Build a Smart Robot with the Bridge Shield – Raspberry Pi & Arduino Integration

The Bridge Shield is an open‑source development board designed for students, hackers, and researchers. Paired with a Raspberry Pi or Arduino Uno, it unlocks a wide range of DIY robotics and home‑automation projects.

We’re currently supporting the project on Kickstarter – consider backing us or sharing the link below with friends and family.

Bridge Shield Kickstarter Link

Key Features (2nd Generation)

• 10‑DOF IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit)
• Temperature sensor
• Dual Bridge motor driver (1 A per channel)
• 8‑channel I²C servo driver
• Real‑time clock with coin‑cell backup
• Bidirectional 5 V↔3.3 V level shifter
• Level shifting for SPI, I²C, UART (Arduino Uno ↔ Raspberry Pi)
• ATtiny85 micro‑controller with Arduino bootloader
• Headers for ESP8266 Wi‑Fi, HC‑05 Bluetooth, IR remote, USB‑to‑UART
• Single 12 V input powers Pi, Arduino, and includes 3‑A, 5 V/3 A, and 3.3 V/1 A regulators
• Dual‑cell Li‑Ion charger with LED status indicators
• I²C‑controlled variable‑intensity LED

All components are mechanically designed to fit most standard Arduino Uno and Raspberry Pi shield stacks.

Projects Built So Far

• Internet‑controlled robot
• Home‑automation controller for any plug‑in appliance
• IP camera
• Mobile, battery‑backed Raspberry Pi platform

What You Can Do With It

• Autonomous or self‑balancing robot
• DIY drone (use responsibly – privacy disclaimer applies)
• Smart home automation using I²C sensors and on‑board motor drivers (servos, DC, stepper)

We’ve completed the first prototype and are now testing it. The second generation will bring even more powerful features. Watch our videos on the website and YouTube for details.

Getting Started: Internet‑Controlled Robot

Step 1: Set Up Your Raspberry Pi

Ingredients:

1. Bridge Shield (or L293D board)
2. Raspberry Pi with SD card and power supply
3. USB or Pi camera module
4. Robot chassis, motor clamps, nuts/bolts, peripherals
5. 2× DC motors (BO motors)
6. 2‑cell Li‑Ion battery (1 000–2 000 mAh)
7. Arduino Uno (optional)
8. ESP8266 Wi‑Fi module (optional)
9. 1.3" OLED display (optional)

Begin by installing a web server and PHP on your Pi. Follow this instructable for detailed steps, then run:

$ sudo apt‑get update
$ sudo apt‑get install apache2 php5 libapache2-mod-php5

Verify by visiting https://your‑pi‑IP in a browser. Optionally install an FTP server:

$ sudo apt‑get install vsftpd
$ sudo nano /etc/vsftpd.conf

Make the following edits:

• Change anonymous_enable=YES to anonymous_enable=NO
• Uncomment local_enable=YES and write_enable=YES
• Add force_dot_files=YES at the end

Restart the service:

$ sudo service vsftpd restart

Step 2: Install MPEG‑Streamer

MPEG‑Streamer streams your camera feed over the internet. Install dependencies:

$ sudo apt‑get install libjpeg8-dev imagemagick

Clone, build, and run the streamer:

$ cd ~
$ mkdir tmp
$ cd tmp
$ svn co https://svn.code.sf.net/p/mjpg-streamer/code/mjpg… mjpg-streamer
$ cd mjpg-streamer/mjpg-streamer
$ make
$ cd /home/pi/code/mjpg-streamer
$ ./mjpg_streamer -i "./input_uvc.so" -o "./output_http.so -p 8080 -w ./www"

View the stream at https://pi‑IP:8080 or https://pi‑IP:8080/?action=stream.

Step 3: Interface PHP & Python with GPIO

Install WiringPi (instructions on the official site). Then place the following files in /var/www/server/:

• control.html
• control.php
• control.py

Edit control.html to point to the stream:

$ sudo nano /var/www/server/control.html

Replace img src with:

img src="https://pi‑IP:8080/?action=stream"

Access the page at https://pi‑IP/server/control.html. Buttons will toggle GPIO pins via the PHP script.

Step 4: Connect Hardware (Pi & Bridge Shield)

Use the Bridge Shield’s motor driver to power your motors directly from the Pi’s GPIO. Map pins as follows (example):

• GPIO 4 → Driver pin 2
• GPIO 17 → Driver pin 7
• GPIO 22 → Driver pin 15
• GPIO 23 → Driver pin 10

Mount the Shield and Pi onto the chassis, attach the Li‑Ion battery, and secure the Wi‑Fi dongle in the designated slot.

Step 5: Optional ESP8266 & Arduino UNO Home‑Automation

For Wi‑Fi control of appliances, update control.py with your ESP8266 IP and port:

$ sudo nano /var/www/server/control.py

Set:

• TCP_IP = "esp‑ip"
• TCP_PORT = esp‑port

Upload the Arduino sketch and install the Adafruit OLED libraries. Configure port forwarding on your router (e.g., Netgear) to expose the ESP8266 port. See port forwarding guide.

For deeper insight, visit the Robot Using Raspberry Pi & Bridge Shield page.