Internet Controlled Robot Using Bolt IoT Platform

This robot is built on the Bolt IoT platform and can be controlled over local wifi or through the internet from anywhere around the world!

Step 1: What Are the Things You Need?

The following are the basic components required to build this robot.

1-Bolt IoT Hardware unit

2-Bolt IoT Robotic Shield

3-Chassis

4-12V DC motors(2 units )

5-Caster wheel (1 unit)

5-12V SMPS Adapter OR 12V DC battery

6-Wheels

7-Screwdrivers

Step 2: Fixing Parts to the Chassis

First step is to connect the motors to the chassis.Screw two motors on each side of the chassis and the caster wheel at the front of the chassis. Fix the wheels to the motors and adjust the caster wheel so as to level the robot with the ground.

Step 3: Making the Wire Connections

Connect the motor terminals to the screw connectors at the side of the Bolt shield. The connections should be made so that we want both the motors to be moving in same direction for forward/reverse motion.

To do so connect the red wire to the first screw of the first connector and followed by the black wire to the next screw. Therefore the first screw connector should have RED wire to first and BLACK wire to the second screw.

Follow the same procedure to connect the terminals (RED and BLACK wires ) to the second screw connector.

However if the wires have same colour we can manipulate the rotation of the motor by changing the connections of the terminals so as to get the proper direction of both motors.

Step 4: Connecting the BOLT to the Shield

Before connecting bolt..

Ensure that the bolt is configured to connect to your home wifi. Also find the ip address of the bolt unit since we will need it in the further steps.Also ensure that the sd card is inserted properly in the bolt unit before connecting it to the shield.

After the configuration of bolt is done..

As shown in the pic above there is a designated area on the shield for connecting the bolt unit to the shield.Carefully connect the Bolt on the shield and see to it that the pins on the shield have been inserted properly to the bolt connectors.

After making all the connections the robot should look like the picture above.

Step 5: The Code for the Robot

So now we need to generate the main brain of this robot which is the html code.

The txt file attached has the code in a text file format, This is not an html file.

DO NOT UPLOAD THIS FILE ON THE BOLT UNIT.

Open any text editor, copy the contents of this attached text file and paste it in a new file. Save the new file as index.htm.

IMPORTANT:

Do not give any other name or extension otherwise the robot wont work. Save the new file as index.htm only.

After saving the file upload this file on the bolt unit.

Step 6: How to Control Your Robot Via Wifi(Local Network)

After you have written and saved the file upload it to the bolt unit.

To upload a file open a Web Browser( preferably Google Chrome ) and type ipaddress/developer. A page will open up to upload the file onto the bolt unit.

For example if my bolt unit has ipaddress is 192.168.2.3, type 192.168.2.3/developer in the browser

Once the file is uploaded, connect the 12V volt adpater to the sheild to power on the robot.

Wait till the wifi LED is (blue light) is stable.

There are two ways to control the robot

1-Using your laptop through web browser

Type ipaddress in the browser, e.g if my bolt unit has ipaddress 192.168.2.3 then type 192.168.2.3 in the browser

A page will open up saying Robot Control with buttons to control your robot.

Click on the buttons to control the robot movement.(FORWARD,REVERSE,STOP,LEFT,RIGHT)

2-Using your smartphone through the 'netplug' app

Open the app on your phone and you will see your device displayed .Click on the device and the page to control your robot will open up.

Click on the buttons to control the robot movement.

Please ensure that your laptop/smartphone is connected to the same Wifi on which the bolt unit is connected .

Step 7: Power by Battery

Robot also can be powered on through a 12V battery for proper mobility.

Connect the battery to the 2-pin JST connector (shown in pic above) on the shield to power on the robot.

Once the bolt is connected to the wifi the bolt can be controlled through web browser or the NETPLUG app as instructed in the previous step.

Step 8: How to Control Your Robot Using Cloud(through the Internet)

So now we have seen how to control using the local wifi .

Our next step is through control the robot through the internet from anywhere around the world.

To do so, register yourself at cloud.boltiot.com and register your device under your account.Once you have done this you will be able to see your device in your account as shown in the picture above.

Step 9: Uploading the Code for Cloud Control

The code for cloud control is slightly different from that which was used for local wifi control.

I have attached two files namely-bolt.js and index.txt.

Upload the bolt.js file first.

The index.txt file should be, like earlier, made into an index.htm file before uploading onto your cloud.

We need to make some changes in the index.htm file before uploading it.Open the index.htm file in any text editor and wherever you find "BOLT1234567" change it to your bolt id.Each bolt unit has a different id so you need to change wherever you find "BOLT1234567" and enter your bolt id instead of the existing one. For ex: if my bolt id is : BOLT9182660, then change this line as follows- var D_NAME="BOLT9182660".

You will have to make this change in more than one place in the file.

After making the changes,save your file as index.htm and upload it onto your cloud.

Step 10: Controlling Your Robot

After you have uploaded both your files(bolt.js and index.htm), create a new type called robocar. The name for the type can be as per your convenience.

In the type select the index.htm page in the page column. If you wish to give your type and image then you can do so.

After you have done this go to your dashboard and click on your device,doing this will open up the index.htm page through which you will be able to control your robot through the cloud platform.

By this method you can control this robot from anywhere in the world through the cloud platform.

IMPORTANT

-For the cloud control to work,

Make sure your bolt is connected to a wifi network which has internet access and you have uploaded both the bolt.js and index.htm file on your cloud.

Step 11: Facing Any Issues?

If you have any issues or doubts you can post them on http://forum.boltiot.com .

For further details on the Bolt IoT course and to buy the robot kit/Bolt IoT hardware unit log on to our website www.boltiot.com.