By using an MSP430 Launchpad, anyone can upload new code to the improved Spider, and even add new sensors to this creepy walking robotic toy. figured out how to improve his robot toy, but the power of the MSP430 microcontroller he used doesn’t limit him to only following lines. With just a little bit of code, made his $20 Hexbug Spider into a very cool looking robot. On this board, included a pair of IR LEDs, able to detect the path of a white line drawn on the ground. removed this control board and replaced it with his own, powered by a TI MSP430 microcontroller. The stock Spider has a small circuit board that allows for the control of two motors with a remote. sought to remedy this and came up with a line-following board replacement for the Hexbug Spider. While they’re able to be commanded to move forward, backward, and spin around on a dime, there aren’t any external sensors to make it really exciting. You may be familiar with the Hexbug Spider, a small electronic robot toy sold at Target and Walmart for $20. You can see the OpenCV-controlled Hexbug in action after the break, along with a video build log with showing everyone how to tear apart one of these robot toys.Ĭontinue reading “Giving The Hexbug Spider A Set Of Eyes” → Posted in Toy Hacks Tagged hexbug, hexbug spider, opencv Turning The Hexbug Spider Into A Line-following Robot

It’s a neat build, and surprisingly nimble for a $20 plastic hexapod robot. The smartphone app detects a user-selectable hue – in this case a little Android toy robot – and sends commands to the MSP430-powered motor control board over the headphone jack to move the legs. This time, instead of a few LEDs, turned to an Android smartphone running an OpenCV-based app. Previously, we’ve seen turn a Hexbug spider into a line following robot with a pair of IR LEDs and a drop-in replacement motor driver. With a few extra parts, though, it can become a vastly more powerful robotics platform, as shows us with his experiments with a Hexbug and OpenCV. The Hexbug Spider is a neat little robot toy available at just about any Target or Walmart for about $20.

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