Simple wifi controlled robot, powered by NodeMCU (esp8266)
This is a simple robot I've upgraded for my daughters. It's based on a simple robot toy made by Clementoni (Italy) that I already had.
The original robot uses two geared DC motors controlling the wheels, and is programmable using some pushbuttons on its control circuit. Using the buttons was possible to store a movement sequence and execute it. Since I think this was not quite funny, I've rebuilt its control board using a NodeMCU (esp8266) making it wifi controlled (by an Android app) in real time.
This project is based on original work done by MertArduino (https://www.instructables.com/NodeMCU-ESP8266-WiFi-Robot-Car-Controlled-by-Appli/)
Robot icon (in android app) made by Freepik (https://www.freepik.com), found on Flaticon (https://www.flaticon.com)
I've almost totally rewritten both NodeMCU code, and Android app. I've also added some nice features:
- added WPS connection feature to NodeMCU firmware (no more wifi credentials stored in code!);
- added periodic battery voltage check in NodeMCU firmware, to protect against battery depletion (very important when using rechargeable batteries);
- added eyes led blinking patterns;
- added "find robot" feature in android app (automatically scans network to find IP address assigned to robot);
