I decided to bump up the version number by 0.2. 0.1 for adding remote control via Bluetooth, and 0.1 for having a kick ass horn! I added a Bluetooth serial modem to Lemons that can be purchased at SparkFun. Getting it to pair with my laptop was no problem, and I was quickly able to add code to Lemons that can listen for commands via serial. This resulted in a simple but fun start to remote control where I would type a key like 'w', and Lemons would move forward for one second. My goal was to have something more responsive however, and I wanted to have it on my Droid. So, I wrote my first Android application. I found this link to be quite helpful in setting Bluetooth up on the Android side. I wanted to have a touch screen interface that reminded me of the old remote controls I used to use for my RC cars when I was a kid. My plan was to simulate those vertical and horizontal joysticks using sliding seekbars, one horizontal and one vertical. Unfortunately, the Android SDK does not come with a vertical seekbar, but I found one on Google Groups that worked nicely. I also added buttons to toggle the lights on and off and to beep the newly added piezo buzzer I mounted towards the front of Lemons. My next step is to add a camera to Lemons and have the video feed back to my Droid.
↧