Raspberry Pi Robot: Motor Control & Camera Streaming

Overview

This project enables remote control and live video streaming for a robot powered by a Raspberry Pi 3B+ and an Arduino Uno with a motor shield. The system provides a web interface for controlling the robot's movement, adjusting camera settings, and viewing a real-time video feed.

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Hardware Used

• Raspberry Pi 3B+
• Arduino Uno (connected via USB to the Pi)
• L298N Motor Shield (or compatible)
• Camera (compatible with Pi, e.g., Pi Camera v2)
• Robot chassis, motors, and power supply

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Features

• Web-based control panel for robot movement (forward, backward, left, right, stop)
• PWM speed control for motors
• Live video streaming from the Pi camera
• Camera adjustments (red/blue gain, contrast, sharpness)
• Photo capture and download
• Serial connection monitoring (disables controls if Arduino is disconnected)
• Hotspot setup for direct WiFi connection to the Pi

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Images

Robot Views

Back	Front	Side	Web Controls

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Setup Instructions

1. Prepare the Raspberry Pi

• Install Raspberry Pi OS (Lite or Desktop).
• Connect the Pi Camera and enable it (sudo raspi-config).
• Connect the Arduino Uno via USB.

2. Set Up the Hotspot (Optional)

To create a WiFi hotspot on the Pi for direct connection:

bash setup-hotspot.sh

This script uses network-manager to create a hotspot named MyPiHotspot with password 123456789.

3. Install and Run the Control & Streaming Server

Run the following script to set up the web server and dependencies:

bash setup-stream-and-control-server.sh

This script will:

• Create the project directory and necessary files.
• Install required Python packages (flask, picamera2, opencv, pyserial).
• Set up a systemd service to auto-start the server on boot.
• Deploy a Flask web app for robot control and video streaming.

After setup, access the web interface at:

http://<raspberry-pi-ip>:5000

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Arduino Sketch

The Arduino sketch (arduino-sketch-h-bridge.cpp) listens for serial commands from the Pi and controls the motors accordingly. Supported commands:

• forward, backward, left, right, stop
• pwm:<value> (set speed, 0–255)

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Conclusions

This project demonstrates a simple yet powerful way to combine a Raspberry Pi and Arduino for robotics, enabling real-time control and video streaming over WiFi. The modular design allows for easy customization and extension.

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Credits

This project was written with the help of ChatGPT.

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