7. Adding Raspberry Pi Zero to an RC Vehicle | Getting Started with Raspberry Pi Zero

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Getting Started with Raspberry Pi Zero

By : Richard Grimmett

4.7 (3)

Getting Started with Raspberry Pi Zero

4.7 (3)

By: Richard Grimmett

Overview of this book

Raspberry Pi Zero is half the size of Raspberry Pi A, only with twice the utility. At just three centimeters wide, it packs in every utility required for full-fledged computing tasks. This practical tutorial will help you quickly get up and running with Raspberry Pi Zero to control hardware and software and write simple programs and games. You will learn to build creative programs and exciting games with little or no programming experience. We cover all the features of Raspberry Pi Zero as you discover how to configure software and hardware, and control external devices. You will find out how to navigate your way in Raspbian, write simple Python scripts, and create simple DIY programs.

Preface

Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Free Chapter

1. Getting Started with Raspberry Pi Zero

1. Getting Started with Raspberry Pi Zero

Setting up the Raspberry Pi Zero

Powering the board

Hooking up a keyboard, mouse, and display

Installing the operating system

Adding Internet access

Summary

2. Programming Raspberry Pi Zero

2. Programming Raspberry Pi Zero

Powering up Raspberry Pi Zero with Linux

Creating, editing, and saving files

Creating and running Python programs

Basic programming constructs on Raspberry Pi Zero

Summary

3. Accessing the GPIO Pins on Raspberry Pi Zero

3. Accessing the GPIO Pins on Raspberry Pi Zero

The GPIO capability of Raspberry Pi Zero

Simple GPIO digital voltage output

Adding a sonar sensor

Connecting a digital compass to Raspberry Pi Zero

Accessing the compass programmatically

Summary

4. Building and Controlling a Simple Wheeled Robot

4. Building and Controlling a Simple Wheeled Robot

The basic platform

Controlling an H-bridge interface to the DC motors

Controlling your mobile platform programmatically using the Raspberry Pi Zero

Controlling the speed of your motors with PWM

Using a motor controller board to control the DC motors

Controlling the vehicle using the Raspberry Pi Zero in Python

Planning your path

Summary

5. Building a Robot That Can Walk

5. Building a Robot That Can Walk

Robots that can walk

How servo motors work

Building the quadruped platform

Using a servo controller to control the servos

Communicating between the servo controller and a PC

Connecting the servo controller to the Raspberry Pi Zero

Creating a program in Linux to control your quadruped

Summary

6. Adding Voice Recognition and Speech – A Voice Activated Robot

6. Adding Voice Recognition and Speech – A Voice Activated Robot

Communication between the Raspberry Pi Zero and the robot

Giving your robot voice commands

Using eSpeak to allow your robot to respond with an audible voice

Using pocketsphinx to accept your voice commands

Interpreting commands and initiating actions

Summary

7. Adding Raspberry Pi Zero to an RC Vehicle

7. Adding Raspberry Pi Zero to an RC Vehicle

Configuring and controlling an RC car with Raspberry Pi Zero

Controlling the RC car in Python

Accessing the RC car remotely

Connecting a webcam

Summary

8. Playing Rock, Paper, or Scissors with Raspberry Pi Zero

8. Playing Rock, Paper, or Scissors with Raspberry Pi Zero

A robotic hand

Moving the robotic hand

Connecting the servo controller to the Raspberry Pi Zero

Creating a program on Raspberry Pi Zero so that you can control your hand

Installing a USB camera on Raspberry Pi Zero

Downloading and installing OpenCV – a fully featured vision library

Gesture detection

Summary

9. Adding Raspberry Pi Zero to a Quadcopter

9. Adding Raspberry Pi Zero to a Quadcopter

Constructing the platform

Mission planning software

Summary

Index

Index

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Controlling the RC car in Python

The hardware is ready, now you can access all this functionality from Raspberry Pi Zero. First, install the library associated with the control board, found at http://www.monkmakes.com/?page_id=698 and perform the following steps:

Run the command wget https://github.com/simonmonk/raspirobotboard2/raw/master/python/dist/rrb2-1.1.tar.gz. This will retrieve the library.
Then, run tar -xzf rrb2-1.1.tar.gz. This will unarchive the files.
Type cd rrb2-1.1. This will change the directory to the location of the files.
Type sudo python setup.py install. This will install the files.

Now you'll create some Python code that will allow you to access both the drive motor and the steering motor. The code will look similar to the following screenshot:

The specifics on the code are as follows:

import RPi.GPIO as GPIO: This will import the RPi.GPIO library, allowing you to send out a PWM signal to the front steering mechanism.
import time: This will import the time library, allowing...

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