Driving A Lego Vehicle Using Microcontroller

An AT90S8535 8-bit RISC microcontroller is utilized by the project in order to create a microcontroller-driven Lego vehicle (MLV).

Determining the user input through button pushes, setting the speed of the vehicle through the use of the onboard analog-to-digital converter, and driving the DC and stepper motors to provide motion to the MLV are the basic functions of the microcontroller. A combination of hardware and software design is involved in the project. Included in the hardware part is building the mechanical model and circuitry to drive the DC and stepper motors where the necessary power and voltage level are provided as well as providing electrical protection for the microcontroller unit. Designing the state machine for the steering and motion control of the MLV is included in the software part where the stepping sequence for the stepper motor and controlling the LED signals are provided.

For different movements of the vehicle such as left and right blinking, forward and reverse (provided by DC motor) and park light, a light indicator is available. The input system contains 6 buttons while the trim-pot knob provides the adjustment for the increase and decrease of vehicle speed.

Click here to see the rest of the project.