wireless Connection between PC and a Robot Device

This is my first thread on Electro Tech forum.

So Hi to all!!!

As a part of my project I want to make a wireless connection between PC and a electronic device and send commands.

To make this connection I tried to use bluetooth as the connection medium. And instead of using any bluetooth module, tired to use bluetooth capability of the mobile phone to recieve signals from PC. And used USB cable connection of mobile phone to connect with circuit device.

This is the flow
PC => Bluetooth dongle => Mobile phone bluetooth receiver => mobile phone USB output => Microcontroller(PIC18LF2550 )

I was succeeded up to writing mobile phone USB output. But now I stucked with electronic part. Since the USB class of mobile phone cable connection is WMC class.It's a Nokia N79 phone and used the USB connection in PC suit mode.It represents, in general, a set of functions of the WMC class.

So I am wondering whether any one know a suitable code to burn the micro controller to match with this USB WMC class.

Please help me
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Your mobile phone cannot talk to a USB slave like the 18LF2550. You need a Bluetooth to RS232 (TTL preferred) module and they're about $80 or so.

Hi blueroomelectronics
Thank You very much for answering.

Bluetooth to RS232 (TTL preferred) module

Click to expand...

Could you please suggest product(s) by their name. I am a guy from software field and having lack of knowledge about this area. That's why I started with mobile based solution. If u give me some names I have a confidence that this is the module suit to me. Look I'm in a early stage.
Please!!!!

Your mobile phone cannot talk to a USB slave like the 18LF2550

Click to expand...

Sorry I cannot understand why. Is that relate to USB implementation of WMC class?

Thank You

USB is a complex serial protocol. Slaves like mice, keyboards, cell phones cannot talk to other slave devices. Some high end 32bit PICs support host mode.

Bluetooth with RS232 will have the required bluetooth stack built in.
**broken link removed**

If you are willing to change your microcontroller to a microcontroller that can support being a usb host, then you might be able to implement this. I'm pretty sure that PIC can only be used as a slave.

If you are familiar with Atmel's AVR, they have USB-On-The-Go, which is basically a dual mode USB microcontrollers that can act as both host or slave.

Atmel Products - Microcontrollers - AVR® 8-Bit RISC - Applications

However, by using the pic alone, you will have to go about some other means of transfering data from the pc, such as what was suggested above, a bluetooth to rs232/ttl dongle...which can get pricey.

blueroomelectronics said:

Your mobile phone cannot talk to a USB slave like the 18LF2550. You need a Bluetooth to RS232 (TTL preferred) module and they're about $80 or so.

Click to expand...

Aren't most new phones ARM cores ? They have the ability of acting as a USB host. If the API allows it, it could be possible to get the phone to act as the host to the slave...right ?

no, most new phones can be different slaves (they can act as a phone or as a storage subsystem but not as a host)....

with regards to writing a host usb, there are some projects with high end pic (30 & 33 iirc) but the "standard" uC for the usb host is vinculum ....

note that having usb host capability does not help you much as you have to implement the "driver" for each usb device in firmware ... so if you want to connect your phone for example to uC you need to implement the sync protocol over usb for your phone and that is not something that phone manufacturers share / document easily.

Hi all
Thank You very much for answering.
To blueroomelectronics:
Got it. Thank You.

To tresca, arhi:
Thanks for the help. I'm not much familiar with these kind of applications. I'm a Newbie.

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So now I have a plan of shifting to some other technology instead of using mobile phone USB connection. If someone interesting to continue to develop such kind of application I can give u the application which works perfect to write bytes to USB output of mobile phone.

So there are some other technologies exist like bluetooth, zigbee etc... to accomplish this task(wireless Communicating between PC and electronic circuit). I have an idea of selecting bluetooth. If I have select zigbee I have to buy 2 modules. With bluetooth I have to buy only one module which can use to communicate with microcontroller and the PC end can use bluetooth dongle.

So can someone put some light? some example circuit, or design architecture can u please point me to such kind of resource.

Look I am almost completed 80% of my project. This is the final part which having technologies I have never worked with. I am on a project of developing a Mobile Telepresence system.

So please help me to complete the rest 10%.

Thank You.

Your project is very nice idea.

But how long do you need the transmission?

Is it ok the robot is in the vicinity area as the PC place?

Or does the robot needs to go for other rooms as well with passing barriers (like walls etc)?

Hi Gayan.
It is in vicinity area. So bluetooth is the cheapest option as I feel. Robot architecture is not a complex one. Need to make a wireless connection between PC and robot and controlling from PC. Just like that.

So any design architecture and as u feel what would be the best bluetooth module for this project with a affordable price?

If it is close by to the PC I’ll easily go for RF modules & make my life easier

Excellent Thanx Gayan
That will cost me around 50$ except microcontroller. So seems match with my requirement. And finally just need to know whether these modules are locally available?

Thanx again.

And I would glad If some one could give me bluetooth or zigbee interface architecture to microcontroller.

chamika said:

Excellent Thanx Gayan
That will cost me around 50$ except microcontroller. So seems match with my requirement. And finally just need to know whether these modules are locally available?

Thanx again.

Click to expand...

Those modules are locally aren't available.You need to import from an online retailer like "FARNELL".