Lego Arduino RC car

I realized it's been quite a while since I last posted anything abd I will admit, I was getting a bit lazy as of late and it's probably due to the school holdiays. But, despite my laziness getting in the way of my productivity, I have been learning a few things here and there regarding the Arduino. Specifically,I have been reading into wireless communication devices so I could build a rc car. Well, I managed to pick up a pair of rf transmitter and receiver and have successfully built my own working remote control. Here are some photos:

Let me explain about this project a little bit.

This car is built out of Lego Mindstorms components, at the heart of the car is an Arduino Uno, powered by a 9volt battery. I also have a 3cell 2200mah 11.1 volt battery powering the motors and my L298n motor driver. The motors are Mindstorms nxt motors. Note that if you are keen on doing something like this, be sure not too supply more than 9 volts as this motor is rated at 9volts. I'm also using a 315 MHZ radio frequency transmitter and receiver.

The range I'm getting is quite decent, which is about 20m, through walls (I was inside my house and was controlling the car which was outside of the house). This is certainly not the best, but considering I paid only RM9 (2.09USD), I'm fairly impressed. 

I'll be updating this post with a video and the code so stay tuned.

Update #2 Here's the code I used for this project:

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6uB9kVTUBKuWFZQUDFBX1pjRW8&usp=sharing

Don't hesitate to ask if you have any inquiries. I'm not done with the video yet, working on it at the

moment.

Update #3 Managed to get the video up right before 2016! Hope you enjoy the video!

Arduino + NXT project

Hello! I'm currently working on an NXT built car controlled by an Arduino UNO. Stay tuned for more details.

Project M.E.C.H WRO 2015 Open Category Junior High Gold

Hello, let me explain a little bit about our project.

Our project is code named project MECH. This is short for Mechanically Enhanced Crisis Handler.
The main purpose of this project is to help miners with their mining tasks and also to enhance their safety.
Find out more in our full written report.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6uB9kVTUBKuVENxcy1CaGdEOTA

A little disclaimer: This report was solely written by Praveen Suthan who is our mentor. I do not wish to take any credit which is duly his.

compilation of the press

http://www.bharian.com.my/node/95863

SEPANG: Kontinjen negara muncul juara keseluruhan Kejohanan World Robot Olympiad (WRO) ke-12 di Doha, Qatar, selepas menewaskan cabaran 43 negara lain. Pengarah Bahagian Kokurikulum dan Kesenian, Kementerian Pendidikan, Rozainum Ahmad berkata ia susulan kejayaan memenangi tiga pingat emas, dua perak dan dua anugerah kecemerlangan. Beliau berkata, kejuaraan itu adalah kali kelima dalam tempoh tujuh tahun. Katanya, kontinjen negara berjaya menebus kekecewaan merampas kembali gelaran tersebut selepas hanya muncul naib juara keseluruhan tahun lalu. "Kontinjen negara berjaya menewaskan 43 negara lain dalam kejohanan kali ini dan kemenangan ini sangat kami banggakan," katanya kepada pemberita ketika menyambut kepulangan kontinjen negara dari Doha, Qatar di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA), di sini hari ini. Dalam kejohanan yang berlangsung di Doha dari 6 hingga 8 November lalu itu, kontinjen Malaysia terdiri daripada 19 pasukan membabitkan 57 peserta dan bertanding dalam tujuh acara. Tiga pingat emas negara dimenangi oleh pasukan YC Adventure Kidz dari Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) Yuk Chai, Petaling Jaya dalam kategori Terbuka Sekolah Rendah; Pasukan Robotist dari Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) USJ 4, Subang Jaya pula menang kategori Terbuka Menengah Rendah manakala dan pasukan Aramaitee dari Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) Kota Kinabalu, Sabah dalam kategori Gen II Bola Sepak. Wakil YC Adventure Kidz, Lim Yi Hang, 10, berkata pasukannya sangat gembira robot penjelajahan bawah air yang dicipta mereka berjaya menggondol pingat emas. "Kami berharap ciptaan kami boleh pergi lebih jauh dan dikomersialkan. Kami juga belajar banyak perkara dalam pertandingan ini terutama dalam membuat pembentangan dan bertemu peserta dari negara lain," katanya. Bagi wakil pasukan Robotist, C. Jaimishran, 15, pasukannya mengambil masa lapan bulan untuk menyiapkan projek yang dicipta untuk membantu tugas dan meningkatkan tahap keselamatan pelombong. "Tahun lalu kami mengambil bahagian tetapi tidak menang. WRO adalah pertandingan yang amat sengit, terdapat banyak pasukan dan banyak projek yang hebat, tetapi kami bekerja keras dan akhirnya menang," katanya. Wakil pasukan Aramaitee, Zahin Arif Saiful Azian, 15, berkata robot pasukannya berjaya menewaskan pasukan Greece 5-3 dalam perlawanan akhir Gen II bola sepak. "Sebelum ini kami sudah beberapa kali bertanding di WRO tetapi hanya berjaya sampai ke suku akhir, kali ini dapat jadi juara, kami sangat berpuas hati," katanya.



Selanjutnya di : http://www.bharian.com.my/node/95863

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http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/11/11/Students-win-gold-with-mineboggling-invention/











SEPANG: It was a double celebration this Deepavali for C. Jaimishran and his team when they won a gold medal at the World Robot Olympiad 2015 in Qatar.


They designed a robotic suit, equipped with its own drone and a moving camera system, to help miners who work in dangerous conditions.


Besides Jaimishran, the team from SMK USJ 4 comprised two other Form Three students –S. Ruhanesh and Liew Chan Yue.


“We feel happy about our team’s achievement as our hard work had paid off.


“Our win is extra special as it is a present for my parents on Deepavali Day,” said Jaimishran at the KL International Airport yesterday.


Their winning project for the lower secondary schools category is called the MECH, which stands for mechanically enhanced crisis handler.


“Its main purpose is to help ­miners with their task and also to protect them when there is a crisis,” said Liew.


“The body suit will also automatically activate a gas mask if dangerous gases are detected.”


Ruhanesh said the suit, equipped with a camera system called Alpha, would explore the mine before the miners go in.


“There is GoPro camera attached to it, with a 360° view of the mine.


“There is also a gas sensor, so that when it detects harmful poisonous gas, it will send a signal to the suit. Once it is activated, a mask on the body suit will be turned on,” he added.


The drone, which is equipped with a GPS device, can detect the user’s nerve senses and emit signals to the system which could help identify the wearer’s location.


Asked what inspired the project, he said the group was moved by the Chilean mining disaster in 2010 known as the Copiapo mining incident.


“Although all of the victims were rescued after being trapped for 69 days, they were left physically and mentally traumatised,” said Ruhanesh.


“They were later allowed to return to work in the mines.


“We would like to build a system with a rapid solution in the event of a mining crisis.”


The group was among 19 Malaysian contingents that grabbed three gold medals, two silver medals and two distinction mentions in the World Robot Olympiad competitions.





The competition saw some 3,000 participants from over 44 countries competing in the competition, themed “Robot Explorers”.


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http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1607383












SEPANG: Malaysia emerged as the overall champion for the fifth time in seven years in the 12th World Robot Olympiad (WRO) after clinching three gold medals, two silver and two excellence awards.


Education Ministry Co-Curricular and Arts division director Rozainum Ahmad said the national contingent regained the overall title after finishing as the overall runners-up last year.


"We beat 43 other countries in this competition and we are very proud of this victory," she told reporters after welcoming the return of the national contingent from Doha, Qatar at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport here today.


In the competition held in Doha, Qatar from Nov 6-8, the Malaysian contingent comprising 19 teams involving 57 participants competed in seven events.


One of the gold medals was bagged by the YC Adventure Kidz from Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Yuk Chai, Petaling Jaya, in the Open Primary School category.


The second gold was won by the Robotist team from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan USJ 4, Subang Jaya in the Open Lower Secondary category.


The Aramaitee team from Kota Kinabalu Mara Junior Science College, Sabah bagged the third gold for Malaysia in the Gen II Football category.


YC Adventure Kidz representative Lim Yi Hang, 10, said his team were thrilled that their underwater exploration robot was announced as the gold medal winner.


"We hope that our invention can go further and be commercialised. We have also learned a lot of things in this competition and got the chance to meet with participants from other countries," said Lim.


C. Jaimishran, 15, representing the Robotist team said his team took eight months to complete the project, which was designed to assist the duties and increase the level of safety of miners.


"Last year we took part and we didn't win. WRO is a very tough competition, there are so many teams and a lot of great projects, but we worked hard and finally won," he said.


Aramaitee team representative Zahin Arif Saiful Azian, 15, said their robot defeated Greece 5-3 at the final of the Gen II football category.





"We competed a number of times in the WRO but only made it to the quarterfinals, and this time we are very satisfied to bag the title," he said. — Bernama

This whole press thing has reignited one of my memories, an interview with New Straits Times last year. fortunately, I was able to find the website and share it with you all.

Dreams and determination are what drives three young robotics enthusiasts, writes Aneeta Sundararaj.


When I ask Rebecca Shi Tong Qin, 42, to stand next to her 14-year-old son, Joshua Liew Cha Yue, for a photo, she reaches for his hand. Looking visibly embarrassed, he stops her and signals that he isn’t about to reciprocate. Joshua is simply too shy for any show of affection from his mother who is proud of his success. Joshua is part of a team of three students from SMK USJ 4, Selangor who won the recent National Robotics Competition in the Junior High School Open Category. He and his classmates, Jaimishran C. Chandrasekhar (Jai) and Ruhanesh Suthan, will represent the country at the World Robotics Olympiad from Nov 21-23 in Sochi, Russia. Apart from their parents, they will also have Chaman Singh Balwinder Singh and Ng Ka Fai, both 26, and the team at EDU360 Academy cheering them on. “We started EDU360 Academy in 2009 and specialise in conducting Lego Mindstorms Robotics and Toon Boom Animation classes,” says Chaman. He and his team used these products to create their own syllabi to help motivate and teach children. All three boys are members of their school Robotics Club. “Of 100 members, maybe 10 attend classes,” says Jai. Quickly, and with obvious pride, his father, Chandrasekhar Chakravarthy, 47, adds: “And out of those 10, these three are the top.” It was Kanchana Murugesu, Ruhanes’ 43-year-old mother, who first contacted Chaman early this year. “I wanted a trainer who could help the boys with robotics. I liked EDU360’s track record and that it has its own syllabus. It doesn’t spoon-feed the children and our boys have to come up with their own ideas. As a parent, I wanted to take the team as far as possible.” WIN NOT GUARANTEED Chaman, a network engineer by training, is certain of one thing though: “When I first met the parents, I didn’t know what to expect. I remember that the one question she asked me was if I could guarantee a win for the boys. That’s the one thing I refused to guarantee. What I guaranteed was that they boys would learn.” Once it was decided that Chaman and his team would become part of those supporting these boys, training began in earnest. The boys were taught all aspects of the winning project from ideology, fabrication and design, and creation to programming, innovation and improvisation, and presentation. Chaman says: “I could’ve hired engineers to get these things done for the boys. They could have won this way. But winning or losing was immaterial. What was more important was that they learnt. For instance, in one lesson, I made them watch a man playing golf. Then, they had to create a program that simulated the golfer’s movements.” Every week the boys met at Kanchana’s home in Subang Jaya. “During the holidays,” she recalls, “it was every day. They practised their presentation and at one point, they even gave us a demonstration.” MARS MISSION The boys’ project was called Apollo 2020, in line with the theme of the competition, Space. Jai explains that their idea was to create a system which allowed a manned mission to land on Mars. At present, this could not be achieved because of the inherent dangers on Mars such as rocky terrain and unpredictable weather. The system comprises three intelligent and interactive robots: Kronos, Zeus and Ares which will prepare the landing areas on Mars and simultaneously collect useful data. Kronos will provide a geographical scan of the terrain to pinpoint a suitable landing location. Ares will build a platform to solve the problem of astronauts having a “rough landing”. Zeus functions as a probe for weather data collection. A mobile satellite, Orion, will send coordinates of the landing platform to the shuttle and warn Kronos of weather threats. The teaching wasn’t just one way, though and Chaman and his team learnt from the boys as well. “These boys introduced me to something called Microsoft Kinect. With that, they could produce 3D models of the terrain using an infrared camera,” says Chaman. What do the champions have to say about their success? In spite of their reluctance for any outward show of affection, it is obvious that the boys are delighted that their parents take an interest in their work. It gives them the impetus and determination to work together to achieve success. Jai, who is the designated designer, speaks for them when he says: “Without them, we wouldn’t have had the funding we needed to buy things for our project.” EARLY FASCINATION In the script for the presentation they made during the competition, the boys wrote: “Our project is the key to our lifelong dream of successfully planning a manned mission to Mars.” It seems strange to use the word “lifelong” for children so young. Yet, it makes sense when each parent reveals that these boys spent almost every moment of their lives building and creating something. Rebecca says: “When Joshua was a little boy, all his trousers had holes in the knees because he spent all his time crawling to find Lego sets.” Chandrasekhar shows a picture of Jai’s room, filled with miniature models of things he had built. “From the time he was small, I noticed that he was always fascinated with the toys. When anything broke, he would fix it. So I know this is where his interests lie and I will do all I can to support him.” These parents didn’t invest in this activity merely because they recognised their children’s talents. In fact, Kanchana insists that robotics is the way of the future. Still, there is frustration in their voices when the parents admit that they have received lacklustre support in some cases. “We’re grateful to Siemens Malaysia and Apex Communication for their sponsorship,” says Kanchana. They felt that sponsorship and support would’ve been more forthcoming for a private school. In spite of these challenges, the parents insist they would not enrol their children in a private school. “Joshua is Malaysian,” says Rebecca, who is from China. “He must know Bahasa Malaysia. It’s very important for him to know the language of his country.” Chandrasekhar sums up the emotions of the day: “True, in a private school, everything is provided for and here we struggle. But through this struggle, my son will understand the value of the goal and what he achieves.”




Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2015/09/family-talent-robotics

WRO 2015 Qatar

Hellooo!

So my team and I recently got back from Doha, Qatar (today actually) after a long three days of competition and we're proud to bring home the gold medal for open category junior high! This is definitely a treat as we got a rather mediocre sixth placing last year at Russia. Anyways, when we got back to Malaysia, we were greeted by the press. It came quite as a surprise to us as we never expected it to be like this, it was truly a little overwhelming.

MALAYSIA BOLEH! MALAYSIA BOLEH! MALAYSIA BOLEH!

We are right at the front towards the left. Watch the video first to be able to recognize who's part of team Robotists.

Now to think of it, I've never actually released any material regarding our project at all. Now since WRO 2015 is officially over, attached below is our project video directed by me. :)

Be sure to use the subtitles as there are some mistakes in the video corrected by subtitles.

I'd also like to say thanks to our mentor Praveen Suthan, who wrote the script for our WRO project. The script was later tweaked by me to make it easier to use for the video.

Apollo 2020

This, is the name of our project. So, as promised, I will share some details about our last year's WRO robotics project. The link below leads to our report. His report was designed and written by our mentor, Praveen Suthan.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6uB9kVTUBKuWHY5aFJCbXpEYTQ/view?usp=docslist_api

Little introduction

Hello,

I'm Joshua, I'm a student in Malaysia and welcome to my blog!

So, with this blog, my aim is to share my experience with, well, whoever's interested in this blog about my robotics projects.

Here's a little bit about myself:
In year 2013, me and two other schoolmates took part in the NRC competition. This competition is to determine who will make it to the final international competition which is WRO. Well, it didn't end to well for us as we got 17th placing in the inter-school round.

The next year however (2014), we decided to take part once more. This time we participated in the open category. The theme was Robots and Space and well, we actually managed to best 13 other teams from each state in nationals. We had the privilage to visit Sochi, Russia for the World Robot Olympiad 2014. (I'll try to upload some material about our project so you could see it for yourselves). Well, we emerged sixth place but were quite happy.

This year (2015), the theme is Robot Explorers. We designed and built an exoskeleton mainly to enhance the mining experience as well to keep them safe (Images to come). With this project, we were able to make it through the state level and the nationals level. So, we will be heading over to Doha, Qatar sometime soon for the WRO 2015.

So yeah, that's a little glimpse into what my passion is and I will update this blog with my personal projects and WRO projects. I will also most definitely be uploading photos about what I'll do in Qatar. Till next time, this Joshua and thanks for reading my first post.