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Connecting Your Kit

Essential hardware

  • Raspberry Pi
  • Power Board
  • Motor Board
  • Servo Board
  • Arduino
  • a Battery (will be provided later)
  • USB Hub

Connectors and cables

  • 2 x 3.81mm CamCon (for the Raspberry Pi)
  • 4 x 5mm CamCon (for the Motors)
  • 1 x 5mm CamCon with wire loop (attached to the power board)
  • 4 x 7.5mm CamCon (for the Motor and Servo Boards)
  • 3 x USB-A to micro-USB cables
  • USB-A to USB-B cable (for the Arduino)
  • Black wire
  • Any other colour of wire

Tip

CamCons are the green connectors used for power wiring within our kit.

Peripherals

  • Servo motor
  • 2 x Motors
  • Ultrasound distance sensors
  • USB memory stick

Tools you’ll need

  • Pliers
  • Wire Cutters
  • Wire Strippers
  • Screwdriver (2mm flat-head)

You will need to fetch any other needed tools/supplies yourself.

Important notes before you start

Warning

Make sure to read all these before you start assembly.

  • Do not disassemble/reassemble your kit without first switching it off by pressing the red button.

  • Always be careful handling your battery, only ever plug it into the power board (the board with a fan).

  • Check your kit thoroughly before switching it on again. If something is connected up incorrectly when the kit is powered up, it may break the kit!

  • When making your own wires, especially those with CamCons on the end, always double-check that the correct connections are made at either end (positive to positive, ground to ground, etc.) before plugging in the cable or plugging in the battery and switching things on. Don’t be afraid to ask someone to check your connections.

  • Colour coding is key; please use red for wires connected to power (say 12V or 5V), black for wires connected to ground (0V) and any other colour for motors.

How it all fits together

An assembled kit

The first step of your robot is assembly! Here we'll guide you step-by-step on how to connect things up. You'll be cutting your own wires here!

  1. Connect the Raspberry Pi to the Power Board using two 3.81mm (small) CamCons. Please make sure that you check the polarity of the connector on the tab.
  2. Connect the USB hub to the Pi by plugging it into any one of its four USB sockets.
  3. Connect the Power Board to the Pi via one of the black micro-USB cables; the standard USB end goes into any USB socket on the Pi or connected USB hub, the micro-USB end into the Power Board.
  4. Connect the Motor Board to the Power Board by screwing the two 7.5mm (large) CamCons provided onto the opposite ends of a pair of wires, ensuring that positive connects to positive and ground to ground, and then plugging one end into the appropriate socket of the Motor Board and the other into a high power socket (marked H0 or H1) on the side of the Power Board.
  5. Connect the Motor Board to the Pi by way of another micro-USB cable; the big end goes into any USB socket on the Pi or connected USB hub, the micro-USB end goes into the Motor Board.
  6. Connect the Arduino to the Pi by way of the USB-A (rectangle) to USB-B (square-like) cable.
  7. Connect the Servo Board to the Power Board by screwing the two 7.5mm (large) CamCons onto the opposite ends of a pair of wires, ensuring that positive connects to positive and ground to ground, and then plugging one end into a low power socket on the side of the Power Board and the other into the 12V socket on the servo board.
  8. Connect the Servo Board to the Pi by way of another micro-USB cable; the USB A (rectangle) end goes into any USB socket on the Pi or connected via the USB hub, the micro-USB end goes into the Servo Board.
  9. To connect the motors, first screw two 5mm (medium) CamCons provided onto the opposite ends of a pair of wires. You can then use this cable to connect a motor to the M0 or M1 port on the motor board.
  10. To connect a servo, push the three pin connector vertically into the pins on the side of the servo board. The black or brown wire (negative) should be at the bottom.
  11. At this point, check that everything is connected up correctly (it may be helpful to ask a facilitator to check that all cables are connected properly).
  12. Connect the Power Board to one of the blue LiPo batteries by plugging the yellow connector on the cable connected to the Power Board into its counterpart on the battery.
  13. If there is not one plugged in already, a loop of wire should be connected to the socket beneath the On|Off switch. Check that the Power Board works by pressing the On|Off switch and checking that the bright LED on the Raspberry Pi comes on green.