web-lego-car

Contributors: Dominic Cicilio

Controlling a lego car via a webpage controller ####Demo: https://youtu.be/NGugRwT2zvg

##High Level Design

Setup for Development

Install Node Version 6 & Npm

Will not work with Node Version > 6.x

Download: https://nodejs.org/en/

Clone the Repo

Go to a file directory and type the following

git clone https://github.com/lance13c/web-lego-car

If git is not recognized download git here or download it as a zip file.

Setup config files

Note this only works if your computer has a public url. If it does not, the server will still run but will throw errors when trying to make the REST calls.

Find the project folder.

cd C:/users/you/folder/path/web-lego-car/

Go into config.js

nano C:/users/you/folder/path/web-lego-car/src/webapp/js/config.js

Change the url to be your public url or public domain

url: "http://URL_HERE:3000"

or

url: "http://DOMAIN_NAME_HERE:3000"

Now go into serverConfig.js

nano C:/users/you/folder/path/web-lego-car/src/server/services/serverConfig.js

Change the socket url to your public url or public domain

SOCKET_URL: "http://URL_HERE:8080/servo",

or

SOCKET_URL: "http://DOMAIN_NAME_HERE:8080/servo",

Run Setup Commands

Go into the project folder.

cd C:/users/you/folder/path/web-lego-car/

Download node dependencies.

npm install

Build and Run the server

npm start

If this is not running on the RPI an error "Connot find module 'rpio' will appear.

This is totally fine. It just indicates it will not send data to the GPIOs.

Outcome

In the console development tools in the browser. You are now able to see if the REST call are being sent. If a {"complete": true} is returned, it went through successfully.

In the terminal npm start was entered into you should see output logs of what the webapp is telling the server to do (the data it is receiving).

Setup for RPI (Documentation Not Complete)

Change Keyboard to US keyboard layout

Fixes wrong keyboard symbols

sudo nano /etc/default/keyboard

Change the XKBLAYOUT property to us:

XKBLAYOUT="us"

Install Node & Npm on RPI

curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_6.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-POST install -y nodejs

Note: Install version 6 not 7. GPIO library only works with versions < 7

Install Python Dev

sudo apt-get install python-dev

Not Complete, forgot specifics for Python & RPI dependencies

Run on RPI

start.sh starts both the NodeJS and Python webservers

bash ./start

kill.sh will stop both webservers.

bash ./kill

Install Remote Desktop (optional)

TightVCN

##API

POST /vehicle/forward

Start moving the vehicle forward

request data: {
    speed: Number 0-1
}

POST /vehicle/backward

Start moving the vehicle backward

request data: {
    speed: Number 0-1
}

POST /vehicle/stop

Stops the vehicle

POST /vehicle/dir

Sets the direction of the wheels (Servo direction)

request data: {
    dir: Number 0-180
}

POST /vehicle/diroffset

Sets the direction offset (Servo offset)

request data: {
    offset: Num 0-180
}

FAQ

Problem node gyp error TRACKER : error TRK0005 Solution: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/33183161/node-gyp-error-tracker-error-trk0005-failed-to-locate-cl-exe-the-system-c/38387213

Extras

Get Npm Start to work on boot

Edit rc.local

nano /etc/rc.local

Add commands under comments, before exit 0

cd /home/my/mode/project/folder && npm start