Price AlphinBraxton BowenTanner Naumann
Published

Power Wheel with Variable Speed and Traction Control

Modified Power Wheel toy with variable speed capabilities and traction control

IntermediateWork in progress10 hours303
Power Wheel with Variable Speed and Traction Control

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Breadboard (generic)
Breadboard (generic)
×1
Argon
Particle Argon
×1
ES981 Solar Powerbank
To supply power to Particle Argon
×1
MAX471 3A Current Sensor Module
Measures the current of the battery for current tracking.
×1
Resistor 1k ohm
Resistor 1k ohm
For voltage divider to be able to measure voltage for voltage tracking.
×1
Resistor 10k ohm
Resistor 10k ohm
For voltage divider to be able to measure voltage for voltage tracking.
×1
BTS7960 43A High Power Motor Driver
Motor driver to control speed and direction of motors.
×1
MgcSTEM Variable Speed Pedal
To give throttle control to control speed of car.
×1
Craftsman 20V Power Wheel
Power Wheel that was modified
×1

Software apps and online services

Particle Build Web IDE
Particle Build Web IDE

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Soldering iron (generic)
Soldering iron (generic)
Solder Flux, Soldering
Solder Flux, Soldering
Drill, Screwdriver
Drill, Screwdriver
Multitool, Screwdriver
Multitool, Screwdriver
Tape, Electrical
Tape, Electrical
Scissor, Electrician
Scissor, Electrician
Wire Stripper & Cutter, 18-10 AWG / 0.75-4mm² Capacity Wires
Wire Stripper & Cutter, 18-10 AWG / 0.75-4mm² Capacity Wires
Tape, Velcro® Stick On Tape/Strip
Tape, Velcro® Stick On Tape/Strip

Story

Read more

Schematics

Circuit Schematic

Circuit Schematic for power wheels project

Code

Power Wheel Code

C/C++
Controls an EV data logger to monitor current and voltage
//Allows for code to operate if netwrok distruption occurs
SYSTEM_THREAD(ENABLED);

// Define the pins for the analog inputs

const int VOLTAGE_PIN = A0;

const int CURRENT_PIN = A1;

// Defining Pin for pedal throttle control
const int PEDAL_PIN = A2;

// Initializing motor direction integer as 0
int motorDirection = 0;

// Setting digital pins for motor controller variable throttle and fwd/reverse

const int DIR_PIN = D2;
const int PWM_R = D3;
const int PWM_L = D4;
const int EN_A = D5; 
const int EN_B = D6;

// Define the ratios for the voltage divider and current sensor calibration

const float VOLTAGE_RATIO = 0.657;

const float CURRENT_CALIBRATION = 0.04;

const float VOLTAGE_MULTI = 11; // Multiplies voltage to give an estimate of total voltage

const float Current_Corrector = 62.098; //Correct Current Readings

// Define the variables to hold the raw analog readings

int rawVoltage;

int rawCurrent;

// Defining variables to hold analog readings for motor control

int PedalPosition;

int motorSpeed;

//Defining variables for slew rate control based off throttle input
int THROTTLE_RATE =5; 
int prevThrottle = 0;
int throttleOutput = 0;
int throttleInput=0;

// Define the variables to hold the filtered values

float filteredVoltage;

float filteredCurrent;

float totalVoltage;

float totalCurrent;

// Define the time interval for reading the analog inputs (in microseconds)

const unsigned long READ_INTERVAL = 20000;

// Define the time interval for outputting the filtered values (in milliseconds)

const unsigned long OUTPUT_INTERVAL = 10000;

// Define the filter coefficients for a first-order low-pass filter with a cutoff frequency of 5 Hz

const float FILTER_COEFFICIENT = 0.0183;

// Define the timer for outputting the filtered values

unsigned long outputTimer = 0;

void setup() {

// Initialize the serial communication

Serial.begin(9600);

// Setting pin modes for motor control connnections to the particle argon

pinMode(EN_A, OUTPUT);
pinMode(EN_B, OUTPUT);
pinMode(PWM_R, OUTPUT);
pinMode(PWM_L, OUTPUT);
pinMode(DIR_PIN, INPUT_PULLDOWN);

}

void loop() {

// Read the analog inputs

rawVoltage = analogRead(VOLTAGE_PIN);

rawCurrent = analogRead(CURRENT_PIN);

PedalPosition = analogRead(PEDAL_PIN);

//Mapping pedal position to control motor position based on its position

motorSpeed = map(PedalPosition, 1500, 3100, 0, 255);
motorSpeed = constrain(motorSpeed, 0, 255);         //Contrains motor speed value to only return possible motor speed values

// Using direction pin to read if a voltage input is being sent into the pin to control forward/Reverse controls
motorDirection = digitalRead(DIR_PIN);

// If/else statement to control motor based on direction and pedal input
if (motorDirection == HIGH) 
{
        digitalWrite(EN_A, HIGH);
        digitalWrite(EN_B, LOW);
        analogWrite(PWM_R, motorSpeed);
}
else
{
        digitalWrite(EN_A, LOW);
        digitalWrite(EN_B, HIGH);
        analogWrite(PWM_L, motorSpeed);   
}    


// Slew rate traction control code
   throttleInput = motorSpeed;
   if (throttleInput > prevThrottle)
  {
    throttleOutput = min(throttleInput, prevThrottle + THROTTLE_RATE);
  }
  else {
    throttleOutput = max(throttleInput, prevThrottle - THROTTLE_RATE); 
  }
  prevThrottle = throttleOutput; 

// Convert the raw values to voltages and current

float voltage = rawVoltage * 5.0 / 4095.0 * VOLTAGE_RATIO;

float current = (rawCurrent - 2047) * 5.0 / 4095.0 / CURRENT_CALIBRATION;

// Filter the values

filteredVoltage = FILTER_COEFFICIENT * voltage + (1 - FILTER_COEFFICIENT) * filteredVoltage;

filteredCurrent = FILTER_COEFFICIENT * current + (1 - FILTER_COEFFICIENT) * filteredCurrent;

totalVoltage = filteredVoltage * VOLTAGE_MULTI;

totalCurrent = (filteredCurrent + Current_Corrector) * (-1) ;

// Check if it's time to output the filtered values
if (millis() - outputTimer >= OUTPUT_INTERVAL) {

// Output the filtered values

Serial.print("Filtered voltage: ");

Serial.print(filteredVoltage);

Serial.print(" V, Filtered current: ");

Serial.print(filteredCurrent);

Serial.println(" A");

Serial.print("totalVoltage");

Serial.print("Throttle position");

// Reset the output timer

outputTimer = millis();

  // Trigger the integration
    Particle.publish("filtered voltage", String(filteredVoltage), PRIVATE);
    Particle.publish("filtered current", String(totalCurrent), PRIVATE);
    Particle.publish("total voltage", String(totalVoltage), PRIVATE);
    Particle.publish("PowerWheelCurrentVoltageReadings", String(totalCurrent), PRIVATE);
    Particle.publish("Throttle position", String(PedalPosition), PRIVATE);

}

// Wait until the next time to read the analog inputs

unsigned long startTime = micros();

while (micros() - startTime < READ_INTERVAL) {

// Do nothing
}
}

Credits

Price Alphin

Price Alphin

2 projects • 1 follower
Braxton Bowen

Braxton Bowen

2 projects • 1 follower
Tanner Naumann

Tanner Naumann

2 projects • 3 followers

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