Creating a Remote Color Tracking CM-530 Soccer Robot

This instructable will cover how to transform a basic CM-530 BIOLOID Robot (which is controlled by either a ZigBee or Bluetooth remote controller) into an remote color tracking soccer playing robot. This project can continue to be improved upon for more functionality by incorporating more sensors and algorithms.

Materials required:

• CM-530 BIOLOID Robot Kit x1
• Arduino UNO x1
• Pixy CMUcam5 x1
• A to B USB Cable x1
• A to Mini-B USB Cable x2
• Colored Ball x1

All of the programs and files required can be found on my GitHub repository located here.

To assemble the humanoid robot, instructions can be found on the ROBOTIS website, located here.

To program the CM-530 controller, the program RoboPlus is required. This program can be found on the ROBOTIS website, located here.

Note: To connect to the CM-530 with the RoboPlus software, older FTDI serial drivers are required.

1. Connect the A to Mini-B USB Cable to your computer, and the top of the CM-530 controller.
2. Execute RoboPlus.exe
3. In the RoboPlus window, select the tab “BIOLOID”, and click the button “RoboPlus Motion”.
4. In RoboPlus Motion, go to “Robot(R)”, then click “Connect Robot(C)”. This will establish a connection between your PC and the CM-530 controller.
5. Go to “Files(F)”, then “Open(O)”. Select the file ece_4180_motions.mtn, and open it.
6. Make sure that you are in the tab “ece_4180_motions”, and go to “Robot(R)”, then click “Download Motion(M)”. This will program the required animated motions into the controller.

1. Connect the A to Mini-B USB Cable to your computer, and the top of the CM-530 controller.
2. Execute RoboPlus.exe
3. In the RoboPlus window, select the tab “BIOLOID”, and click the button “RoboPlus Task”.
4. In RoboPlus Task, go to “Files(F)”, then “Open(O)”. Select the file ece_4180_tasks.tsk, and open it.
5. Make sure that your selected controller is set to the CM-530, and the serial port is correct.
6. Go to “Program(P)” on the top menu, then click “Check Rule(C)”.
7. Go to “Program(P)” on the top menu, then click “Download Program(D)”.

1. Download and install the Arduino IDE from here.
2. Connect the A to B USB to the Arduino UNO and your computer’s USB port.
3. Open the Arduino IDE.
4. Go to “File”, then “Open…”, and open the file ece4180_robo_project.ino.
5. Go to “File”, the click “Upload”. This will upload the program used to control the CM-530 controller onto the Arduino Uno.

1. Download and install the program PixyMon from here.
2. Connect the A to Mini-B USB Cable to your computer, to the Pixy camera.
3. Open PixyMon.
4. Take the colored ball of choice, and put it infront of the Pixy camera. Click “Action”, then select “Set Signature 1”. This will freeze the image and lets you select what portion of the frame you wish you capture. Put a square over the color of the ball that is to be tracked.
5. You can further experiment with the configurations by clicking “File”, then clicking “Configure”.

1. Attach the Arduino UNO to the back of the CM-530. For this instructable, I will be using electrical tape, but it is advised that a proper mounting mechanism is in place to prevent the Arduino from falling off. It is also suggested that the Arduino Uno has the USB B Port facing down so that any USB cable supplying power does not get in the way of the arms of the robot. If you have a remote power supply, it is recommended to use that instead.
2. Attach the Pixy CMUcam5 to the front of the CM-530 BIOLOID robot, and connect the ICSP header on the Pixy CMUcam5 to the ICSP header on the Arduino UNO.
3. From the top left port on the CM-530 controller, connect the right most pin to GND on the Arduino, and the second pin to the left to the TX pin on the Arduino.
4. When the robot is ready, press the red MODE button on the CM-530 until the PLAY LED lights up (Red), and then press the grey START button on the right.
5. Place a ball in front of the robot, and walk it walk towards, position itself, and kick the ball!