Wireless robot control through RF

Summary of the project

Wireless remote controlled toy cars work on the concept explained here. Motor control through RF communication is a very interesting application and is widely used in robotics, electronics toys, automation systems etc. This topic covers the way DC motors can be driven by using the controls from a distant place. The controls are transferred from one end to another by employing an RF module. The remote control application of RF has been extended to operate a motor driver which in turn controls the direction of motors

Description
This circuit uses RF module to control DC motors through a motor driver IC L293D. Transmission is enabled by giving a low bit to pin14 (TE, active low) of encoder HT12E. The controls for motor are first sent to HT12E. Pins 10 and 11 (D0-D1) are used to control one motor while pins 12 and 13 (D2-D3) to control another motor. The data signals of encoder HT12E work on negative logic. Therefore a particular signal is sent by giving a low bit to the corresponding data pin of encoder. The parallel signals generated at transmission end are first encoded (into serial format) by HT12E and then transferred through RF transmitter (434 MHz) at a baud rate of around 1-10 kbps. The same signals are acquired by RF receiver after which it is decoded by HT12D. For more details, refer RF remote control. Since the encoder/decoder pair used here works on negative logic, the decoded signals are fed to an inverter (NOT gate) IC 74LS04. The proper (inverted) signals are then supplied to L293D. L293D contains two inbuilt H-bridge driver circuits to drive two DC motors simultaneously, both in forward and reverse direction.

The motor operations of two motors can be controlled by input logic at pins 2 & 7 and pins 10 & 15. Input logic 00 or 11 will stop the corresponding motor. Logic 01 and 10 will rotate it in clockwise and anticlockwise directions, respectively. Thus, depending upon the signals generated at the transmission end, the two motors can be rotated in desired directions.

Components Used 1. L293D

Download datasheet: l293d.pdf

L293D is a dual H-bridge motor driver integrated circuit (IC). Preferable IC that you could use for your project is ST microelectronics. Motor drivers act as current amplifiers since they take a low-current control signal and provide a higher-current signal. This higher current signal is used to drive the motors. L293D contains two inbuilt H-bridge driver circuits. In its common mode of operation, two DC motors can be driven simultaneously, both in forward and reverse direction. The motor operations of two motors can be controlled by input logic at pins 2 & 7 and 10 & 15. Input logic 00 or 11 will stop the corresponding motor. Logic 01 and 10 will rotate it in clockwise and anticlockwise directions, respectively. Enable pins 1 and 9 (corresponding to the two motors) must be high for motors to start operating. When an enable input is high, the associated driver gets enabled. As a result, the outputs become active and work in phase with their inputs. Similarly, when the enable input is low, that driver is disabled, and their outputs are off and in the high-impedance state.

Pin Diagram

Pin Description
Pin Number Function Enable pin for Motor 1; active high Input 1 for Motor 1 Output 1 for Motor 1 Ground (0V) Ground (0V) Output 2 for Motor 1 Input 2 for Motor 1 Supply voltage for Motors; 9-12V (up to 36V) Enable pin for Motor 2; active high Input 1 for Motor 2 Output 1 for Motor 2 Ground (0V) Ground (0V) Output 2 for Motor 2 Input2 for Motor 2 Supply voltage; 5V (up to 36V) Name Enable 1,2 Input 1 Output 1 Ground Ground Output 2 Input 2 Vcc 2 Enable 3,4 Input 3 Output 3 Ground Ground Output 4 Input 4 Vcc 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

2.

7404 NOT GATE

Download Datasheet: 7404.pdf

7404 is a NOT gate IC. It consists of six inverters which perform logical invert action. The output of an inverter is the complement of its input logic state, i.e., when input is high its output is low and vice versa.

Pin Diagram

Pin Description
Pin Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 Function Input/output of 1st inverter Input/output of 2nd inverter Input/output of 3rd inverter Name Input 1 Output 1 Input 2 Output 2 Input 3 Output 3

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Ground (0V) Output/input of 4th inverter Output/input of 5th inverter Output/input of 6th inverter Supply voltage; 5V (4.75 - 5.25 V)

Ground Output 4 Input 4 Output 3 Input 3 Output 2 Input 2 Vcc

3.

HT12D DECODER

Download Datasheet: HT12D.pdf

HT12D IC comes from HolTek Company. HT12D is a decoder integrated circuit that belongs to 212 series of decoders. This series of decoders are mainly used for remote control system applications, like burglar alarm, car door controller, security system etc. It is mainly provided to interface RF and infrared circuits. They are paired with 212 series of encoders. The chosen pair of encoder/decoder should have same number of addresses and data format. In simple terms, HT12D converts the serial input into parallel outputs. It decodes the serial addresses and data received by, say, an RF receiver, into parallel data and sends them to output data pins. The serial input data is compared with the local addresses three times continuously. The input data code is decoded when no error or unmatched codes are found. A valid transmission in indicated by a high signal at VT pin. HT12D is capable of decoding 12 bits, of which 8 are address bits and 4 are data bits. The data on 4 bit latch type output pins remain unchanged until new is received.

Pin Diagram

Pin Description
Pin Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Function Name A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 GROUND D0 D1 D2 D3 INPUT OSC 2 OSC 1 VT Vcc

8 BIT ADDRESS PINS FOR INPUT

GROUND (0V)

4 BIT DATA/ADDRESS PINS FOR OUTPUT SERIAL DATA INPUT OSCILLATOR OUTPUT OSCILLATOR INPUT VALID TRANSMISSION, ACTIVE HIGH SUPPLY VOLTAGE; 5V (2.4 12V)

4.

HT12E ENCODER

Download Datasheet: HT12E.pdf

HT12E is an encoder integrated circuit of 212 series of encoders. They are paired with 212 series of decoders for use in remote control system applications. It is mainly used in interfacing RF and infrared circuits. The chosen pair of encoder/decoder should have same number of addresses and data format. Simply put, HT12E converts the parallel inputs into serial output. It encodes the 12 bit parallel data into serial for transmission through an RF transmitter. These 12 bits are divided into 8 address bits and 4 data bits. HT12E has a transmission enable pin which is active low. When a trigger signal is received on TE pin, the programmed addresses/data are transmitted together with the header bits via an RF or an infrared transmission medium. HT12E begins a 4word transmission cycle upon receipt of a transmission enable. This cycle is repeated as long as TE is kept low. As soon as TE returns to high, the encoder output completes its final cycle and then stops.

Pin Diagram

Pin Description
Pin Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Function Name A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 GROUND D0 D1 D2 D3 TE

8 BIT ADDRESS PINS FOR INPUT

GROUND (0V)

4 BIT DATA/ADDRESS PINS FOR INPUT TRANSMISSION ENABLE (ACTIVE LOW)

15 16 17 18

OSCILLATOR OUTPUT OSCILLATOR INPUT VALID TRANSMISSION, ACTIVE HIGH SUPPLY VOLTAGE; 5V (2.4 12V)

OSC 2 OSC 1 VT Vcc

5.

RF MODULES (434MHz)
RF Transmitter.pdf RF Receiver.pdf

Download datasheet:

The RF module, as the name suggests, operates at Radio Frequency. The corresponding frequency range varies between 30 kHz & 300 GHz. In this RF system, the digital data is represented as variations in the amplitude of carrier wave. This kind of modulation is known as Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK). Transmission through RF is better than IR (infrared) because of many reasons. Firstly, signals through RF can travel through larger distances making it suitable for long range applications. Also, while IR mostly operates in line-ofsight mode, RF signals can travel even when there is an obstruction between transmitter & receiver. Next, RF transmission is more strong and reliable than IR transmission. RF communication uses a specific frequency unlike IR signals which are affected by other IR emitting sources. This RF module comprises of an RF Transmitter and an RF Receiver. The transmitter/receiver (Tx/Rx) pair operates at a frequency of 434 MHz. An RF transmitter receives serial data and transmits it wirelessly through RF through its antenna connected at pin4. The transmission occurs at the rate of 1Kbps - 10Kbps.The transmitted data is received by an RF receiver operating at the same frequency as that of the transmitter. The RF module is often used along with a pair of encoder/decoder. The encoder is used for encoding parallel data for transmission feed while reception is decoded by a decoder. HT12E-HT12D, HT640-HT648, etc. are some commonly used encoder/decoder pair ICs.

Pin Diagram Receiver Module Transmitter Module

Pin Description
Transmitter Module Pin Number Function Name

1 2 3 4

Ground (0V) Serial Data Input Pin Supply Voltage (5V) Antenna Output Pin

GND DATA VCC ANT

Receiver Module Pin Number Function Name

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Ground (0V) Serial Data Output Pin Linear Output Pin; Not Connected Supply Voltage (5V) Supply Voltage (5V) Ground (0V) Ground (0V) Antenna Input Pin

GND DATA NC VCC VCC GND GND ANT

RESOURCES All the components and designed PCBs of these Wireless modules are available at STrobotix, Chandigarh labs and Chawla Radios. Contact: STrobotix, Building No. 135/5, Sector-41-B, Chandigarh (opp. to H.No. 1541) Mob: 099882-18770 / 099880-91747 / 099155-29010 Or Chawla Radios, Sector-46/C, Chandigarh