Things I learnt during this project

This project involved more practical than theory skills. It was all about the ability to build something, being able to write the code and make it work just  by using a little board called Arduino. I always thought how people make robots and this project gave me an insight of what it is and how things are made on a higher scale. This was such a great experience as I really enjoyed doing something that I never done before and in fact, it is really fascinating me.

The project itself required several skills. Being able to research everything that was required for the build was vital. Sourcing the right materials required was a difficult task to perform. Another skill that was required within this project is to use the Arduino software for the very first time. Everything looks rather small and it was hard to get used to all the controls and menus. Putting the code inside the software involved searching through the web and some previous gained knowledge. Building the robot was the best part as I love assembling electronic parts, whether it is a computer, remote control car or in this case an UnoTron.

All of the above allowed me to learn something new in my academic life and I am very happy that I could take part in building such an amazing project. Although things did not go as they should, because my robot is not doing what it supposed to do, sometimes it is better to learn on our own mistakes and perform much better in the future. I’d like to thank you for your time reading my posts associated with the Arduino UnoTron.

Complete Build

Doing my best but nothing helps

I have spent the last 6 hours trying to fix all the issues associated with the UnoTron. Just to recap, the following failed to work:

• Motor is not going into reverse mode
• Ultrasonic Distance Sensor seems to be not working at all
• Servo rotates in both directions but the robot only turns right (strange)

I first started to have a look at why the sensor is not working. I have looked everywhere and could not get the right answer. I  have checked all the cables copming from the sensor itself to the breadboard. I have had another good look at the code and it seems fine to me, can’t see any errors or code missing (Code compiles too). What I am thinking of, is the sensor itself being damaged and without it, I can’t succeed with my build. The ultrasonic distance sensor is in fact the biggest feature of the UnoTron as it meant to avoid obstacles. I am very disappointed because I followed the instruction build very carefully, did everything as I supposed to and yet it is not working as it should.

For the motor and servo issue, I am blaming the ultrasonic sensor itself. Once the sensor detects an obstacle, it should in theory send the signal to the servo, making the robot go in the right direction and then the servo will pass it on to the motor, making the robot drive around.

Unfortunately, instead, I have a robot that performs amazing circles and in fact, it does it great!

Issue with the motor

After testing the Arduino UnoTron, I found out that the motor is not working at all. I wondered what causes it and checked the wires again. After good 15 minutes with playing with it, I tried swapping the motor wires into different slots on the breadboard.

Swapping the motor wires

The UnoTron is now finally going forward but that is not the end of my issues…

So far, the UnoTron is able to go forward and steer. However, it does not detect any obstacles in front of it. It also refuses to reverse for some reason. I hope I can solve the sensor issue and get my robot finished.

First Start!

This is the time to see if my UnoTron will start. Before I inserted the batteries, I have checked all the cables to make sure everything is connected. Here is a video showing the first start:

As you can see, the servo seems to be the only one alive, it continuously tries to steer… And that’s about it…
Motor seems to fail me.

Result? Code seems to be working fine, its now the issue of finding what’s wrong with the motor. I will try and have a go at fixing this problem.