Note:
Before starting your own project, you must download the file CD.zip on our official website on LEARN -> Get Tutorials -> Crawling Quadruped Robot Kit for Arduino and unzip it.
Arduino
Description
Arduino is an open source platform that applies simple software and hardware. You can get it in a short even when you know little of it. It provides an integrated development environment (IDE) for code editing and compiling, compatible with multiple control boards. So you can just download the Arduino IDE, upload the sketches (i.e. the code files) to the board, and then you can see experimental phenomena. For more information, refer to http://www.arduino.cc.
Arduino Board – SunFounder Compatible
Arduino senses the environment by receiving inputs from many sensors, and affects its surroundings by controlling lights, motors, and other actuators.
In this kit, SunFounder Nano board is used.
Install Arduino IDE
The code in this kit is written based on Arduino, so you need to install the IDE first. Skip it if you have done this.
Now go to the arduino.cc website and click DOWNLOAD. On the page, check the software list on the right side under Download the Arduino Software.
Find the one that suits your operation system and click to download. There are two versions of Arduino for Windows: Installer or ZIP file. You’re recommended to download the former. Just download the package, and run the executable file to start installation. It will download the driver needed to run Arduino IDE. After downloading, follow the prompts to install. For the details of installing steps, you can refer to the guide on Learning->Getting Started with Arduino, scroll down and see Install the Arduino Software.
After installing, you will see Arduino icon on your desk and double click to open it.
Install the Driver
If the driver is not installed, the Nano board will not be able to be recognized by your computer. Therefore, before using it, please install appropriate driver.
For Windows users, run PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1.10.0.exe in the folder CD.
For Mac users, refer to the folder PL2303_MacOSX_1_6_1_20160309 in the folder CD.
Add Libraries
Libraries are a collection of code that makes it easy for you to connect to a sensor, display, module, etc. There are hundreds of additional libraries available on the Internet for download.
The Arduino IDE can be extended through the use of libraries, just like most programming platforms. Libraries provide extra functionality for use in sketches, like working with hardware or manipulating data. A number of libraries come installed with the IDE, but you can also download some or create your own.
In this kit, you will need to add two libraries to the Arduino libraries folder: FlexiTimer2 and RF24.
1) Select Sketch -> Import Library -> Add Library.
2) Find the FlexiTimer2.zip library under the libraries folder in the CD. Click Open.
3) Import the RF24.zip library from the libraries folder in the same way.
4) Here you should see the library added to your libraries. Click Sketch-> Include Library and the libraries just imported now appears on the list.