Basic motor control and the tracked vehicle
To build this project, you'll want to start with either a wheeled or a tracked vehicle. There are many options. The following is an image of a tracked platform:
As with the RC car or toy robot, it is difficult to directly connect Raspberry Pi to the DC motors that control the speed and direction of the tracked vehicle. Instead, you'll want to add a DC motor controller for this. You'll use the RaspiRobot Board V2 for this project, the same board that was introduced in Chapter 1, Adding Raspberry Pi to an RC Vehicle.
The board will provide the drive signals for the tracked vehicle. By driving each motor separately, you'll also be able to turn the vehicle. By reversing the signals, you'll be able to change the vehicle's direction and make very sharp turns. The following are the steps to connect the motor control board:
Place the motor control board onto the Raspberry Pi.
Now, connect the battery power connector to the power connector on the board. Use...
