Wireless ECEbot Communications

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Wolff

Sponsor: NWACC

Ivan Van Dessel

Tim O�Neil

Conrad Donovan

Semester: Spring 2006

Project Description

����������� Our project is to take the existing wireless wi-fi connection from 2004-2005 senior design and implement an advanced design that used the resources that were given to us.� Our design is to implement wireless link over the campus network for ECEbot to ECEbot and ECEbot to computer attached network connection.� This wireless project will support the ECE department overall outlook by enabling the ECEbot to carry through the curriculum.� Students in the EE program will benefit from the continuation of the ECEbot by increasing the learning curve from EE101 to EE475.� The wireless ECEbot will help in this goal by achieving an introduction to wireless interfaces.

ECEbot

Project Overlook

Project Design

������� The software side of the design will include programming the HC12 on the ECEbot and the CSM module�s processor.� It will also include setting up the campus network and the EZL-80 to work together on communication.� The campus network has to set up a MAC address filter so that the ECEbots can access the network without going through a software interface before connecting to the campus network.� The wireless connection that the campus network needs is a TCP/IP connection that can handle DHCP to allow for a dynamic IP addresses.� The EZL-80 wireless interface card that is part of the hardware design has four modes for connection.� Among those four modes there is only one that is capable of using DHCP, TCP, and an Active/Passive connection.� ATC mode is the only mode that fills all voids and allows us to achieve our goal of �Follow the Leader.�� In ATC mode, only a TCP connection is possible and both the server and the client can be configured.� The AT commands allows the user to set environment variables including the IP address and control TCP connection and disconnection.� You can access connected server on Internet using IP address of access host in extended command which is provided from ezTCP and ATD (T) command after appointing port number.� Also you can access ezTCP from host using ATA command after appointing access port number.� Once the EZL-80 has been connected the AT commands are disabled and all data is converted to TCP.�

����������� All the corresponding work for our project will come from programming both microprocessors to talk to each other.� Along with that we will have to write code so that the ECEbot can switch in between modes efficiently.� By switching modes we can have the robot receive commands and then execute them at a timely point.� By achieving this will allow us to switch the ECEbot to programming mode, which would allow us to program and debug the ECEbot over the campus wireless network.� The other software that needs to be written will be software on the computer that we will use to access the ECEbots.� The ezVSP software that comes with the EZL-80 device will allow us to communicate with from computer to EZL-80.

ATC (passive mode)

ATC (active mode)

Hardware Outlook

Project Goals

The final goals of the Wireless ECEbot Communications project are to achieve wireless communication over the campus network between multiple ECEbots and to implement the ability to wirelessly program the ECEbot.� To show the capabilities of wireless communication between ECEbots a demonstration of two ECEbots playing �follow the leader� will be setup.� The �follow the leader� demonstration will show the ability to send data from one ECEbot to the next and also the ability to switch from active to passive mode for communication.� The second project goal is to program and debug the ECEbot�s control processor over the wireless network.� This would allow someone to have a wireless link to their ECEbot at all times from a computer on the campus network.���

Wireless Robot Engineering Constraints

To view the engineering standards and constraints, click on the link below.

Wireless Robot Engineering Constraints.html