Android Phone Drives NXT Robot via ADK Board & NXShield

Go to 5:20 for the good stuff!!

This robot was built with NXT parts and NXT motors but is controlled by the Google ADK (Open Accessory Development Kit) Arduino Board by receiving accelerometer sensor input from an Android Nexus One. The ADK Board acts as a USB Host to the Nexus One and is able to send and receive commands. The NXShield sandwiches with the Google ADK Arduino Board and interfaces with NXT Sensors and NXT Motors.

Documentation for this project can be found at:
http://tejachiluvuri.com/personal-projects/13-adk-nxshield

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Android
• phone
• robot
• NXT
• motors
• NXShield
• ADK
• Open
• Accessory
• Development
• Kit
• Google
• Board
• DemoKit
• RealMaze
• Nexus
• One
• Arduino

[pygame100]

So you wrote the code in Python?



[ntchil]

@pygame100 sorry I did not see this comment but no the code for this was not written in python. the code on the android is actually an actual apk android app that was made but using the python scripting layer, you are able to communicate with an android via the usb and achieve a similar task.

[pcdevltd]

I've only just seen your video, what a neat use of the ADK board, and really great to see you are using my RealMaze app - I didn't know if anyone else had actually used my instructable until I saw this. Just one thing, there's no link to the ADK, my instructable or my RealMaze video (from the comments it looks like it was there before but was inadvertently removed?) are you able to add a link in your description and/or web page? I'm looking forward to seeing more of your projects! Cheers, Paul

[Cloakmolotov]

This is very advanced for someone as young and inexperienced as you, Nayana!

[hehegirl]

@ntchil Thank you very much for all your help, but we have decided to use the IOIO board so we only need to have one big program running. In terms of battery, we are going to first have everything running then see how much current the whole unit consumes. Thank you again! :D

[ntchil]

@hehegirl So basically you can write code in python (very very easy compared to JAVA and eclipse and all that stuff) and u use the ADB library to talk with the Arduino. The good part of this is that you don't need a newer Android with 2/3/4, any Android will work and it is so much easier to understand and program. You can basically communicate. We are currently working on developing the protocol, I will have a video with a robot using this protocol in a couple of days.

[ntchil]

@hehegirl No problem! Actually, if you are interested, we are currently working on a protocol to communicate with the Arduino through a TCP port opened by the Arduino by acting as an ADB host. This is similar to what the IOIO uses. ADB is a very powerful utility in Android phones and it allows us to open a bidirectional communication line. For this project, we are actually using the SL4A (it is a Python scripting layer for Android).

[hehegirl]

@ntchil You have no idea how grateful I am of your input. The phone will store the data internally and also upload it to a server for backup once a day. I am still in the process of learning how to program in Android, so I don't know if you can put into the code to just shut off the service that backs up the data + Wi-Fi once the upload is complete? And the chair will not be electric.

[ntchil]

@hehegirl I understand. Will the data-logger on the phone store the data internally or will it upload it to a webserver or something? Because if it stores it internally you can go ahead and disable the network and data features and put it in Super power saver mode and then the battery will last longer. Also, if the wheelchair is electric, it will have a battery perhaps you can draw some power from there? If not, a battery with a large capacity should do the job reasonably well I think.

[hehegirl]

@ntchil thank you again for replying so fast! we're mounting the data-logger onto a wheelchair to track the location, speed, etc of a person, so unfortunately we cannot use a DC power supply...