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15 Nov - One improvement made - local WiFi independence

A project log for IP control for inexpensive line following robots

A project for my grandchildren to first build line-following robots then convert them to being controlled by their phones and tablets.

jedjed 11/16/2019 at 16:190 Comments

The last log had possible improvements. This is the first - the car becomes the Wireless Access Point (WAP) itself.

In the previous designs, both car and controller used local infrastructure WiFi connections. That required the cars' code be compiled for the environment where it was to be used. That could be inconvenient, so now the car acts as an access point that the controller connects to.

A new jumper can be added to the circuit board that controls the WiFi SSID. No jumper and the name is SSID00. If there IS a jumper, then the SSID becomes SSIDxx where xx varies randomly at each startup between 00 and 99. This allows multiple cars in the same location when required, but requires NO changes to the hardware for only one car and controller. The SSID selected and the car's IP are displayed at startup.

I'm still not quite happy with the display. It shows datagrams received when the change is great but gentle control doesn't show up. This keeps the display from interfering with the car control but doesn't make for good debugging feedback.

Still working on it, as time permits.


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