Robot Lawn Mowers

Remote Control Lawnmower - Custom

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Video Link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=opRyKUsWQrw

bylearn more stuff: Robot Mower Robot

Daniel Epperson's MowBot project

Thanks for checking out my project. Lots of people have similar projects around the web (check youtube, blogger, or hackaday for examples) and this is my version. I was recently inspired by Robert Smith to try and write up some better documentation about my project and its current status.

See below for my original (2011) build details.

Robots! Scroll down if you want to jump over the build process and get straight to the videos.

Actually, this isn't a robot so much as a remote controlled lawn mower, but I hope to figure out autonomous controls in the coming months. This project got started in the early months of 2011 while I was on a two week vacation from work. I had no metal fabrication or welding experience going into this project, and so far it has proven to be a great learning experience.

3/7/2011

I started the project by dismembering a push lawn mower and electric wheelchair and ended up with the pile of parts alongside my lovely dog Sadie. It is hard to do anything outside without the dog involved, and she is good company.

So, this is how it started. No plans. No whiteboard. No idea what to do. I just knew that the first goal was to sit in the shade and drive the lawnmower around the yard.

To kick off the build, I started laying the various parts out to figure out how they might fit together. Pictured here are two wheelchair motors with wheels attached, two caster wheels from a furniture dolly, a lawnmower frame, honda civic trunk hinges, and some various tools. The big hammer is key.

Read More...
http://www.d33z.com/p/robot-mower.html

Arduino R/C Lawnmower (painted) by johndavid400

What this is:

This instructable will show you how to make your Arduino into an R/C interface that you can use for just about anything requiring remote control. I will also show you how I built an R/C lawnmower using my Arduino, a cheap R/C transmitter and receiver pair, and a couple of electric-wheelchair motors from Ebay. I have used this interface to control anything from basic LED's to Bipolar stepper motors, mini-robots, lifeless R/C cars from the thrift store, and even a 100lb lawnmower (all with appropriate motor controllers). It is very flexible and easy to change and very simple to set up.

See a slightly different version of the Lawnbot400 in my new book "Arduino Robotics" , as well as a DIY Segway and several other bots.

Check it out in MAKE magazine in the April 2010 issue (#22) or here:

UPDATE 3-24-10

New wheel-barrow bucket mounted on top with hinges so it can dump its contents.

UPDATE 3-10-10: NEW CODE

And new video of the Lawnbot400 moving a bunch of dirt from my truck to the flower beds across the yard, also I updated the code again.

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I added some new code to the project that is safer, including a manual kill-switch and a Failsafe switch.

To implement the Failsafe, I used another Atmega168 (or an Arduino), to control a normally-open 60amp power relay. The relay disconnects the power to the motor-controller unless receiving a "good" signal from the 2nd microcontroller. This signal is updated 2 times every second and is either ON or OFF. If the bot gets out of range, it loses power to the motors. If I flip the kill-switch on the Transmitter, it loses power to the motors. This is also a handy way to disable it remotely if anything were to go near it that wasn't supposed to. The updated code for both microcontrollers is on the CODE page.

In addition to the failsafe, I changed the way the code reads the PPM signals to make it more reliable. Also, I realized that I was only able to run the bot at 80% speed with the old code, so now it is quite a bit faster and has more power (it can carry me across the yard @ 155lb).

Check out this new video of me riding the Lawnbot400, my wife driving it over a bunch of branches, then me making do some wheelies. Don't worry, the mower was turned off this time since the grass didn't need cutting, we were just having fun.

Disclaimer:
DANGER!!! This is a VERY dangerous piece of equipment if not handled appropriately. Since all the electronics have been home-built and the Arduino code is new, you MUST be very careful while operating anything heavy with this code. I have had 1 or 2 times during testing - and before adding a secondary failsafe - that the main Arduino jammed up and I temporarily lost control of the mower for a few seconds!!!! Though I have added several filters to discard unwanted signals and I rarely have any issues, an un-manned lawnmower IS STILL A POTENTIAL DEATH TRAP and I assume no responsibility for anything that happens as a result of your use of this code or this tutorial. This is meant as a guide for people who not only have the ability to build such a contraption, but the responsibiltity to operate it safely as well. Any suggestions or ideas on how to make this a safer project is always gladly accepted. Having said that, it's also awesome.

Background:

Read More...
http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-RC-Lawnmower/?ALLSTEPS