Details
SAFETY CAUTIONS
- Li-ion and Li-po batteries are quite unstable. They may cause fire, personal injury, or property damage, if they're not properly recharged or used.
- Do not reversely connect the polarities when recharging or discharging the battery. Do not use inferior charger/charging panel to recharge the battery.
- Do not mix use old batteries with new ones, avoid using batteries of different brands.
- When buying Lithium battery, should always make sure the battery specification is compatible with the expansion board. Choose batteries from formal manufacturer, and ensure the batteries will work stably and safely by aging test.
- Lithium batteries have limited cycle life, they will also deteriorate as time goes by. Should be replaced with new ones when the batteries reaching their max cycle life, or working over two years, whichever comes first.
- Should be placed carefully and properly, keep it away from inflammables and explosives articles, away from children, avoid any safety accident caused by careless storage.
Overview
This AlphaBot2 robot kit is designed to use with the BBC micro:bit. It features rich common robot functions including line tracking, obstacle avoiding, ultrasonic ranging, Bluetooth/2.4G remote control, etc.
Thanks to the highly integrated modular design, it is fairly easy to assemble by a snap, no soldering, no wiring. After a few minutes spent on hardware assembing, you're almost there, our open source demo codes is ready to help you get started fast.
Controller Introduction
The BBC micro:bit is an open development board that allows you to run code on it and have access to all of the hardware.
You can use your BBC micro:bit for all sorts of cool creations, from robots to musical instruments – the possibilities are endless. This little device has an awful lot of features, like 25 red LED lights that can flash messages. There are two programmable buttons that can be used to control games or pause and skip songs on a playlist. Your BBC micro:bit can detect motion and tell you which direction you’re heading in, and it can use a low energy Bluetooth connection to interact with other devices and the Internet.
micro:bit original version:
- Nordic nRF51822
- 16 MHz 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0 microcontroller
- Bluetooth® 4.0 low energy/2.4GHz RF SoC
- 16kB RAM
- 256kB Flash
- Freescale KL26Z – 48 MHz ARM Cortex-M0+ MCU
- Compass – Freescale MAG3110 3-axis magnetometer, I2C interface
- Accelerometer – Freescale MMA8652 3-axis accelerometer, I2C interface
- Power connector – 3V power supply
- Reset button – reset the system
- Micro USB connector – for connecting PC, download code, serial communication, etc.
- 5x5 LED display – 5x5 LED grid
- Button A/B – programmable buttons
- I/O connection pins – 5 I/O rings and 20-pin edge connector, including SPI, UART, I2C, Analog, PWM, etc.
- Dimensions – 5cm x 4cm
micro:bit V2:
- Nordic nRF52833
- 64 MHz 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 microcontroller
- BLE Bluetooth5.0 low energy/2.4GHz RF
- Built-in temperature sensor
- 128kB RAM
- 512kB Flash
- Button A/B – programmable buttons
- Touch sensitive logo
- Built-in microphone with LED indicator
- Power indicator
- Micro USB connector – 5V power supply, allows connecting with PC for programming/debugging, or serial communication
- Reset button
- Battery socket – for connecting 3V power supply or external battery case
- Optimized edge connector – notched for easily connecting with crocodile plugs
- 5x5 programable LED matrix – can be used to display text or graph
- Compass and Accelerometer
- Speaker
- USB to UART
AlphaBot2 Features
AlphaBot2 employs a 2-layer structure to provide excellent stability and compatibility.
AlphaBot2-Base, the lower base chassis:
- 5-ch infrared sensor, analog output, combined with PID algorithm, stable line tracking
- Onboard modules like line tracking, obstacle avoiding, needs no messy wiring
- TB6612FNG dual H-bridge motor driver, compared with L298P, it's more efficient, more compact, and less heating
- N20 micro gear motor, with metal gears, low noise, high accuracy
- Onboard RGB LEDs, true color lighting, pretty cool
AlphaBot2 for micro:bit, the upper adapter board for controller:
- micro:bit dedicated connector, for easily connecting with the micro:bit
- MP1584 voltage regulator, provides stable 5V output
- RT9193-33 voltage regulator, provides stable 3.3V voltage to the micro:bit
- TLC2543 AD acquisition chip, allows the micro:bit to use analog sensors
- PCA9685 PWM control chip, I/O expander
- Onboard buzzer to play music
What's on the AlphaBot2-Base
- AlphaBot2 control interface: for connecting sorts of controller adapter board
- Ultrasonic module interface
- Obstacle avoiding indicators
- Omni-direction wheel
- ST188: reflective infrared photoelectric sensor, for obstacle avoiding
- ITR20001/T: reflective infrared photoelectric sensor, for line tracking
- Potentiometer for adjusting obstacle avoiding range
- TB6612FNG dual H-bridge motor driver
- LM393 voltage comparator
- N20 micro gear motor reduction rate 1:30, 6V/600RPM
- Rubber wheels diameter 42mm, width 19mm
- Power switch
- Battery holder: supports 14500 batteries
- WS2812B: true color RGB LEDs
- Battery charging indicator
- 5V USB battery charging port
- Power indicator
What's on the AlphaBot2 for micro:bit (Adapter Board)
- micro:bit connector
- AlphaBot2-Base header: for connecting with the base board
- RT9193-33: 3.3V voltage regulator, stable power supply for the micro:bit
- PCA9685: PWM control chip, I/O expander, I2C interface
- TLC2543: 12-bit AD acquisition chip, allows the micro:bit to use analog line tracking sensor
- Buzzer
- MP1584 5V voltage regulator
Note: the 2.4G gamepad is NOT included in the price, besides, totally two micro:bit are required for 2.4G RF remote control.
AlphaBot2 for micro:bit top view
AlphaBot2 for micro:bit bottom view
AlphaBot2-Base top view
AlphaBot2-Base bottom view
AlphaBot2 for micro:bit robot side view
AlphaBot2 for micro:bit robot side view
AlphaBot2 for micro:bit robot front view
AlphaBot2 for micro:bit robot back view
Dimensions
Development Resources
Wiki : www.waveshare.com/wiki/AlphaBot2_for_micro:bit
Selection Guide
| Package Contents | AlphaBot2 Robot Kits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Description | micro:bit | Ar | Zero W | Pi |
| Raspberry Pi | Raspberry Pi Model 3B/3B+/4B | optional | |||
| AlphaBot2-Pi | Adapter board, for connecting Raspberry Pi | √ | |||
| Raspberry Pi Zero W | Raspberry Pi Zero W/WH (built-in WiFi) | optional | |||
| AlphaBot2-PiZero | Adapter board, for connecting RPi Zero W/WH | √ | |||
| R3 PLUS | ATMEGA328P MCU development board, Arduino-compatible | optional | |||
| Dual-mode Bluetooth | Dual-mode Bluetooth module | optional | |||
| AlphaBot2-Ar | Adapter board, for connecting Arduino | √ | |||
| micro:bit | BBC micro:bit, a pocket-sized computer, original version or V2 | optional | |||
| AlphaBot2 for micro:bit | Adapter board, for connecting micro:bit | √ | |||
| AlphaBot2-Base | Motor driver, integrates sensors for obstacle avoiding, line tracking | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| Ultrasonic sensor | Ultrasonic obstacle avoiding, ranging | √ | √ | √ | |
| IR remote controller | remotely control the robot | √ | √ | √ | |
| RPi Camera (B) | Raspberry Pi camera, adjustable focus | √ | √ | ||
| SG90 | Servo, working with the pan head, controlling the rotation of the camera | √ | √ | ||
| TF Card 32GB | 32GB TF Card, class 10 | √ | √ | ||
| 5V 3A Power Adapter | Provides 5V 3A power supply, micro USB plug | √ | √ | ||
Note: Due to the structure design, ultrasonic sensor module can NOT be used with the AlphaBot2-Pi kit.
Quick Overview
The Controller
- OPTIONS BBC micro:bit x1
AlphaBot2 for micro:bit Accessories Pack
- AlphaBot2 for micro:bit (adapter board) x1
- AlphaBot2-Base (base chassis) x1
- Ultrasonic sensor x1
- FC-20P cable 8cm x1
- USB type A plug to micro B plug cable x1
- AlphaBot2 for micro:bit screws x1
- Screwdriver x1 (Extra Free)
