As far as controlling robots goes, makers today are spoilt for choice. WiFi and Bluetooth enabled microcontrollers are a dime a dozen, and integration with smartphone apps is a cinch. Despite this, the old methods still hold sway, as [Igor Fonseca] demonstrates with a simple Arduino bot. It’s a classic build, using a tracked chassis with a pair of motors providing propulsion and skid steering. The moto ...

The purpose of our final project was to create an unstable system that would allow us to investigate classical control design methods by controlling the system using a microcomputer. [gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="31225,31226"] This was accomplished by creating a teeter-totter that pivoted around a central fulcrum and was controlled by a servo. The beam acted as a track for a ping pong ball to roll ...

For our final project, we designed a 4-channel temperature controller using PID control. The system was designed to monitor and regulate the temperature of four individual channels by applying 120V to heating elements using on/off switching. [gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="31204,31205"] This switching was indirectly manipulated by the micro-controller using relays. Data was continuously collected fr ...

Further to my instructable 12V NE555 PWM Controller for Under $3 I have designed and built a simple and cheap DC Motor Direction Controller that can either be used with the PWM Controller, for speed control or by itself with a 12V power supply. I designed this DC Motor Direction Controller so that I could give direction control to DC motors that I am building into mini tools (drill, lathe, table saw, solder ...

A couple of months ago I picked up cheap WiFi-controlled LED bulbs (one among dozens of very similar devices), after seeing them at a friend’s place.  This turned out to be an excuse to play with the ESP8266, which has inspired several hacks. I was overall very happy with these bulbs: decent Android and iOS apps and, compared to fancier solutions (e.g., Philips Hue or Belkin WeMo), they do not require any p ...

Therm is a very small PID controller with an OLED display, thermocouple interface, and USB port. It can switch an external solid-state relay for driving large loads, or a transistor for driving small loads. When attached to a computer, it enumerates as a USB serial port for easy control and logging of data. The design is based around a STM32F0 microcontroller and the MAX31855 thermocouple-to-digital IC (not ...

Welcome to the never ending saga of Andy and his reflow controllers. About a year ago I published a project writeup showing how I built a PID-based reflow controller. It featured a 640×360 graphical LCD from the Sony U5 Vivaz mobile phone and was all-surface mount. It worked well and continues to serve me well to this day but I always thought that there were improvements that I could make in several areas. ...

Key Features Wide input voltage range: 4.5V to 60V Wide output voltage range: 0.6V to 54V Light-load efficiency enhancement Low ripple diode emulation mode with pulse skipping Programmable soft-start Supports prebiased output with SR soft-start Programmable frequency: 100kHz to 2MHz External sync PGOOD indicator Forced PWM Adaptive shoot-through protection No external current sense resistor Use lower MOSFET ...

The intention was to build the most universal soldering controller I can think of. It can drive any low voltage (upto 24V) iron with thermocouple or resistive sensor, in series with the heater, or separate. Here is a short list of features: - power: 9-28V, AC or DC - 2 separate heater control channels - 2 independent sensor inputs - current source on any sensor input 3uA - 12mA, wuth 2 bands (x1, x16) and 2 ...

Buzz..Buzzzz..buzzzzzzzz .. That is how a lone mosquito irritates you in the middle of the night trying to convince you that his lullaby is helpful. Insignificant or not, But truly that is the underlying inspiration for this project. The Mosquito repellents have this obnoxious smell that I would not like to sleep in and these loner mosquitoes who just piss me off by buzzing in the ear, you have to choose a ...

Ever wanted to build your own Solar Powered Raspberry Pi or Arduino system?   SunAir and SunAirPlus are 3rd Generation Solar Charging and Sun Tracking Boards designed by Dr. John C. Shovic at SwitchDoc Labs. You can use this board to power your projects and add a servo or stepper motor to allow it to track the sun using photoresistors to generate even more power! It incorporates a number of outstanding feat ...

Naturally, the Uno does not natively support keyboard strokes, unlike it's Leonardo brother. Most of Google will tell you you need to do some firmware workarounds and ATMEGA reprogramming just to get it working and the entire ordeal is a mess. If you're like me, you've found that out just after buying one. Here is how to get around all that using a bit of Java coding. The ideal solution would be to purchase ...