Lesson Overview

The purpose of this lesson is to teach students the basic concepts of motor controllers, how to use multiple inputs to multiple outputs, and how to simulate outputs. Students will learn: 

• How an H-bridge motor controller works

• How to control the direction of motors

• Simulate the motor speed and direction using the serial monitor

Required Kit Supplies

• Your fully wired MESA Combat Robot

  • Remove batteries before starting the activity

• 1x USB A-to-USB B upload cable

• 1x FlySky Controller

Additional Required Supplies 

• Chromebook or laptop for each student

  • Access to Arduino web editor (https://app.arduino.cc) with Arduino Create Agent installed or the Arduino IDE

  • Instructions on how to use the Arduino web editor here.

Keywords

• Motor controller: An electrical component which controls the speed and direction of a motor.

• Electrical switch: A switch that can open or close a circuit to allow or prevent current from flowing.

• Logic table: A table made to show how the inputs to a system result in different outputs 

• Pulse Width Modulation (PWM): A concept used to control the speed of a motor with small digital pulses.

Additional External Resources

• Using the Arduino Web Editor

  • Using the Arduino Cloud Editor | Arduino Documentation

• Introduction to Programming an Arduino

  • Getting Started with Arduino | Arduino Documentation

• How an H-bridge works

  • What Is an H-Bridge? – Digilent Blog

  • H-Bridges – the Basics | Modular Circuits

  • How does an H-Bridge work? | CircuitBread

• What are if-else statements and boolean conditions

  • If Statement (Conditional Statement) | Arduino Documentation

  • Arduino - Comparison Operators

  • Arduino - Boolean Operators

• Steering Methods

  • 5 Wheeled robot steering mechanisms | Kshitij Tiwari Ph.D.