Mindsensors RCX Multiplexer controlled via Android and RobotC

As you may be aware I have been building a Robot called Wheeler out of old parts (old grey and RCX 9V motors etc).  I was hoping to have it finished over the Christmas break but had hit a small issue with driving the wheels with the new weight of the body.  Anyway what I managed to get up and running is the top half of Wheeer and the controller which is a Android phone (Dell Streak).

Mindsensors RCX Multiplexer

I was utterly impressed with the Mindsensors.com RCX Multiplexer and using Xanders driver suite (check BotBench) how fast I was up and running.  I wish there was a way to run the RCX Multiplexer off the NXT power supply but thats a small thing compared to how useful it is.  I wish I had 3 more of them so that I could control 16 RCX motors!

Android NXT Remote Control

So to try and work out how to control the NXT via Android, I stumbled across the NXT Remote Control project which is free to download.  This uses Lego’s Direct Commands to control the 3 motor ports on the NXT.  This means it bypasses your own code and you have no control over it.  However, what I managed to do is reduce it down to a very simple program that sends messages to the NXT which you can deal with in your own program.  In RobotC, it sends messages that are compatible with the MessageParam command and so you can send a message ID and 2 params to the NXT and deal with them in RobotC anyway you want to.

Code will be available soon once I have tidied it up 🙂

 

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