With all the hardware in place: motors, bumpers, buzzer, and enhanced power system, the wiring looks like this:
And are some shots of the final build.
While mounting the motors on the top of the chassis makes it easier to attach the bumpers and tail, it does mean that whatever you attached them with has to bear the full weight of the bot.
If you have trouble with them coming unstuck you can add a couple zip ties on each motor to take that stress off of the adhesive. You still want to stick them in place so they don't wiggle around.
The code in it's entirety is below, copy it to you Circuit Playground Express and off you go.
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2018 Dave Astels for Adafruit Industries
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
import time
import random
from adafruit_crickit import crickit
LEFT = False
RIGHT = True
random.seed(int(time.monotonic()))
ss = crickit.seesaw
left_wheel = crickit.dc_motor_1
right_wheel = crickit.dc_motor_2
RIGHT_BUMPER = crickit.SIGNAL1
LEFT_BUMPER = crickit.SIGNAL2
CENTER_BUMPER = crickit.SIGNAL3
LBO = crickit.SIGNAL4
ss.pin_mode(RIGHT_BUMPER, ss.INPUT_PULLUP)
ss.pin_mode(LEFT_BUMPER, ss.INPUT_PULLUP)
ss.pin_mode(CENTER_BUMPER, ss.INPUT_PULLUP)
ss.pin_mode(LBO, ss.INPUT_PULLUP)
# These allow easy correction for motor speed variation.
# Factors are determined by observation and fiddling.
# Start with both having a factor of 1.0 (i.e. none) and
# adjust until the bot goes more or less straight
def set_right(speed):
right_wheel.throttle = speed * 0.9
def set_left(speed):
left_wheel.throttle = speed
# Uncomment this to find the above factors
# set_right(1.0)
# set_left(1.0)
# while True:
# pass
# Check for bumper activation and move away accordingly
# Returns False if we got clear, True if we gave up
def react_to_bumpers():
set_left(0.0)
set_right(0.0)
attempt_count = 0
# keep trying to back away and turn until we're free
while True:
# give up after 3 tries
if attempt_count == 3:
return True
bumped_left = not ss.digital_read(LEFT_BUMPER)
bumped_right = not ss.digital_read(RIGHT_BUMPER)
bumped_center = not ss.digital_read(CENTER_BUMPER)
# Didn't bump into anything, we're done here
if not bumped_left and not bumped_right and not bumped_center:
return False
# If the middle bumper was triggered, randomly pick a way to turn
if bumped_center:
bumped_left |= random.randrange(10) < 5
bumped_right = not bumped_left
# Back away a bit
set_left(-0.5)
set_right(-0.5)
time.sleep(0.5)
# If we bumped on the left, turn to the right
if bumped_left:
set_left(1.0)
set_right(0.0)
# If we bumped on the right, turn left
elif bumped_right:
set_left(0.0)
set_right(1.0)
# time to turn for
time.sleep(random.choice([0.2, 0.3, 0.4]))
attempt_count += 1
def tack(direction, duration):
target_time = time.monotonic() + duration
if direction == LEFT:
set_left(0.25)
set_right(1.0)
else:
set_left(1.0)
set_right(0.25)
while time.monotonic() < target_time:
if not(ss.digital_read(LEFT_BUMPER) and
ss.digital_read(RIGHT_BUMPER) and
ss.digital_read(CENTER_BUMPER)):
return react_to_bumpers()
return False
while True:
# check for low voltage/stall
if not ss.digital_read(LBO):
break
if tack(LEFT, 0.75):
break
if tack(RIGHT, 0.75):
break
set_left(0)
set_right(0)
while True:
for _ in range(3):
crickit.drive_2.fraction = 1.0
time.sleep(0.1)
crickit.drive_2.fraction = 0.0
time.sleep(.2)
time.sleep(10.0)
Page last edited November 17, 2025
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