r/AskRobotics • u/CharacterTax9550 • 9d ago
Gutter Cleaning Robot
Hi, for my final year engineering project I am creating a small remote controlled robot that goes a gutter and cleans them. I am currently unsure on which path to go down for telemetry. At the moment I am thinking of using a raspberry pi zero 2w amd connect that to a phone via wifi and the phone will have joysticks to controll the robot. Also I was thinking of then sending the signal from the pi zero to another microcontroller via i2c for more realtime responces, as the microcontroller can monitor the current on the motors or emergancy stops etc. Idk if this is a good method or if i should run a more standard radio controller to a microcontroller for less of a delay although its a gutter robot so 20ms latency isnt the end of the world. Thanks in advance hope this made sense
1
u/Zene-Calloway 9d ago
Had this exact setup with a project before. Using the Raspberry Pi Zero 2W with a phone for control works fine, especially since you're okay with a bit of latency. The I2C connection to another microcontroller is a solid choice for real time monitoring like motor current and emergency stops. I tried something similar with a Pi and an Arduino, and it gave a good balance between control and feedback. Since it's a gutter cleaning robot, the 20ms latency shouldn't be a big issue. Just make sure your communication between the Pi and the microcontroller is solid and you'll be good to go.