Hello,
I have a Hasbro Fur real robot dog I'd like to change from a manual on/off button to a radio controlled one could anyone advise me on how i would go about doing this using a adafruit product?
Robot Dog Remoted control Hack?
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Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.
- stozzawest123
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2017 10:12 am
Robot Dog Remoted control Hack?
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- adafruit_support_mike
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Re: Robot Dog Remoted control Hack?
There are multiple options for wireless connections. In order of rising complexity/power they are:
- 315MHz remotes
- Packet radio
- BLE
- Wifi
The 315MHz remotes are cheap and simple, but their range is fairly short:
https://www.adafruit.com/?q=315MHz&sort=BestMatch
Packet radio has much more range, and makes it easy for two microcontrollers to talk to each other:
https://www.adafruit.com/?q=Packet+radio&sort=BestMatch
Honestly, it will probably be overkill for turning the robot on and off. You might want to keep it in mind if you plan to expand the radio interface to control more behavior.
BLE is more complicated than packet radio, and its range is limited to a few meters, but almost every cell phone can work as a controller:
https://www.adafruit.com/?q=bluefruit&sort=BestMatch
Wifi is the most powerful and general, and also be the least expensive thanks to the ESP8266:
https://www.adafruit.com/?q=ESP8266&sort=BestMatch
but requires more programming experience than most of the others.
In all cases, you'll need to replace the switch with a relay or something equivalent
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2923
The relay is a direct replacement for a mechanical switch, taking electrical pulses to open or close it.
It might be possible to replace the switch with something less expensive, but it will require a better understanding of the existing circuit.
The simplest power switch opens and closes a connection to the power source, and a relay is usually the best replacement. More complex circuits will use a logic circuit where the switch generates an on/off signal, but doesn't control the power itself.
The kind of circuit your robot uses isn't obvious from the photos above. The second photo shows what looks like a motor controller, but I don't see general power control.
- 315MHz remotes
- Packet radio
- BLE
- Wifi
The 315MHz remotes are cheap and simple, but their range is fairly short:
https://www.adafruit.com/?q=315MHz&sort=BestMatch
Packet radio has much more range, and makes it easy for two microcontrollers to talk to each other:
https://www.adafruit.com/?q=Packet+radio&sort=BestMatch
Honestly, it will probably be overkill for turning the robot on and off. You might want to keep it in mind if you plan to expand the radio interface to control more behavior.
BLE is more complicated than packet radio, and its range is limited to a few meters, but almost every cell phone can work as a controller:
https://www.adafruit.com/?q=bluefruit&sort=BestMatch
Wifi is the most powerful and general, and also be the least expensive thanks to the ESP8266:
https://www.adafruit.com/?q=ESP8266&sort=BestMatch
but requires more programming experience than most of the others.
In all cases, you'll need to replace the switch with a relay or something equivalent
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2923
The relay is a direct replacement for a mechanical switch, taking electrical pulses to open or close it.
It might be possible to replace the switch with something less expensive, but it will require a better understanding of the existing circuit.
The simplest power switch opens and closes a connection to the power source, and a relay is usually the best replacement. More complex circuits will use a logic circuit where the switch generates an on/off signal, but doesn't control the power itself.
The kind of circuit your robot uses isn't obvious from the photos above. The second photo shows what looks like a motor controller, but I don't see general power control.
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.