1. We thank the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs for supporting this research, and Learning & Technology Services for printing this poster. Miniature Bluetooth Controlled Robot Research by: Thomas Stegge with Dr. Kim Pierson Ph.D. | UWEC Physics & Astronomy Department This project was created to work on developing a miniature robotics platform that can be programed on the fly via Bluetooth and an iOS device or computer. This robot could be used in the classroom to provide a more economical and customizable teaching tool for all skill levels. The body and wheels of the robot were designed by myself using Autodesk Inventor 2014. I then 3D Printed the body and wheels using the Computer Science department’s MakerBot Replicator 2X 3D printer. I chose to use ABS plastic because of its strength and machinability. If need be, you would also be able to weld ABS pieces together using Acetone. This is the Light Blue Bean which is the brains of the robot. I NTRODUCTION L IGHT B LUE B EAN B RAINS AND S ENSORS We wanted to create a robot that could be replicated easily and at a reasonable cost. One future application we were looking to target was using these to teach robotics or programming classes. Using this set up allows everyone to customize the color and even shape of their robot. With the economical price tag it also allow the creator to pay for the parts and keep the robot once built, which will allow them to tinker with it on their own time to modify the platform to do whatever they wish. B ODY The Light Blue Bean was developed by Punch Through Design, a company founded by UWEC Alumn, Colin Karpfinger. The Bean is a Arduino Microcontroller, that communicates via low energy Bluetooth (BLE). This means that you can communicate with and program the Bean without the use of wires. Using BLE means that any project or prototype you make can be used and not have to be connected via wires to a computer. In our case this was a necessity, as we needed the robot to be able to drive around without being physically connected to anything. BLE also allows us to change what program is running on the Bean without having to bring it back to a computer to plug it in. We can simply be within range of the device and upload the new program wirelessly. A RDUINO This is the MakerBot Replicator 2X, the 3D printer I used to create all the parts. The Light Blue Bean is the brain of this robot. The Beans controls both continuous rotation servos, the servo on the front, and also reads in the data from the ultrasonic distance sensor. The Bean, via an Arduino program, is able to sweep the servo and ultrasonic distance sensor from side to side to determine where the best path to travel next is. This data is then converted to commands that tell the motors how to rotate. P URPOSE Light Blue Bean Built in Features: 3-axis Accelerometer Temperature Sensor RGB LED 6 digital I/O pins 2 analog pins Wireless programming Robot Navigate autonomously Avoid obstacles Be programmed to drive a predetermined path Collect data from built in or external sensors Can connect to the Bean via the internet with Node-RED Be reprogrammed on-the-fly via Bluetooth W HAT IT D OES T HE R OBOT A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Kim Pierson for the supply of some parts and advice, Dr. Matt Evans for the use of his Mac, the UWEC Computer Science Department for being able to use their 3D printer, and Colin Karpfinger, owner of Punch Through Designs, for sending us a few Beans and parts to use. This robot is powered by Arduino. My first design utilized a dual H bridge motor controller that controlled two brushed DC motors. I realized that these motors did not travel at the same speed when told to do so, which caused the robot to veer left when told to travel straight forward. I switched to using two continuous rotation servos, which have been more reliable and travel straighter. D RIVETRAIN F UTURE G OALS I would like to be able to create a swarm of these small robots and have them be able to communicate with each other to do their own tasks or follow a leader. Another few goals are to improve the driving and searching algorithm, clean up the wiring and design and monitor real time data from the device via the internet and Node-RED. Another goal that would be helpful to achieve is to be able to use a Raspberry Pi to allow multiple Beans to communicate to one central hub to allow a swarm of robots to communicate to the leader and each other. This could be used to build a temperature map of a building by sending out many robots and each collecting data and reporting back to the hub. C ONCLUSION Arduino is an open source computing platform, meaning anyone has free and universal access to the devices hardware and software. A typical Arduino board consists of a microcontroller board and several digital and/or analog in/out ports. P OWER To power this robot I used a 9V battery, because of its small voltage to size ratio. The Bean needs 3.3 volts to power on and the servos and ultrasonic sensor need 5 volts to run. This is achieved by using a 3.3V voltage regulator and a 5 volt voltage regulator. This provides each component with their necessary voltages, while only using one battery.