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I'm trying to do a high school project, where i want to create a remote control car with mecanum wheels using matlab. Would anyone know if this is possible and how it is done? I have ordered matlab now and it being shipped, therefore i can mess around with it soon.

PleaseStand
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Nick
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    That's ... interesting. I have to say I have no idea if it's possible but it seems to me it's akin to writing an operating system in COBOL :-) But good luck with it, don't let me stop you, this may be the next big thing for all I know. I'm hoping however you didn't order Matlab _just_ for this. – paxdiablo Nov 02 '10 at 02:18
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    I hope you did you homework before ordering Matlab. Matlab is mainly a research tool, I can't imagine what I would have done with it in high-school. – mikerobi Nov 02 '10 at 02:24
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    Personally, I wish I had matlab in high school. Everyone is different though. –  Nov 02 '10 at 09:44
  • agree with woodchips - on the condition that my teachers were able to show how to use it (unlikely). – Marm0t Nov 02 '10 at 18:03

3 Answers3

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MATLAB can communicate with external peripherals using an RS-232 serial port. (That kind of port, usually found on older computers, can be added to newer computers using a USB adapter.) You'll want to build or find a radio control system that can use that interface to connect to the computer, and then you will need to write a MATLAB program to send the correct commands in response to user input, sensors, etc.

PleaseStand
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Typically you need the following:

  1. A computer with matlab, and an gpib or some kind of io port that can interface with your actuator (in your case you probably have 2, 1 for steering and
    1. moving back and forward).
  2. An I/O device that matlab can connect to (typically it is serial port as idealmachine said, but you can get serial to usb/serial to Ethernet drivers that make the device look like serial devices if it is not specifically an RS-232 connector) such as the serial port, and make sure that device can properly interface with your actuator. You may need the Instrument Control Toolbox

You must find an I/O device (the gpib or some other device - national instruments has a large variety that are as easy as plugging in a USB and only as hard as plugging a PCI card into a pc) that can read/write to your actuator. Make sure you:

  1. Have the proper device drivers for your I/O device for you PC
  2. Understand what kind of signals your actuator will accept

The fact that you are using mecanum wheels is less relevant than setting up your interface to those wheels. This undertaking is not simple, and may be out of the scope of your high-school courses, unless you have some really great teachers of course. Also this project will probably cost at least $3-400 after buying the I/O devices and your R/C car (if you have a computer you can use), matlab, and your actuation devices (if you need to get different ones or modify the existing equipment on the R/C car). Doing this wirelessly is just one more complication to your system - start off wired, then once you get the hang of it move up to wireless.

Marm0t
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well you can always use an Arduino, Arduinos will be connected to Transceivers which will act as master and slave at the same time, control your car from Matlab, send code to Arduino and watch the magic happen. Am I sure? Yes, I am building one now however with automatic response, initial tests worked so to answer your question, it is possible.

Costa
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