applying ai to moko (smartcar robot)¶

Moko is an AI smart robotic car.

I built the Moko with a Rasperry Pi 4gb. It did take a bit of time tinkering with the hardware - that was fun! Though, be sure you have tiny itsy bitsy screws around. Playing with hardware really test your patience for sure. It took me about 3 hours to put the parts together, and I actually find it really zen! :)

So here is the snapshot I took at the very beginning of the excitement for putting this robot together piece by piece.

moko

Tech stack/hardware
- Python
- OpenCV
- Rasperry Pi
- Numpy
- PIL

development and testing¶

Here are some simple and somewhat uninteresting test scripts that I generated as part of testing all the components of Moko! I wanted to be sure all the parts are properly working, lit up, capturing images with the camera and sensor that came with it, etc...

testing moko's led lights

import time
from Led import *
led = Led()


def test_Led():
    try:
        led.ledIndex(0x01, 255, 0, 0)  # Red
        led.ledIndex(0x02, 255, 125, 0)  # orange
        led.ledIndex(0x04, 255, 255, 0)  # yellow
        led.ledIndex(0x08, 0, 255, 0)  # green
        led.ledIndex(0x10, 0, 255, 255)  # cyan-blue
        led.ledIndex(0x20, 0, 0, 255)  # blue
        led.ledIndex(0x40, 128, 0, 128)  # purple
        led.ledIndex(0x80, 255, 255, 255)  # white'''
        print("The LED has been lit, the color is red orange yellow green cyan-blue blue white")
        time.sleep(3)  # wait 3s
        led.colorWipe(led.strip, Color(0, 0, 0))  # turn off the light
        print("\nEnd of program")
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        led.colorWipe(led.strip, Color(0, 0, 0))  # turn off the light
        print("\nEnd of program")

testing moko's motor systems

from Motor import *
PWM = Motor()


def test_Motor():
    try:
        PWM.setMotorModel(1000, 1000, 1000, 1000)  # Forward
        print("The car is moving forward")
        time.sleep(1)
        PWM.setMotorModel(-1000, -1000, -1000, -1000)  # Back
        print("The car is going backwards")
        time.sleep(1)
        PWM.setMotorModel(-1500, -1500, 2000, 2000)  # Left
        print("The car is turning left")
        time.sleep(1)
        PWM.setMotorModel(2000, 2000, -1500, -1500)  # Right
        print("The car is turning right")
        time.sleep(1)
        PWM.setMotorModel(0, 0, 0, 0)  # Stop
        print("\nEnd of program")
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        PWM.setMotorModel(0, 0, 0, 0)
        print("\nEnd of program")

testing camera sensor, infrared GPIO inputs, and moko's servo - it's communicating with the pi's CPU!

from Ultrasonic import *
ultrasonic = Ultrasonic()


def test_Ultrasonic():
    try:
        while True:
            data = ultrasonic.get_distance()  # Get the value
            print("Obstacle distance is " + str(data) + "CM")
            time.sleep(1)
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        print("\nEnd of program")


from Line_Tracking import *
line = Line_Tracking()


def test_Infrared():
    try:
        while True:
            if GPIO.input(line.IR01) != True and GPIO.input(line.IR02) == True and GPIO.input(line.IR03) != True:
                print('Middle')
            elif GPIO.input(line.IR01) != True and GPIO.input(line.IR02) != True and GPIO.input(line.IR03) == True:
                print('Right')
            elif GPIO.input(line.IR01) == True and GPIO.input(line.IR02) != True and GPIO.input(line.IR03) != True:
                print('Left')
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        print("\nEnd of program")


from servo import *
pwm = Servo()


def test_Servo():
    try:
        while True:
            for i in range(50, 110, 1):
                pwm.setServoPwm('0', i)
                time.sleep(0.01)
            for i in range(110, 50, -1):
                pwm.setServoPwm('0', i)
                time.sleep(0.01)
            for i in range(80, 150, 1):
                pwm.setServoPwm('1', i)
                time.sleep(0.01)
            for i in range(150, 80, -1):
                pwm.setServoPwm('1', i)
                time.sleep(0.01)
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        pwm.setServoPwm('0', 90)
        pwm.setServoPwm('1', 90)
        print("\nEnd of program")

testing moko's battery is up to par, and his honking works :)

from ADC import *
adc = Adc()


def test_Adc():
    try:
        while True:
            Left_IDR = adc.recvADC(0)
            print("The photoresistor voltage on the left is " + str(Left_IDR) + "V")
            Right_IDR = adc.recvADC(1)
            print("The photoresistor voltage on the right is " +
                  str(Right_IDR) + "V")
            Power = adc.recvADC(2)
            print("The battery voltage is " + str(Power * 3) + "V")
            time.sleep(1)
            print('\n')
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        print("\nEnd of program")

from Buzzer import *
buzzer = Buzzer()


def test_Buzzer():
    try:
        buzzer.run('1')
        time.sleep(1)
        print("1S")
        time.sleep(1)
        print("2S")
        time.sleep(1)
        print("3S")
        buzzer.run('0')
        print("\nEnd of program")
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        buzzer.run('0')
        print("\nEnd of program")

# Main program logic follows:
if __name__ == '__main__':

    print('Program is starting ... ')
    import sys
    if len(sys.argv) < 2:
        print("Parameter error: Please assign the device")
        exit()
    if sys.argv[1] == 'Led':
        test_Led()
    elif sys.argv[1] == 'Motor':
        test_Motor()
    elif sys.argv[1] == 'Ultrasonic':
        test_Ultrasonic()
    elif sys.argv[1] == 'Infrared':
        test_Infrared()
    elif sys.argv[1] == 'Servo':
        test_Servo()
    elif sys.argv[1] == 'ADC':
        test_Adc()
    elif sys.argv[1] == 'Buzzer':
        test_Buzzer()

image generation and processing¶

opencv is a great open source Python module for scraping images for AI/ML inputs.