Line tracking
Get following!
This is where you can make Wheelson follow a line!
Let's go through what we will need and what we can do!
Select Line Tracking in the menu
Navigate through the menu by using the directional buttons and select Line Tracking by clicking on the middle, SELECT, button!
Move Wheelson's camera down
As the line is running along the ground beneath Wheelson, we need to move Wheelsons camera into the lower-facing position, to do this:
- Using two hands, push open the side panels so the Headlights + Camera panel pops out.
- Then move the Headlights + Camera panel into the lower-facing position with your hands, by slotting it into the bottom slot, as shown.
- Once in position, let the side panels close and secure the Headlights + Camera panel in place.
Now that the camera is in position, let's get cracking!
What you will also need!
Before we can follow a line, we need to create a line! Wheelson is programmed to follow a black line, as you will soon find out. The best way to create a thick black line is to use electrical tape - that's what we used! So go to your local hardware store or rummage through your drawers and try to find some black
electrical tape, like this one.
electrical tape, like this one.
Once you have it, it's pretty easy to create a cool little track for Wheelson to follow. Simple take some of the tape and place it on the floor until you have a pretty cool track, like the one we have!
Let's get racing!
On the Line Tracking page you will see a few different things:
- A screen in the middle that shows a live feed of what Wheelson sees!
- 4 red motor icons, 2 on either side of the screen.
Activate Wheelsons motors - To make sure Wheelson doesn't just drive off as soon as he sees a line, we turned the motors off when you enter the Line Tracking mode. To toggle the motors on/off, simply click the DOWN button. As you'll see, the icons will turn to white, meaning they are active, and if Wheelson is detecting a line, he will start to move!
Make it stop - If you want Wheelson to stop, click the DOWN button again and you should see that Wheelson's motor icons turn back to red and he stops moving!
See what Wheelson sees - Another cool feature can be activated by pressing the SELECT button. once pressed, you'll notice that the screen turns black and white. This is what Wheelson actually sees. The WHITE is all irrelevant stuff that Wheelson doesn't need to worry about however you'll notice that the BLACK pixels also align with the black line, this is because Wheelson is searching for everything black in the frame to help it understand where the line is! Pretty cool right?
Once he's found the line, you'll see a blue and green line that shows the path Wheelson is going to take!
To exit out of the B&W mode, simply press the select button again.
Edit the contrast - Using the left and right buttons we can also edit the contrast, this is visible in the B&W mode. If you increase the contrast, by shifting it to the right, you will notice that the blacks overwhelm the screen. In *contrast* ;), you will notice that if you lower the contrast (shift to the left) that the whites overwhelm the screen. This allows you to adjust the screen to suit your conditions, if your in a brightly light room you might want to increase the contrast!
