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isl-org / OpenBot

OpenBot leverages smartphones as brains for low-cost robots. We have designed a small electric vehicle that costs about $50 and serves as a robot body. Our software stack for Android smartphones supports advanced robotics workloads such as person following and real-time autonomous navigation.
https://www.openbot.org
MIT License
2.77k stars 513 forks source link

Where precisely is ESP32 being used in the DIY bot ? #295

Open mugdhapendse opened 1 year ago

mugdhapendse commented 1 year ago

I am unable to see ESP32 in the wiring diagram of DIY bot. So, when should the steps mentioned in the ESP32 be implemented ? Is it an alternative to arduino nano ?

thias15 commented 1 year ago

@mugdhapendse: Yes the ESP32 is an alternative to the Arduino Nano. The wiring will depend on how you define the pins in the firmware. At the moment we do not have a DIY ESP32 version integrated in the firmware and also no wiring diagram. The ESP32 is just used in the RTR (ready-to-run) robot. However, you should be able to make it work with minor modifications.

mugdhapendse commented 1 year ago

Alright, understood. A couple more questions though :

1] For the current DIY version, are we not enabling bluetooth and wifi feature ? What is the exact purpose of these features ?

2] In the overall project, we need only 1 smartphone to be mounted on the bot, right ?

mugdhapendse commented 1 year ago

@thias15 Could you assign this to me ?

I would firstly like to contribute to the the documentation of "Arduino Firmware" that the ESP32 kit is only for the RTR version to avoid any further confusion of other users.

I also plan on using only ESP32 in the DIY version and sharing the project here eventually.

Do let me know if this is possible.

thias15 commented 1 year ago

@mugdhapendse your contributions will be most welcome. The BT on the ESP will allow wireless connection between microcontroller and Smartphone App (WIP). Having WiFi on the ESP32 is a bonus that can enable further applications in the future, e.g. send commands over network without a phone.