PINNED - Plug & Play PGDT for Radio Control

[Burgerman]

Other than control is not easy with a phone. I tried flying a quadcopter like that last year. We ended up needing tennis rackets.

A RC transmitter stick sat in its box fully proportional, is a lot easier to control. A 6mph powerchair can do a lot of damage in a confined space.

A 15mph one doing about 12 here near the end by RC, will give you some idea!

Imagine this on a phone screen or with your finger. Not accurate or precise enough One slip and it would wreck your car or break someone's legs or run into traffic. Unless you program the chair to go very slowly.

http://www.wheelchairdriver.com/gopro/RC-BM3.mp4 Near the end.

[Alexlebrit]

I totally get what you're saying, but the new, current project is for an indoors only powerchair. Now normally that would seem like a really stupid idea powerchairs should be as versatile as possible, right? Right.

But my wife and I are moving onto a houseboat in a few months and storage space will be at a premium. Her outdoor chair will live outdoors in a nice dry insulated shed on our mooring, so for those occasional days when her condition is so bad she can't face walking from one end of the boat to the other and then up the lift (that's another story) she wants an indoor chair. But she doesn't want to be staring at an ugly poorly designed hunk of metal all the time.

So current thoughts are to hack the abomination that is the Shoprider Vienna we picked up on Gumtree, ditching the seat, getting rid of the sticky out anti - tips so we have the smallest chassis possible onto which the current plan is to screw one of our dining chairs covered in one of those drapey fabric covers.

End result a motorised dining chair which looks little or no different from any of the other five buy which can come when called.

I know, the antithesis of the all purpose chair that is BM3, but with very specific requirements.

[Alexlebrit]

Oh and her phone is with her 24/7 so it makes sense to go this route rather than the overkill and bulk of an RC Tx.

[woodygb]

What make of control has the Shoprider ... the VSI ?

EDIT:

Could you add your location.

[Alexlebrit]

You're good, yes it's a VSI... This is a steep learning curve for me so please excuse the dumb questions. Is it worth perhaps starting a new thread on Bluetooth control so as to keep this for long range RC?

[Burgerman]

I look forwards to hearing about how your houseboat has a hole in it!



Seriously, it should be ok as long as you set the chair to SLOW. And program it so theres no delays and turn acc and dec. See the other thread on DIY programming cable.

[Alexlebrit]

I doubt a Shoprider Vienna could punch a hole in a soggy cardboard box, it really is the feeblest of chairs, but for what we want it for, namely a chassis, it should do the trick. I half wonder if we couldn't just bypass all the fancy controller bits and turn it into a simple chassis/motor/battery combination like an RC tank. If the thing is going to crawl along indoors only most of the safety features seem redundant to me.

[woodygb]

Feel free to start a new thread if you wish.

I'd need to spend a little time looking over the Arduino coding ... but initially I can't forsee any great problems.

I could easily hard code a MAX speed ... say approx. 1/6 th of the chairs 4 mph = 1 foot per per sec ... and perhaps even add in a small adjustable pot to allow the end user to take the speed down lower .

[Mark]

Hi Alexlebrit,
Before you go too far down this route can I suggest you look at the Pride GoChair? This has the same P&G Vsi controller (so easy to reprogram for good control) but is even smaller than the Vienna! In particular it is narrower and shorter and (very important if you need to use it in the middle of the night) it is almost silent, whereas the Vienna has noisy gearboxes. I have both here, I have fitted proper deep support seating to my Go Chair which is now the tinyist indoor chair for me. Beware of the later models, they don't have the Vsi controller, they have a Pride-commissioned one that the P&G programmer won't change with the software they release. Last Go Chair I bought from my preferred supplier (eBay) cost under £50.

[woodygb]

I've nearly finished a BT / Android version ..anyone interested in testing it?
NOTE That the VR2 , VSi and likely the R-Net ..would all require a modicum of work by the end user...I.E. open the pod... solder 3 connections and cut an exit hole/nick in the joystick pod for the wire to the interface box.

The OMNI would still be ...more or less ..plug and play.

[Burgerman]

What Bluetooth is it? Version?

I don't know a lot about BT other than it at least hops, and has various power levels.

[woodygb]

No idea.
HC06 is the B.T module and the Android is using an App that took my fancy ...Joystick B.T. Commander

[Burgerman]

Is there a windows ap?

The thing is I dare not try it. It will make new doorways if I try to drive with a mouse or a phone...

How fast does the failsafe kick in?

[woodygb]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... tick&hl=en

ON THE SCREEN it seems quick enough....I'll know better when I attach it to a VSi and motors.

[Burgerman]

Did you know that Hobbyking have ready to go Bluetooth/phone/android apps, for RC models etc?

[woodygb]

I have had a look and can't see anything that really grabs me ...got any recommendations?

[Burgerman]

Not really, I happened across them a while ago when looking at getting a signal back to me for altitude (sink/rise) for a glider.

[woodygb]

I now have a volunteer for Beta testing of the BT control interface.
It will be early September before testing can commence.

[Burgerman]

Should be fun! As long as its set to go pretty slow it should be safe.

I would be interested to see how well it can be controlled with a phone screen. Tried it on a micro quad-copter in the pub. Needless to say its not very easy...

[woodygb]

I have currently programmed it for 2 speeds via a display button on the phone ... NORMAL and SLOW .... SLOW is approx 1/3rd of NORMAL.

[woodygb]

Just a little more bench testing required before I can declare the Beta B.T. Interface ready .

Pic below of Android phone running Commander App.

Momentary ON/OFF & (High/Low) SPEED buttons with an indication of the selected speed , ( X,Y) stick position and connection status in the bottom left corner.
A Joystick option of square was selected ...round is also available.

btchair.JPG (106.06 KiB) Viewed 25569 times

[Burgerman]

Well it LOOKS like a joystick!

I doubt I could safely drive my chairs with it though. As It will feel a bit strange as you will be looking at the chair not the phone screen.

What sort of range do you get? Will it work to get a chair from the bed to the garage for eg? Bluetooth has everything from 5 feet to about 1000 metres range, depending on a bunch of factors.
If so an IP cam, will allow you to see where it is going, like my quadcopter style surveillance cam, tiny TX and goggles. Or laptop screen.

[woodygb]

There is a version with a screen.

I've only done a limited range check .... walked across the green outside until the phone said "disconnected" and then back again until it "reconnected" ... I'd guess 40 feet to disconnect and then reconnect at 20 feet.

I'll need to find a helper .. so I can watch the interface box and see when IT disconnects to do a proper range check

http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?PHPSE ... msg1699561


BTW ..The "stick" returns to centre when it is released.

[Burgerman]

40/20 feet outside line of sight isn't great. You may want to try different antennas than the bit of printed circuit board.

We use these BT modules on planes and helis, and outdoors in clean air (no walls or trees/cars around) they work reliably for telemetry from aircraft to ground much further like 400 to 1000m.

Ground range, is usually about 80 to 100 feet.
Indoors, if you can get BT to connect, it is bothered by many different things. And range can be OK from one room to another or so bad you cannot get a connection at all. Depends on the RF situation in the house.

My Hyperion chargers will only work if up to 10 feet from the laptop or approx. 30 feet max from the PC with a tiny USB BT HALF ROUND THING...

Same charger at the airfield, works at the other end of the runway, via my BT laptop inside the van. BT is a bit variable and it can work much better with a tiny bit of optimization. Like a straight wire 32.25mm long for the antenna. But length has to be correct.


THIS works. Tested, 3x more range. http://www.mike-worth.com/2012/05/21/im ... th-dongle/

Or even

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwKWOdOHiWY

[woodygb]

I've got a spare B.T. board ..


I'll give it a whirl.

[ex-Gooserider]

I like the version with the screen better... Seems like a reasonable solution to the notion of getting the chair out of the way and parking it, then bringing it back when needed.

I noticed there was no mention of Pilot+ in the list of boxes it might work with - is it not compatible, or did you just forget to mention it?

ex-Gooserider

[woodygb]

I sort of forgot ...it can be used with the Pilot+ stick ...IF.

The ease of interfacing depends on the pods age and the joystick that is inside it.... the early JC200 or the later JC2000 .

The later JC2000 ...not a problem... see pic.

pilot+new2.jpg (203.54 KiB) Viewed 25552 times

The early JC200 has wiring coming from it in colours like below ....and is hard wired to the board.... so it's possible ...but the end user of my interface would need to interpose it themselves into the multi-coloured harness.

pilot+colours.jpg (61.07 KiB) Viewed 25552 times

[woodygb]

EARLY Pilot+ board.

early pilot1.JPG (175.07 KiB) Viewed 25551 times

[woodygb]

I like the version with the screen better

... I/you would need to ask Kas .. the developer ... for a copy of the RC Commander as I don't think it's exactly the same App that is currently available as a direct download for the Android phone.

http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?PHPSE ... msg1699561

NOTE ...

The real time video is conveyed via Wi-Fi.

..So the VIDEO link and all the kit associated with displaying the video on the phone has NOTHING to do with the Arduino interface...YOU the end user would need to supply all the bits required ..I.E. Camera and WiFI link.

[woodygb]

I tried the aerial mod with both a 1/4 and 1/2 wavelength... and got slightly worse results than std.

There is however a nice class 1 compatible Bluetooth module ... the BlueSMiRF Gold ... based on the Bluetooth RN41 wireless module ...that is compatible with the Arduino .

Bluetooth Modem - BlueSMiRF Gold

The Sparkfun BlueSMiRF Gold is the latest Bluetooth wireless serial cable replacement from SparkFun Electronics! These modems work as a serial (RX/TX) pipe. Any serial stream from 9600 to 115200bps can be passed seamlessly from your computer to your target. Units tested successfully over open air at 350ft (106m)!

The remote unit can be powered from 3.3V up to 6V for easy battery attachment. All signal pins on the remote unit are 3V-6V tolerant. No level shifting is required. Do not attach this device directly to a serial port. You will need an RS232 to TTL converter circuit if you need to attach this to a computer.

This is a single unit only. We recommend the purchase a USB dongle to interface to a computer if you do not already have access to a computer with Bluetooth connectivity.

Specifications of the Sparkfun BlueSMiRF Gold:
• FCC Approved Class 1 Bluetooth Radio Modem
• Extremely small radio - 0.15x0.6x1.9"
• Very robust link both in integrity and transmission distance (100m) - no more buffer overruns!
• Low power consumption : 25mA avg
• Hardy frequency hopping scheme - operates in harsh RF environments like WiFi, 802.11g, and Zigbee
• Encrypted connection
• Frequency: 2.4~2.524 GHz
• Operating Voltage: 3.3V-6V
• Serial communications: 2400-115200bps
• Operating Temperature: -40 ~ +70C
• Built-in antenna

http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/bluesmirf ... =BlueSMiRF