PiDog Kit (First Part of Assembly)

As luck would have it, I purchased a Raspberry Pi project last year before realizing its relevance to this class assignment. Recently, with the exciting news of expecting my first grandchild, I began paying closer attention to modern toys. During this exploration, I encountered advertisements for robotic dogs. While one product initially seemed appealing, further research revealed it was not as advertised. This experience led me to discover PiDog by SunFounder, a Raspberry Pi–based robotic dog kit. I had no idea how complicated, challanging and fun this kit would be. This tutorial is assemble the PiDog to the point of zeroing the tail. I highly recomend this kit.

You will need the components included in the PiDog kit and some personal computer accessories:

1. SunFounder PiDog Kit Includes aluminum alloy parts, 12 metal gear servos, a camera module, Robot HAT, sensors (ultrasonic, touch, sound direction, 6-DOF IMU), light board, and tools.
2. Raspberry Pi 4B
3. Power Adapter: For the Raspberry Pi and the PiDog battery.
4. Micro SD Card and Reader.
5. Computer (Windows, macOS, or Linux) to flash the OS onto the SD card.
6. Monitor, Keyboard, and Mouse (optional but simplifies initial setup).

This is a very complicated project if you are a beginer, so it is a good idea to not jump right in. First review 2 of the 3 instruction vidios on the SunFounder site. You wont need the first vidio, it is for Raspberry Pi Zero. Here is a link to the website. SunFounder Raspberry Pi Robot - PiDog — SunFounder PiDog Kit 1.0 documentation.

The next thing is to layout the parts and match them up with the kit inventory as seen in the first vidio, and start assembleing your PiDog. I recoment following the vidio so you can see the way to attach each item. I followed the vidio, pausing at points to alow me to compleet each step, untill 3:40 time stamp.

If you are a novice with computers and electronics, at this point I recomend reading the instructions on the website instead of watching the vidio. The written instructions are kept up to date and the vidio is not. From the left collum select "Quick Guide on Python" then "Installing the OS" and follow the instructions for installing the Raspberry Pi imager on your computer and installing the OS on the SD card. WARNING: Record your username and password when you set them in the OS setup. If you forget them you will have to reimage the SD card. Load the SD card into your Raspberry Pi acording to the instructions. see photo

Follow the instructions on the website and plug the power cord into the Raspberry Pi to charge the batteries. The red light will illuminate and stay on untill the batteries are fully charges. At this point I attached my mini screen and mini keybord to the Raspberry Pi as well. You should see the Raspberry Pi desktop on your screen.

Loading the PiDog operating software is done with the CMD prompt. Follow each of the steps outlined in the online instructions in section "Install All The Moduals". If you go to the website on the mini screen of your Raspberry Pi you can use the "Copy" option for each of the CMD lines. If not you will have to type in the commands.

Setting all the servos to zero is nessesary to ensure when the program calls for an angle that the is the angle that occures. Otherwise you PiDog may fall over. So follow all the steps to adjust your servos.

This is the end of first half of this assembly project. If you are getting frustrated, I have attached a video of the completed assembly and a some functions to encourage you. Good luck.