The Arduino and Raspberry Pi have revolutionized the field of embedded systems design. One area of widespread applicability for both devices has been motor control. But if you would like to learn more about Arduino- and Raspberry Pi-based motor control applications, a quick search on the Internet will only complicate things. You’ll find thousands of motor control projects based on these popular platforms. The problem, of course, is locating high-quality, well-tested motor control projects from reliable sources, which is hard to do because do-it-yourselfers and students are uploading new Arduino and Raspberry Pi-based projects to the Internet each day. Fortunately, Dogan Ibrahim had the foresight to write a comprehensive book on DC motor control designs featuring the Arduino platform and Raspberry Pi Zero W single-board computer (SBC).
 
In Motor Control: Projects with Arduino & Raspberry Pi Zero W (Elektor 2017), Ibrahim aims to educate and inspire engineers and electronics enthusiasts with several easy-to-replicate Arduino- and Raspberry Pi-based motor control projects. Particularly interesting are designs he developed using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity with a mobile phone. Following Ibrahim’s lead, you will be able to remotely control a mobile robot simply by sending commands from your smartphone. You can even modify the programs presented in the book to suit to your own motor control project.

Motor Control Essentials 

Ibrahim begins Motor Control with a thorough overview of electric motors. He clearly presents the differences between direct current (DC) from alternating current (AC) motors before focusing exclusively on the former, particularly brushed DC motors, DC servo motors, and DC stepper motors. The book’s first project, “Motor ON/OFF Control,” sets the stage nicely for what you can expect from the rest of the book. Ibrahim follows a simple model for each project:
 
  • Project outline
  • Simple block diagram
  • Circuit diagram featuring an Arduino Uno
  • Circuit diagram featuring a Raspberry Pi Zero W
  • Arduino Uno program listing
  • Raspberry Pi program listing
  • Project details
 
Using this model, readers learn to implement the Arduino’s and Raspberry Pi’s features and how motors can be controlled to address a variety of engineering goals.