and pantilt is essential specially need to use HD camera. Then only video very rapid and smooth with smart wifi car movementinstead of HD 720 USB CAMERA is the cause for slugish video streaming and delay video connection, I know it because I experienced it before update the cam in to HD 720 USB CAM. I used 720 HD camera

See this link..

https://m.banggood.com/HD720-USB-HD-Camera-Free-Dr...

[محمدح25]

Hye . I want to do this robot. Can you share the fritzing diagram or any helpful diagram of this robot as showing in diagram is easy for me to understand of the connection. thank you

[wwasantha]

If you are purchased all components of this project given illustrations are more than enough for understand the connections between them

[JasonK265]

Hi, I would like to adapt this design for school space rover project. I will be making own chassis but want same principal. Pan will not be used. Vehicle just needs to move and transmit video. Will this work ok leaving out pan?

I would like to use the crowtail wifi module and all other parts the same apart from the fact I wish to use a small usb inspection camera mounted in my own design. Will any usb camera work with crowtail wifi module?

Any help appreciated.

[wwasantha]

Yes, sure your plan will work definitely, but i recomend a camera module which sale here or any HD usb camera.
Reason is ordinary usb camera (without High Definition) has lagging, camera connection delay and intermittent connection droping and reconnecting on video streaming (so this will make you some painful experience) but with HD usb camera no above problems
Especially crowtail wifi module has very very good capability to transfer video signal fast and smoothly but you will noticed it only when good HD usb camera

[wwasantha]

You can left pantilt connections free. As you wish it wont affect rest of functions. But to controlling the smart wifi video car with this android app crowtail wifi module and crowtail motor base shield are essential

[ago mahatma]

Hey, can i use other web cam?
I've done all the assembly, but i just got pwr green led on from the crowduino and motor base.
And, red led from in4 motor base blinking continously.

Am i missing something.
The wifi signal even doesnt scanned from my android phone.
When i unplug the usb camera, the wifi on, i can connect to it.

Please help me

[wwasantha]

Ofcourse you can use web cam but problem is video streaming is very very sluggish. Their crowduino wifi module is excellent and it giving smooth and rapid videos when only you use a "HD 720 HD USB CAMERA".search it on banggood.com.

[Elecrow]

Of course you can, as you make sure that your webcam has a usb port, and a high-resolution camera will feel better. the wifi signal will appear when you have powered it over one to three minutes, it needs some time.

[Omer87]

If I don't want to do steps 7-9, would the project still work?!!!

[wwasantha]

Of course up to step 7 it end up with mobile controlling wifi smart car with live video streaming in mobile app interface. Step 8 and onwards for using same car in different ways but you cant use 2 or 3 of them at once.

[Hlwan moe]

Can I use other wifi module??

[wwasantha]

for this project I recommend their elecrow wifi module.it is essential for this. If you trying to get simillar wifi module in other place and upload the drivers. I would like to say you will end up with failure. Driver upload is very long and complicate process for this module, it also make your module dead (brick) as well.

[Elecrow]

You should to prepare a lot for new wifi module. like UVC camera driver, ser2net serial port forwarding software and so on.