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Mind & Infra Red Controlled Robot Car

I'm building a Arduino based Robot car which is controlled by both Brain Waves & Infra Red. It is 4 wheel drive with line following sensors & a ping sensor to (hopefully) enable it to be autonomous. I'm also hoping to fit an lcd touch screen.
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Spike124

Aug 11, 2015
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and how do you plan to "mind" control it ????
I've bought the NeuroSky Myndplay kit which works a bit like a ECG & reads your Brainwaves. It then transmits this to the robot via Bluetooth & a dongle which the Arduino & Raspberry Pi boards can understand. If you read 'Making a Mind Controlled Robot' by Tero & Kimmo Karvinen, that will explain better. Believe me, I've already had a lot of cynicism from people saying it can't be done & it'll be too hard, but I trust the literature & I'm the type of person if you tell me I can't, the more I'm determined.
 

Old Steve

Jul 23, 2015
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I've bought the NeuroSky Myndplay kit which works a bit like a ECG & reads your Brainwaves. It then transmits this to the robot via Bluetooth & a dongle which the Arduino & Raspberry Pi boards can understand. If you read 'Making a Mind Controlled Robot' by Tero & Kimmo Karvinen, that will explain better. Believe me, I've already had a lot of cynicism from people saying it can't be done & it'll be too hard, but I trust the literature & I'm the type of person if you tell me I can't, the more I'm determined.
Have you done any basic testing yet, or do you plan to just dive straight in with the car?
(You've piqued my curiosity.)
 

Spike124

Aug 11, 2015
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Have you done any basic testing yet, or do you plan to just dive straight in with the car?
(You've piqued my curiosity.)
I am
Have you done any basic testing yet, or do you plan to just dive straight in with the car?
(You've piqued my curiosity.)
I am basically learning as I build it! It's my first project, so i really HAVE thrown myself in at the deep end! I've downloaded & been reading SO many books on the subject & I'm hoping to get helpful tips from people on here. The main problem I've got at the minute is that (due to Sod's law) my laptop has just decided to stop working!!!!!!!!! So I need to get a new one before I can do any programming! I'm well aware it's going to be hard, but I'm up for the challenge.
 

Old Steve

Jul 23, 2015
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I am

I am basically learning as I build it! It's my first project, so i really HAVE thrown myself in at the deep end! I've downloaded & been reading SO many books on the subject & I'm hoping to get helpful tips from people on here. The main problem I've got at the minute is that (due to Sod's law) my laptop has just decided to stop working!!!!!!!!! So I need to get a new one before I can do any programming! I'm well aware it's going to be hard, but I'm up for the challenge.
I'm looking forward to seeing how you progress on this. When the budget allows, I might well buy a Mattel headset too, and have a bit of a play. I'd never heard of them until I saw this thread, then did a bit of extra reading. ('Mind-control' - I thought you were dreaming! :rolleyes:)

I'd recommend making up a simpler test-circuit or two first, though, before tackling the full car project.
It's definitely a very interesting concept.
 

Spike124

Aug 11, 2015
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EVERYONE I've mentioned it to has said the same thing. But, I've bought a headset (only cost me £80 off eBay) & I can vouch that it DOES work! As for connecting it to the robot, I haven't ventured THAT far yet, I'm taking it in stages. I've read tho that as far as a Bluetooth dongle, the 'Bluesmirf' dongle is designed specifically for the NeuroSky headset. But I've also read that you can buy cheaper Bluetooth dongles & hack them.
 

Old Steve

Jul 23, 2015
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EVERYONE I've mentioned it to has said the same thing. But, I've bought a headset (only cost me £80 off eBay) & I can vouch that it DOES work! As for connecting it to the robot, I haven't ventured THAT far yet, I'm taking it in stages. I've read tho that as far as a Bluetooth dongle, the 'Bluesmirf' dongle is designed specifically for the NeuroSky headset. But I've also read that you can buy cheaper Bluetooth dongles & hack them.
Aside from test circuits, for remote communications, I'll probably use an APC220 module. I have heaps of those just sitting here. They're fast enough for anything I'll do while playing with the idea. (I won't make a car - I'll test the 'mind control' concept for other remote control projects.)
This is the APC220:-
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/350905532149

And for a controller, I'll use PIC rather than Arduino or Raspberry Pi, since I'm already familiar with PICs and have plenty here already, in a range of flavours.
 

Spike124

Aug 11, 2015
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I was the same when I first saw the book title 'Build a mind controlled robot'! I thought there HAD to be a catch somewhere. I'm using Arduino because all the literature I've got is about Arduino & Pi. I'd love to know more about the systems you're talking about though. So any pointers you have to educate me on that level will be well received. Thank you for your input.
 

Old Steve

Jul 23, 2015
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I was the same when I first saw the book title 'Build a mind controlled robot'! I thought there HAD to be a catch somewhere. I'm using Arduino because all the literature I've got is about Arduino & Pi. I'd love to know more about the systems you're talking about though. So any pointers you have to educate me on that level will be well received. Thank you for your input.
I've never even touched an Arduino, but from what i've seen they're a good beginner's tool, but not really suitable for serious stuff. They're more of a development board. The advantage of raw PIC, Atmel etc is that they are just a chip, and you add exactly what you need for your purpose. Not sure about Atmel, since I've only ever used PICs, but PICS come in 'through-hole', so are easy to mount on a simple PCB. (Suits me perfectly - my poor eyesight isn't good enough for working with SMD devices.)

Like Arduino, PICs can be programmed using C, so the learning curve isn't too high. I have a C compiler, but generally don't use it. I use the PICBasic Pro compiler from Micro Engineering Labs. It uses a form of Basic language, PICBasic, developed especially for the PIC microcontrollers. Very easy to use, and supports driving LCDs, serial communications, (with or without hardware serial ports), USB, etc, etc. Here's a link to the manual if you want to check it out:-
http://melabs.com/resources/pbpmanual/
(I think there is a later version, but this still shows the basics of PICBasic.

PICs come in many flavours, from tiny little 8-pin devices with 6 IO pins, right up to 144 pin chips, handle from 8 data bits to 32-bit data, (depending on the chip), with a range of on-board hardware such as serial ports, USB, PWM, analogue to digital and so on.
They're made by Microchip. check out their website here:- http://www.microchip.com/

A good compiler isn't cheap, (I forget what my PICBasic Pro cost - I bought it 20 years ago), but there are also free C compilers available if you search hard enough.
Programmers can be expensive, too, but I use a small one I found on eBay for about $10, this one:- http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/USB-PIC-...-ICSP-Cable-/161770607852?hash=item25aa4794ec
(The burning software for the programmer is available for free on the web.)

The chips themselves are relatively cheap, with the PIC16F84A for example, (13 IO pins), available for about $5 each. It's the most common chip for beginners, but has no A-D or other fancy features. To get one working, you mount them on a board, add a crystal or ceramic resonator and off you go.....

I didn't intend to write this much, so I'll stop here. I've written a book.
 

Spike124

Aug 11, 2015
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I've never even touched an Arduino, but from what i've seen they're a good beginner's tool, but not really suitable for serious stuff. They're more of a development board. The advantage of raw PIC, Atmel etc is that they are just a chip, and you add exactly what you need for your purpose. Not sure about Atmel, since I've only ever used PICs, but PICS come in 'through-hole', so are easy to mount on a simple PCB. (Suits me perfectly - my poor eyesight isn't good enough for working with SMD devices.)

Like Arduino, PICs can be programmed using C, so the learning curve isn't too high. I have a C compiler, but generally don't use it. I use the PICBasic Pro compiler from Micro Engineering Labs. It uses a form of Basic language, PICBasic, developed especially for the PIC microcontrollers. Very easy to use, and supports driving LCDs, serial communications, (with or without hardware serial ports), USB, etc, etc. Here's a link to the manual if you want to check it out:-
http://melabs.com/resources/pbpmanual/
(I think there is a later version, but this still shows the basics of PICBasic.

PICs come in many flavours, from tiny little 8-pin devices with 6 IO pins, right up to 144 pin chips, handle from 8 data bits to 32-bit data, (depending on the chip), with a range of on-board hardware such as serial ports, USB, PWM, analogue to digital and so on.
They're made by Microchip. check out their website here:- http://www.microchip.com/

A good compiler isn't cheap, (I forget what my PICBasic Pro cost - I bought it 20 years ago), but there are also free C compilers available if you search hard enough.
Programmers can be expensive, too, but I use a small one I found on eBay for about $10, this one:- http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/USB-PIC-...-ICSP-Cable-/161770607852?hash=item25aa4794ec
(The burning software for the programmer is available for free on the web.)

The chips themselves are relatively cheap, with the PIC16F84A for example, (13 IO pins), available for about $5 each. It's the most common chip for beginners, but has no A-D or other fancy features. To get one working, you mount them on a board, add a crystal or ceramic resonator and off you go.....

I didn't intend to write this much, so I'll stop here. I've written a book.
Firstly, let me say that I can't begin to express the gratitude I have for this input! This is EXACTLY what I've been looking for! I know that Arduino & Raspberry Pi are really beginners level to electronics boards, but being perfectly honest, that is the level I'm at at the moment. But I'm the type of person (without blowing my own trumpet) who picks things up quite quickly & will soon be moving up a level. Also, I have no one to turn to for help because the only people I know who have an interest in computers are the type who don't really know much but like to baffle you with big words that don't really help much! So, rest assured, I'm going to be looking into PICBasic stuff you've mentioned. I'll upload a link for NeuroSky now. Thanks again.
 

Old Steve

Jul 23, 2015
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That Neurosky kit works out at AU$186.42 at the moment, with AU$34.40 delivery. :eek:
I might sit on my hands until our dollar recovers a bit before considering buying one, if I buy that type.

I read somewhere that the Mattel Mindflex headset works well too, and second-hand they're relatively cheap. What do you think?
Is only the headset needed?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mattel-Mind...ntrol-P2639-/171918750854?hash=item280727f486
 

Spike124

Aug 11, 2015
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Yeh, you only need the headset. I can't believe how expensive it is at your end! That's ridiculous! If you knew me better, I would say about me ordering it for you and so on. But no way do I expect you to trust me with £80 when we've only spoken for a couple of days. However, if you have a Paypal account, I wonder if there's some way I could order it & you pay it through your Paypal? It's probably a lot of ball ache, but I'd love you to try one & get your feedback on it.
 

Old Steve

Jul 23, 2015
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Yeh, you only need the headset. I can't believe how expensive it is at your end! That's ridiculous! If you knew me better, I would say about me ordering it for you and so on. But no way do I expect you to trust me with £80 when we've only spoken for a couple of days. However, if you have a Paypal account, I wonder if there's some way I could order it & you pay it through your Paypal? It's probably a lot of ball ache, but I'd love you to try one & get your feedback on it.
I appreciate the offer, but I can't afford to buy one just yet. I'm on a disability pension, and just blew my budget for now by buying a new Li-ion battery for my electric bike. It was just under AU$400, from AliExpress. (USD$270, GBP178)
The headset still ends up just as expensive doing it through you too. AU$176 = GB 80 pounds. ie I'd have to fork out $176 for you to receive 80 pounds.
Our dollar has taken a really big fall over the last few weeks, due to the crash of the Chinese economy. Apparently, we're irrevocably tied to it. Only 2-3 years ago, our dollar was worth USD$1.04, now it's worth about USD$0.70. Pretty sad when we try to buy from overseas. I'll just be patient and wait for the economy to improve a little.
Meantime, what do you think of the idea of using a Mattel Mindflex headset? I hear that others have used them, but don't know how they compare to the Neurosky headset. (I could stretch the budget and buy a Mindflex much sooner.)
 

davenn

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If you go to eBay & search item number: 390980793449. That will take you straight to the NeuroSky kit that I bought. Hope that helps.


Im still interested to see how you are going to use a device that is designed to register brain activity according to stimulus
and change it to make it a interface to control external devices by thought ??
 

Old Steve

Jul 23, 2015
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Dave, that's exactly what the Mattel Mindflex game does.
From Wikipedia:-
Wikipedia said:
Mindflex is a toy by Mattel which apparently uses brain waves to steer a ball through an obstacle course. The brain waves are captured with the enclosed EEG headset, which allows the user to speed up or slow down a fan, thus lifting or lowering the blue styrofoam ball.

Very simple, basic control in the case of Mindflex. You only control how high the ball rises and lowers (the pressure of the air stream), but interesting all the same, and I'd personally like to have a play with it. As for reliability, we'll see.....
Dependent largely on concentration, obviously.
I think controlling a car might be over-reaching, since Mindflex at least appears to be single-channel, but I'd like to be proven wrong. (Maybe the Neurosky kit has multiple channels. I haven't looked into it.)

I'm assuming that it works from basic brain rhythms, not a high-level 'thought' control. ie You could never get it to work so that thinking 'turn left' would turn a car's wheels to the left, or thinking 'accelerate' would speed the car up.
 
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Old Steve

Jul 23, 2015
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I've been doing a little research on YouTube. Only the Mindflex so far, I'll check out the Neurosky kit next.

I'll leave whoever reads this to draw their own conclusions.
First, from a technical point of view, it looks like most of the 'good stuff' is in the main unit and not just the headset, with the Mattel at least, so the whole thing would need to be bought before any hacking could be done, (if it does really work).

A kid's review & test:- "Mattel Mind Flex review":-
Skip to 7:36 to actually see it in action. I guess that the little knob that he twiddles moves the airstream from one port to the next.

Neuroscientists test one out. (Pretty unscientific)
"Testing the Mind Flex":-

An intelligent wet sponge.
"Mind Flex Scam":-

Reading the mental state of a plastic head
"MindFlex hoax?":-

In this one, a demo, even the 'official' demonstrator can't seem to get it to do anything useful.
"SDCC: MindFlex Game Demo":-
 
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