MiniQ 4WD Robot

The MiniQ 4WD Robot is a complete assembled robot with an Arduino compatible brain.

This robot has a full set of sensors to play with: wheel encoders, IR infrared line and edge tracking sensors and light sensors. This robot also has 3 user push buttons to make it easy to select modes and options and a buzzer for the little beeps and boops that every friendly robot since R2D2 must master.

A set of four motors drives this robot at speeds up to 28 inches (72 cm) per second. Each motor has an encoder for feedback. An IR Infrared remote control comes with the set that can be used to command your robot from a distance. The robot also has the ability to send IR commands. Two or more of the MiniQ robots can talk to each other using IR.

This is not a remote controlled toy but a real robot that you program yourself. It uses the popular ATMega328P microcontroller and is fully Arduino compatible.

This robot comes in a nice plastic box with a mini USB cable and infrared remote. All you need to add is a set of 4 AA batteries.

Usage

Download the latest Arduino IDE and choose "Arduino Nano w/ ATmega328" from the Tools->Board menu and select the appropriate Serial Port. You can now program the robot as an Arduino.

1. Before programming the 4WD MiniQ Robot, make sure to have 4 fully charged batteries in place. The robot runs on batteries during programming.
2. Connect it to your computer using the included Mini USB cable and install the USB drivers from the link below. The computer will recognize it as a serial port.
3. Press the "PWR On" button to turn on the robot. You will see a blue light on the bottom of the robot.

Resources

• Schematic
• Arduino Reference

File downloads

• Arduino IDE
• Arduino Demo Code
• USB Driver for Windows XP/Vista/7/8
• USB Driver for Macintosh OSX
• USB Driver for Linux 3.x.x

Hardware details

Pin Assignments

Adruino	ATmega328P	Description
D0	PD0(RXD)	Serial RX
D1	PD1(TXD)	Serial TX
D2	PD2(INT0)	Wheel encoder
D3	PD3(INT1)	Wheel encoder
D4	PD4(XCK/T0)	Left motor direction
D5	PD5(T1)	Left motor enable
D6	PD6(AIN0)	Right motor direction
D7	PD7(AIN1)	Right motor enable
D8	PB0(ICP)	Infrared receiver
D9	PB1(OC1A)	Left infrared transmitter
D10	PB2(*SS/OC1B)	Right infrared transmitter
D11	PB3(MOSI/OC2)	Buzzer
D12	PB4(MISO)	Red LED
D13	PB5(SCK)	Green LED
A0	PC0(ADC0)	Line tracking/edge detection sensor 1
A1	PC1(ADC1)	Line tracking/edge detection sensor 2
A2	PC2(ADC2)	Line tracking/edge detection sensor 3
A3	PC3(ADC3)	Line tracking/edge detection sensor 4
A4	PC4(ADC4/SDA)	Ambient light sensor
A5	PC5(ADC5/SCL)	Three key analog buttons
A6	ADC6	Battery voltage level
A7	ADC7	Line tracking/edge detection sensor 5

 

Other notes

 

• Pot W1 adjusts the balance left and right light sensors.
• Pot W2 adjusts the balance between left and right infrared transmitters.

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