remote Control program for lego EV3
This is my Lego EV3 tracked rover. It might seem quite boring to read of another Mindstorms rover robot, even one that has tracks. I assure you, however, that this is no generic rover. In addition to having tracks it is remote controllable! All you need to control this insanely fast moving tracked rover is a PC with Bluetooth capability.
First off, here is a video of the incredible rover roving around my room at mach II, along with some super cool pictures from a variety of angles. Also, for your viewing pleasure, I have left the tracks on for all but two of the pictures.
First off, here is a video of the incredible rover roving around my room at mach II, along with some super cool pictures from a variety of angles. Also, for your viewing pleasure, I have left the tracks on for all but two of the pictures.
Now that your mind has been boggled by this super incredible tracked rover, here is a screenshot of the program I created to control it.
In order to achieve this remote control ability I have created two programs. One of the programs runs on the PC and the other runs on the EV3. Both programs were created using Java. They are both very simple programs that allow the PC to send commands to the EV3 over Bluetooth. Upon receiving a command the EV3 responds by telling its motors to execute whatever motion corresponds with a given command.
You may be wondering why one would bother to create a program just to remote control two motors on a tracked rover, especially when there are other ways to remote control an EV3. Many of the other programs out there are limited as far as what you can do with them, and cannot be used with an EV3 running LeJOS. Even the EV3 control program included with LeJOS is limited. It cannot be controlled with the keyboard or be modified quite as easily as I would like. I also plan to expand the program to control more motors and functions for different robots, so it is less boring.
You may be wondering why one would bother to create a program just to remote control two motors on a tracked rover, especially when there are other ways to remote control an EV3. Many of the other programs out there are limited as far as what you can do with them, and cannot be used with an EV3 running LeJOS. Even the EV3 control program included with LeJOS is limited. It cannot be controlled with the keyboard or be modified quite as easily as I would like. I also plan to expand the program to control more motors and functions for different robots, so it is less boring.
The EV3 and PC must be paired and connected prior to using the program. The EV3 program “BluetoothRCServer” must be executed via the EV3 menu. Once the EV3 is ready and waiting (the LCD is blank), the PC program must be run. The PC should now be able to send commands to the EV3 over Bluetooth. To control the EV3, simply click the buttons on the GUI, or click the “KEYBOARD CONTROL” button to control it with the keyboard. In addition to moving around and honking the EV3, the PC is able to tell the EV3 to end the program. This can be done remotely, from the PC, or by holding down the escape button on the EV3 menu.
Finally, a big thanks to the entire LeJOS team for creating such a fantastic, open source project! I highly encourage anybody that is interested in exceeding the capabilities of the standard Lego programming software to look into LeJOS. LeJOS is also available for the NXT and RCX bricks.
If you have questions or comments please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Finally, a big thanks to the entire LeJOS team for creating such a fantastic, open source project! I highly encourage anybody that is interested in exceeding the capabilities of the standard Lego programming software to look into LeJOS. LeJOS is also available for the NXT and RCX bricks.
If you have questions or comments please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
PC .jar - Download and run this on your PC.
ev3_rc.jar | |
File Size: | 12 kb |
File Type: | jar |
PC Sources
bluetoothrcclientgui.java | |
File Size: | 9 kb |
File Type: | java |
btrcclient.java | |
File Size: | 1 kb |
File Type: | java |
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EV3 .jar - Download this to your PC and then upload it to your EV3 with EV3 control (EV3 must run LeJOS).
bluetoothrcserver.jar | |
File Size: | 1 kb |
File Type: | jar |
EV3 Sources
bluetoothrcserver.java | |
File Size: | 1 kb |
File Type: | java |
isescapedownchecker.java | |
File Size: | 0 kb |
File Type: | java |