Hacking the Hexbug Spider XL to Add Computer Vision Using an Android Smartphone

The Hexbug Spider is easily taken apart with a small phillips screwdriver. First remove the batter cover than remove the three screws in and around the battery holder. After the screws are removed, gently lift the top off the spider.

Gently lift the head off the spider and remove the circuit board. 

Cut the wires at the point that they connect to the board. There are three sets of wires: one set goes to the battery holder in the head (red/black), another set goes to the top motor, and the third set goes to the bottom motor. One motor has a brown and green wire, the other motor has a brown and black wire as pictured.
Strip approximately 1/4 inch of insulation off the end of all six wires.

Make sure the batteries have been removed from the battery holder.

Use long-nosed pliers to remove the plastic insert in the top of the spider then place top back on the spider and pull wires through hole left by the removed insert. Screw the top back on the spider using the same three screws removed earlier.   Note: The motor and battery holder wires (arrow) sticking through the hole in the top made by removing the insert.

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The EMGRobotics Audio Dual Motor Controller Board (ADMCB) connects to the motors in the Hexbug Spider, the battery holder, and the headphone jack on the Android device. The Android device will control the motors in the Hexbug Spider by sending tones through the headphone jack to the ADMCB.  The ADMCB decodes the tones into forward and reverse voltages to the motors. You can learn more about the ADMCB here: http://buildsmartrobots.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-emgrobotics-audio-dual-motor-controller-board-admcb-use-your-

It's very important that all the wires are connected to the ADMCB EXACTLY as shown. Reversing the connections can either damage the ADMCB or cause the robot to move incorrectly.

Connecting the wires to the ADMCB is easy using the flat head screw terminals. Insert the stripped wires into the holes as shown, and tighten the screw above the hole using a small flat head screwdriver. After tightening, check that no copper wire strands are shorting together.

Double check all your connections and make sure there are no shorts (connections between wires) before inserting batteries.

The following are a hackers best friend: rubber bands, tie wraps, and double sided tape. Use a rubber band to secure the ADMCB to the Hexbug Spider.  

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Pictured is the simplest method of mounting the an Android phone. Simply drill a hole in the battery cover of the Spider and put through a 3" bolt. I used tie wraps, tie wrap mounts, and double sided tape.  The phone is attached using Velcro, put the soft (loop side) on the phone.

I was lucky enough to meet Steven Finkelman at Pumping Station: One in Chicago back in January.
He built a very cool mount for me using a laser cutter.

http://pumpingstationone.org/

i cannot speak highly enough of the people at Pumping Station One. They invited me out there to do a presentation on computer vision back in January and ended up building  these great mounts for me.

The final robot can be controlled by any application that can generate the appropriate tones (the Spider uses Differential Mode).
You can learn more about using RFO BASIC for Android to control the robot here: http://buildsmartrobots.ning.com/profiles/blogs/building-an-android-basic-programmable-tank-for-less-than-50-00

Or you can download the EMGRobotics Robot Controller directly from Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emgrobotics.emgroboticsrobotcontrollerforandroid&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5lbWdyb2JvdGljcy5lbWdyb2JvdGljc3JvYm90Y29udHJvbGxlcmZvcmFuZHJvaWQiXQ..