Arduino Based, Bluetooth Controlled Rover

K.S.S.Pankaj1, S. Sai Krishna2, Y. Sai Ganesh3

1,2,3 Department of Electronics and Communication,

Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

[email protected], [email protected],
[email protected]

Abstract--- All-terrain rovers are increasing their I. Introduction

popularity day by day, along with their purpose.
The project aims to design an Arduino based The 21st century is of machines and not just
Bluetooth (& mobile-app) controlled bot. This men. So we need to take the responsibility of
Arduino-car contains an Arduino microcontroller developing the platforms and media on which
with basic mobility features. Arduino programs
these machines work. As a part of that
contain instructions mediating between Android
development, a better medium has been
(controller) and Arduino car. Android mobile
controller application uses different mobile sensors developed for communication, which has more
to supervise motion. The program has been advantages compared to the other conventional
successfully compiled and uploaded to the Arduino modules. Here Bluetooth is used to communicate
microprocessor through the Arduino IDE after a with the Robot. Bluetooth avoids interference
proper check of logic to decrease the chance of any with other wireless devices. It also consumes
loss/damage of hardware. We use an android less power even after providing a better range
application that will provide the user with an than Infrared communication. The entire model
interface to interact with the Arduino powered car. is built using several used-fragments, reducing
The interface is easy to use and provides
the overall cost of the model. The rover uses DC
c o n t i n u o u s f e e d b a c k f ro m t h e A r d u i n o
geared motors with a full-load wattage of 4.8W
microprocessor through the Bluetooth after giving
instructions to the Arduino for various actions and a no-load wattage of 0.12W, which means it
through the interface via Bluetooth module. The runs for a day with less than a bulb’s power.
android application is downloaded from the app
store that provides us with more capability &
stability. After carrying out all the above-
mentioned steps we have to test this project As this is an Arduino based, Bluetooth
thoroughly and check for errors & bugs in the controlled rover, it’s controlled by a smartphone
microprocessor program, if any. Only after application (Bluetooth Electronics). Instead of
performing the test, we can say that we have been using a separate transmitting remote here, we are
able to create a bot as per our target specifications using an android application to control the rover.
described. Not just moving the rover forward, backward,
left, and right directions, but the robot’s arm can
also be moved using the application. Here the
Bluetooth application in the mobile is used to
transmit instructions to the rover, while the rover
Index Terms--- Arduino Nano, Bluetooth Module consisting of a Bluetooth module (HC-05)
(HC-05), Motor Driver Module (L293D), BO functions as a receiver, which continuously
Geared motors & Wheels, Servo motors, Jumper receives data at a standard baud rate of 9600 bps.
Wires, Chassis for the Rover, Bluetooth The Bluetooth application used is an open-
Electronics’ Android Application.
source one. But this application is selected, just
after ensuring that it doesn’t lag or hang in any
case. And its user interface is also pretty good.

 Bluetooth module. Connections go as VCC to

the Bluetooth module comes from the 3.3V
The Developers of this project have the privilege output pin (17th pin) of the Arduino Nano, and
of maintaining their own control panel, assuming GND pins of both boards are connected together.
that no two users have the same taste and Here the shelf-life and durability of the Nano
preference for control buttons, just as we see in board further increase as compared to the normal
gamers’ case (some use WASD, while others situation as no Analog pins are used. As the
prefer using arrow keys)(fig.1). motors are connected as 2 pairs in parallel, there
won’t be much power discharge due to voltage
division. After a lot of tests, the rover seems to
have no lag in its operation, hence the RESET
button is also removed. Similarly, as the ST and
KEY pins of the Bluetooth module aren’t being
used, they’re also disconnected completely.
Many other unused pins are left unconnected,
and some are left unconnected after ensuring that
they aren’t of any use, after conducting many
tests.

The Robotic arm is analogous to the arm of a

Fig. 1. UI of the android application procline vehicle/ excavator. This arm is realized
using Servo motors that act as the fingers of the
arm. The Servo motors are directly connected to
4 digital output pins, D2 to D5, without using
The basic operation of the model is similar to the any Servo motor driver or so, after ensuring that
conventional rovers but is a bit more simplified. the voltage and current coming from the Arduino
This model takes inspiration from other board is sufficient to drive the Servo motors.
prototypes that are more expensive, uses more
sensors, consumes more power, and runs on a
platform that is complex to design and control.
II. Literature

The main motivation to build this project was

Firstly a chassis is designed using a few from our motive to fix all the issues with the
fragments of metal and plastic, dimensionally conventional rovers that were observed and
suitable for the prototype. And then motors are tested so far. As many RC rovers are controlled
affixed, followed by their attachment to wheels. by separate transmitting units that are expensive
Then the terminals of these low power DC and for short-range. It’s not much preferable. So
motors are all connected to the output pins, making a simple, inexpensive, and easily
OUT1 to OUT4 of a dual motor driver H-bridge accessible rover that can be controlled by a
(L293D) coupled with a small power distribution Bluetooth application has been the main motive.
system. The input terminals, IN1 to IN4 are
connected to the Arduino board’s digital output
pins, D9 to D12. These pins are digital PWM
pins that employ Pulse Width Modulation, where As the Control Panel needs to be developable as
the carrier signal or the clock signal’s width is per the user’s taste, the best of all open-source
altered in accordance with the amplitude of the applications are chosen. An HC-05 Bluetooth
baseband or control signal. The D0/ Rx’s pin of module (using IEEE 802.15.1)(fig.3), an
the Arduino Nano is connected to the TxD (pin Arduino Nano R3(fig.4) controller, two L293D
4) of the Bluetooth module (HC 05), while the Dual H-Bridged Motor Drivers(fig.5), and three
D1/ Tx’s pin of Nano is connected to the RxD 9g Servo Motors(fig.6),MG995 MetallicGeared
(pin 5) of the HC 05. The above-said connection Servo Motor(fig.7), four BO (DC) Geared
is solely responsible for the communication Motors and wheels (65mm dia.)(fig.8), and four
between the Arduino Nano board and the Lithium-Ion Batteries (3.7V, 2500 mAh each, in
two pairs, each pair with the batteries in series;

 for around 7V per pair) are used. For the chassis’

build-up, a few aluminium fragments are used.

The (fig.2) represents the entire process that

takes to control a rover from bluetooth
application to working of motors.

Fig. 5. L293D Dual H-bridged Motor Driver

Fig. 2.block diagram

Fig. 6. 9g Servo Motors

Fig. 3. HC-05 Bluetooth Module

Fig. 7. MG995 High Torque Servo Motors

Fig. 4. Arduino Nano

 Step 5: Close Application. The connection will

be lost on the termination of the program
automatically.

Fig. 8. BO Motors and Tyres

III. Proposed Algorithm

Fig. 9. Circuit Diagram of the Rover
The android application sends data serially, and
data is received by the module in the same serial
format.
III. Implementation

Step 1: If an input is received, check for a string.

The following steps are to be followed for
establishing a network between the Bluetooth,
Controller, and Android.
Step 2: Compare the received string with the
pre-defined command in Arduino.

Step 1: Establish Communication between

Android and Bluetooth receiver interfaced with
the controller. Step 3: If the command matches the desired if-
else block, the motor will drive according to the
output of that block.

Step 2: Open Control Panel Application. Assign

respective outputs based on the input data to
operate. Run the application. Step 4: If the command received gives an all-
LOW state, the entire process will come to a halt
state.

Step 3: Corresponding Command input string is

sent to the motors through the
Step 5: If the command received gives an all-
Bluetooth Module. The Motor driver integrated HIGH state, the rover moves forward
circuits are connected to the control unit through continuously until stopped.
the Microcontroller.

Step 6: If the command received is a LOW state

Step 4: Check if the command is received by the for the left motors and HIGH state for the right
Bluetooth driver module. motors, the rover keeps spinning in the left
direction indefinitely.

 fully utilised due to a huge amount of data and

communication overheads. Generally, many of
Step 7: If the command received is a LOW state the wireless robots use RF modules. But this
for the right motors and HIGH state for the left project for robotic control makes use of an
motors, the rover keeps spinning in the right Android phone which is easily accessible. The
direction indefinitely. available control commands are more.

Step 8: As there is a holding arm, a supporting, In this paper, finally, an algorithm has been
and two finger-like arms, if the command designed and developed along with its
received is about holding an object on the implementation model (rover). Extensive
ground, the supporting and holding arms bend experiments were also performed to validate the
down, while the finger-like arms move close to superior performance of the proposed system
each other to hold that object. over the existing one.

IV. Final Product Acknowledgment---We bow in Gratitude to the

director of our institute, Dr. P. Santosh Kumar
The final product (rover) is built and
Patra, for giving us the courage and wisdom to
tested(fig.10). The finalized model looks as
reach this point of completion. We would also
shown below:
like to thank the Head of our Department, Dr. B.
Harikrishna, and our guide, Mr. K.N.V Rao,
Assistant Professor, for guiding us throughout
the project. We would like to thank our parents
and friends who had faith in us throughout our
lives, without whose support and motivation,
this piece of work couldn’t have been
materialised.

References

[1]. W.-K. Chen, Linear Networks and Systems.

Fig. 10. Final Product (ROVER) Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, pp. 123-135, 1993.

V. Future Scope [2]. H. Poor, “A Hypertext History of Multiuser

D i m e n s i o n s , ” M U D H i s t o r y, h t t p : / /
The final product could be further enhanced into
www.ccs.neu.edu/home/pb/mud-history.html.
a complete model if a Camera and a few more
1986.
sensors are installed with the rover, and pre-path
programming is done.

[3]. K. Elissa, “An Overview of Decision

T h e o r y, " u n p u b l i s h e d . ( U n p l u b l i s h e d
VI. Conclusion
manuscript)

The objective of the paper is to realize a semi-

[4]. S.P. Bingulac, “On the Compatibility of
autonomous control system using Bluetooth
Adaptive Controllers,” Proc. Fourth Ann.
Technology. Wireless control is one of the most
Allerton Conf. Circuits and Systems Theory, pp.
necessary things for all the people all over the
8-16, 1994. (Conference proceedings)
world. But unfortunately, the technology is not

 [5]. J. Williams, “Narrow-Band Analyzer,” PhD

dissertation, Dept. of Elec- trical Eng., Harvard
Univ., Cambridge, Mass., 1993. (Thesis or
disserta- tion)

[6]. Arduino, IOS, android and technology tit

bits, http://sree.cc/google/android/using-
bluetooth-in-android.

[7]. Bluetooth based android phone/tablet

controlled robot, http://www.robokits.co.in