PiBot: Build Your Own Raspberry Pi Powered Robot

A step-by-step guide to building your own small, mobile robot with a Raspberry Pi minicomputer.

Created byWolf Donat

Last updated 7/2015

English

What you'll learn

By the end of this course, youi will have the knowledge necessary to construct a small, mobile robot with a Raspberry Pi brain

Course content

3 sections • 19 lectures • 1h 10m total length

Course Intro1:23
Introduction to the course.
The Raspberry Pi overview6:34
This lecture gives a short overview of the Raspberry Pi and its components.
Linux overview6:32
This lecture is a short introduction to the Linux operating system.
Python overview6:34
This lecture serves as a brief introduction to the Python programming language that can be used to program the PiBot's movements.

Format your SD Card (Windows)3:12
This lecture covers the process of downloading the SD Card Association's formatting tool to a Windows computer and using it to clean and format the SD card which will be used in your Raspberry Pi.
Format your SD Card (Mac)2:58
This lecture covers the process of downloading the SD Card Association's formatting tool to the Mac and using it to clean and format the SD card which will be used in your Raspberry Pi.
Download and Install NOOBS/Raspbian (Windows)2:22
This lecture covers the process of downloading the NOOBS (New Out Of Box Software) from the Raspberry Pi website to your Windows machine, extracting it, and installing it onto the SD card you formatted in Lecture 5.
Download and Install NOOBS/Raspbian (Mac)2:27
This lecture covers the process of downloading the NOOBS (New Out Of Box Software) from the Raspberry Pi website to your Mac, unpacking it, and installing it onto the SD card you formatted in Lecture 6.
First Pi startup with NOOBS2:33
This lecture shows the first Pi startup using the NOOBS tool we downloaded earlier.
First startup - raspi-config8:03
This lecture walks you through the raspi-config tool, which greets you the first time you power on your Pi.
Things you'll need and where to get them3:52
This lecture (lecture 11 - disregard the opening slide title :) deals with the parts necessary to build your bot.
Installing the wireless adapter5:53
This lecture walks you through the process of installing the wireless adapter and setting it up with a static IP address.
Installing ServoBlaster libraries3:16
This lecture walks you through the process of installing the software library needed to control servomotors with the Pi's GPIO pins.

Bot construction5:12
This lecture gives some things to remember and simple instructions regarding put the PiBot's body together with the parts you've collected.
Power requirements4:52
This lecture covers the requirements necessary to power both the mobile Pi and the wheel servomotors.
Bot control3:55
This lecture covers logging into the bot remotely and controlling the motors from another computer, both scripted and in realtime.
Python control script0:39
PiBot Book File51:00
Full text of the PiBot book.
Conclusion & Final Thoughts1:00

Requirements

Raspberry Pi minicomputer
Misc. robot-building parts (wheels, servos, etc.)
some knowledge of Linux and Python is helpful

Description

Since the Raspberry Pi was released in 2012, it has changed the game for both professionals and hobbyists alike. Its small size (about the size of a credit card) and low price have made it a popular alternative to the Arduino microprocessor for projects ranging from home automation to web servers to mobile image processing. Its ARM processor allows it to run a version of Debian Linux, and it can be configured to work with the physical world via onboard GPIO pins and optional extra equipment. The newest version can even run both Windows 10 and a full Ubuntu distribution.

PiBot: Build Your Own Raspberry Pi Powered Robot, is meant to be a companion course to the bestselling book of the same name on Amazon. Together with the book, students will be taken step-by-step through the process of building one, from installing the libraries needed to access the GPIO pins to configuring a wireless adapter to some suggestions (not explicit instructions) on how to construct the bot's body. When you have finished, you will have a working robot that you can log into and control remotely via command line, with the possibility of using a shell or a Python script. All course participants will receive an electronic copy of the book to go along with the course. The newest updated version of the course includes information regarding the Raspberry Pi version 2 and how to interact with servos using a different library, PiGPIO.

If you would like to do something impressive with your Pi, but learn better from seeing and hearing rather than reading, this course is for you!

Who this course is for:

Hobbyists wanting to experiment further with the Raspberry Pi

PiBot: Build Your Own Raspberry Pi Powered Robot

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction4 lectures • 21min

Ingredients & Parts9 lectures • 35min

Bot Construction and Control6 lectures • 1hr 7min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: