MonsterBorg - Build

Use a game controller or joystick to drive MonsterBorg Most of us want to be able to control our robots manually one way or another. Bluetooth wireless controllers such as a PS3 controller or Wiimote are great way to do this with Raspberry Pi based robots as the Pi 3 has Bluetooth built in to the board :) In this example we will show how these game...

Set your MonsterBorg to move in a preset sequence Robots such as BigTrak and Turtles work by having a sequence of moves programmed into them. Most of them use a set of commands based on the Logo programming language. In this example we will turn our MonsterBorg into a turtle robot, just without the pen :) Parts All we need for this example is the...

Drive your MonsterBorg from a smart phone or web browser One of the best things about building your own robot is being able to control it remotely. Using MonsterBorg with a Raspberry Pi camera you can drive around and see what the robot sees from a smart phone, laptop, or even via the web! In this example we will show...

Get your MonsterBorg to autonomously follow a coloured track Driving a MonsterBorg around yourself can be fun, but having it drive all by itself is much more exciting. There are many ways to get a robot to drive on its own, such as line following sensors, ultrasonics, lidar, or even GPS. Since MonsterBorg can see using a camera and process those images using the Raspberry Pi we can get MonsterBorg to drive from...

Step 0: Firstly, make sure you have installed the software so you can easily connect and modify code without needing to remove the Raspberry Pi. See the getting started page for more information. Step 1: Place the chassis on a table with the camera tab oriented the left as pictured. Step 2: Open the bag of screws and check...

As MonsterBorg is based around the Raspberry Pi 3 it can do some really exciting things. Below are some examples we have come up with to show off what MonsterBorg can do :) Click on the images to view the examples: Joystick control Use a game controller or joystick to drive MonsterBorg. In this example we use a controller...

Before starting We recommend that you setup the software for running your MonsterBorg before you start assembly. These instructions assume you are running a recent copy of Raspbian, and they also assume you are using the pi user (the default for Raspbian). If you do not have your SD card setup yet you can find the downloads and instructions at http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads. The instructions below will require the Raspberry Pi to be connected...

Installation issues Permission denied, file not found, 404 or similar: There are a few possible causes of this: Out of disk space: We have occasionally seen this with people who have smaller SD cards, check by using df If the Use% column reads 99 or 100% on rootfs you probably need to remove some files to free up space Unable to find file / 404: Most likely the...

MonsterBorg is a chunky metal rover robot designed for use with a Raspberry Pi. It has a powerful 5 Amp motor controller and with 10xAA batteries, can run for up to 3 hours! Making robots is hugely educational, and the MonsterBorg robot has been made to suit all skill levels. The kit includes a ThunderBorg motor controller which gives access to software to interface...