Self Balancing Robot Using Arduino

Self balancing robot is an example of arduino project. A balancing robot comes under the category of autonomous project, where the robot tries to balance itself by using the gyroscope sensor MPU 6050. It is quite popular and difficult from the other arduino project. Balancing robot can be made in many ways and in many forms also. Even you can use a normal dc motor or a good quality stepper motor. That is totally depends upon you. According to my suggestion you will get a better performance in stepper motors. In this blog we are going to discuss each and everything about a self balancing robot using stepper motor. We also connect the balancing robot with our smart phone using Bluetooth. And I will tell you, how to control this robot from our smart phone using EZ Gui application. Read More >>

Components –

1. NEMA 17 Stepper Motor
2. Arduino Nano
3. A4988 Motor Driver
4. MPU 6050
5. HC-05 Bluetooth Module
6. 12 Volt Lipo Battery
7. 100uF Capacitor
8. 1KOHM Resistor
9. Wheels
10. Nuts & Bolts

For a balancing robot the most important thing is the frame. The performance of the balancing robot is totally dependent on the structure of the frame. Try to make the frame small and as light as possible. A light weighted frame will help to get an optimal performance. The basic approach is to make a three layer frame, where the motors are connected at the bottom layer and the remaining circuit will be fixed in the middle layer. However you can also customize the design according to the project requirement.

Here we are going to follow the basic approach, which is a three layer frame. You have to put all the heavy equipment (like motors and battery) at the bottom layer. Then you need to put the circuit in the middle layer. Do not put anything on top layer. It may affect the performance of robot. Also check the alignment of the frame. The alignment should be perfect without any fault. Read More >>

Now you have to make the circuit. You can make the circuit at your home by using vero board or you can directly order a PCB from any PCB manufacturing company. While designing the circuit, you have to keep some important fact in your mind. Try to put the gyroscope sensor mpu 6050 at the middle of the circuit. Also place the a4988 motor driver at any side of the circuit. It is recommended to use Arduino Nano in spite of using Arduino Uno. This will make the circuit simple and less bulky. Now take a look at the connection below Read More >>

Now you have to do the coding in the arduino. For a balancing robot, coding and calibration is the most important thing. The total execution is dependent upon the code and its implementation. However, you can get the full coding in github. But still, you have to change some parameters according to your robot. Now take a look on this parameters one by one.

After downloading the zip file of the code, you have to unzip the file. After unzipping the file you will get a new folder. But you have to change the folder name. Rename the folder with the same name, that the arduino file have. Read More >>

Now you have to download the EZ Gui application from the Google play store. Open the application and connect it with the balancing robot via Bluetooth. Once connected, go to the AUX settings and then configure the robot. Then set the PID values according to your robot. The PID values may differ in each and every robot. The PID values depend on the robot size and construction. A sample value of PID is given here –Read More >>