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Tutorial : Tigger, the Arduino bubble cat

Mélanie Bats edited this page Mar 6, 2014 · 5 revisions

If you do not know how to create a new project have a look to the tutorial How to create a new project ?.

In this tutorial we will see how to create a cat robot thanks to Arduino Designer.

In this example we use the Arduino Uno platform and hardware components from the DFRobot Ardublock kit.

The cat

To create Tigger, print the cat image, then cut and paste it to a carton. Have a look to the video of the complete cat to see where the Arduino board would be placed.

Blinking necklace

The idea is to create a cat that can feel when you push his nose and he will blink his necklace. The push button represents the cat nose and the LEDs the necklace. Create small holes at the level of the cat neck and insert the LEDs inside. Create a bigger hole in place of the cat nose and insert the push button. Have a look to the video to see what your cat should look like.

Hardware

The hardware is defined as below :

Tigger necklace Hardware

The DFRduino Uno R3 platform is used, the push button is connected to the digital pin 0, the blue LED, white LED, red LED modules are connected to the digital pins 13, 11, 12 of the Arduino board. Digital pin : 0 = Push button(GND = black, VCC = red, D = green), 11 = White LED (GND = black, VCC = red, D = green), 12 = Red LED (GND = black, VCC = red, D = green), 13 = Blue LED (GND = black, VCC = red, D = green)

Sketch

In the sketch, we use the LEDs as Status modules.

Tigger necklace Sketch

Upload

Finally, click on the Upload button from the toolbar to upload the code to the Arduino board. When you pushed the nose, the necklace is blinking.

The source of this example are available in : https://github.com/mbats/arduino/tree/master/examples/fr.obeo.dsl.arduino.examples.tigger.necklace

Moving tail

The idea is to create a cat that can see a fish and move is tail. The tail should be separated from the rest of the cat and fixed on a servo motor. Create a big hole at the level of the cat eye and insert the infrared sensor inside. Have a look to the video to see what your cat should look like.

Hardware

The hardware is defined as below : Tigger tail Hardware

The DFRduino Uno R3 platform is used, the infrared sensor is connected to the digital pin 4, the servo motor is connected to the digital pin 9 of the Arduino board. Digital pin : 4 = Infrared (GND = green, VCC = red, D = yellow), 9 = Tail servo motor (GND = brown, VCC = red, D = orange)

Sketch

Tigger tail Sketch

Upload

Finally, click on the Upload button from the toolbar to upload the code to the Arduino board. When you show something like a fish to the cat, his tail is moving.

The source of this example are available in : https://github.com/mbats/arduino/tree/master/examples/fr.obeo.dsl.arduino.examples.tigger.tail

Bubble machine

The idea is to create a cat that makes bubbles when he hears a noise. The fan should be fixed in the same axis as the bubble stick, you will need many test to find the good distance between the fan and the bubble stick according to the power of your fan. Fix the sound sensor just behind the cat ear with some scotch tape. Have a look to the video to see what your cat should look like.

Hardware

The hardware is defined as below : Tigger bubble Hardware

The DFRduino Uno R3 platform is used, the fan is connected to the digital pin 7, the servo motor is connected to the digital pins 8 of the Arduino board. Digital pin : 7 = Fan (GND = orange, VCC, D = white), 8 = Bubble servo motor(GND = brown, VCC = red, D = orange), 13 = Blue LED (GND = black, VCC = red, D = green). As the fan needs 12v and the Arduino could provide only 5v, we added a battery and a small circuit to energize the fan (inside the orange box in the video).

Sketch

Tigger bubble Sketch

Upload

Finally, click on the Upload button from the toolbar to upload the code to the Arduino board. When you whistle near the cat ear, the bubble machine starts and your cat farts bubbles.

The source of this example are available in : https://github.com/mbats/arduino/tree/master/examples/fr.obeo.dsl.arduino.examples.tigger.bubble