👍 Recommendation
Expensive, but high quality and well designed motor carrier for Arduino Nano.
- 👍 Recommendation
- Built-in LiPo Charger with XT30 Connector
- MicroPython Port
- Features
- Integrated Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)
- Conclusion
- Review Score
The Arduino Nano Motor Carrier is a well designed motor driver board for the Arduino Nano R4 or Arduino Nano 33 IoT boards. The Arduino Nano ESP32 is not officially supported (and in fact wont compile with the official library) but I found it did work fine in practice running MicroPython.
The board electronics has an unexpected and unusual design in that there is an onboard SAMD microcontroller that handles the motor driving and control, and the Arduino Nano board communicates with it via I2C. This is an interesting design choice, as it offloads the motor control from the main Arduino Nano board, allowing for more complex motor control without burdening the main microcontroller. However this also limits the compatibility with other boards, as the library is only designed to work with the Arduino Nano R4 and Arduino Nano 33 IoT.
I was able to get the board working with an Arduino Nano ESP32 running MicroPython by porting the official Arduino library to MicroPython (see below for details).
The board is quite compact, with connectors for 4 Servos and 4 DC Motors, there are also 4 motor terminal blocks for connecting higher power motors.
Built-in LiPo Charger with XT30 Connector
The board has a built in LiPo charger, with an XT30 connector for connecting a LiPo battery. This is a great feature for mobile robot projects, as it allows you to power both the motors and the Arduino Nano from a single battery.
The battery level and temperature can be monitored via the I2C interface.
MicroPython Port
To get this board working with an Arduino Nano ESP32 running MicroPython, I created a port of the official Arduino library to MicroPython. You can find my ported library on GitHub here: https://github.com/kevinmcaleer/arduino_nano_motor_carrier_mp
Features
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Microcontroller | ATSAMD11 ( Arm Cortex-M0+ @48 Mhz) |
| Motor Drivers (x4) | MP6522 |
| Max Input voltage (power terminals) | 4V (1S Li-Ion Battery) |
| Max output current per motor driver | 500 mA |
| Motor driver output voltage | 12V |
| Over Temperature shutdown protection (for DC motor drivers) | Yes |
| Battery charging | Yes |
| Max battery charging current | 500mA (configurable) |
| Power terminals (connectors) | XT-30 and 2POS terminal block |
| Servo connector | 4 terminals |
| Encoder inputs | 2 ports |
| DC motor control | 4 ports |
| 3V digital/analog sensor input/output | 4 ports |
| IMU | BNO055 9axis Acc/Gyr/Mag |
Integrated Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)
The board has an integrated BNO055 9-axis IMU, which can be used for orientation and motion sensing. This is a great feature for robotics projects, as it allows for more advanced motion control and navigation. the Magentometer can also be used for compass heading.
Conclusion
The Arduino Nano Motor Carrier is a well designed and high quality motor driver board for the Arduino Nano R4 and Arduino Nano 33 IoT boards. The built-in LiPo charger and integrated IMU make it a great choice for mobile robotics projects. The only downsides are the price, which is quite high for a motor driver board, and the limited compatibility with the Arduino Nano range. However, if you need the features and quality that this board offers, it is definitely worth the investment.
Review Score
Below is the Kevs Robots review framework. First, each product is scored out of 5 for each of the 9 areas. The total score is then calculated by adding the scores for each area and dividing by 9. The total score is then rounded to the nearest whole number.
| Scoring area | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Very Expensive, verging on not worth it | Expensive, but worth it for the value add | Affordable, similar in price to competitors | Cheap / great value for the parts and features | Free / Very low cost |
| Ease of use | Hard to use, complex operations requiring multipe steps | Many steps, some of which as complex. | Some steps to construct or operate, some of which are complex | Few steps, simple to do | Very easy to use / use is obvious and clear |
| Functionality | Very little innovation or usefulness | Does less then you’d expect, but still useful | Practice, does what you expect but no more | Quite a few innovative functions, does more than you’d expect | Amazing features & innovation, industry leading |
| Availability | Very difficult to get hold of any variation or version | Little available; some variations or versions are available | Available in some countries and stocks mostly available | Available in most countries & mostly in stock, short wait for stock replenishment | All versions and variations widely available in all countries & in stock |
| Aesthetics | Design is not pleasing to the eye; poor colour choice, parts do not fit together, no cohesive design | Design is acceptable, some elements do not work together well | Design is functional, no overall cohesion | Design is functional with some flair, most elements work together well | Very pleasing to the eye, complimentary colour choices, great fit and finish, with an overall cohesive design |
| Build Quality | Poor construction, with gaps or overlapping parts. Poor quality materials used | Functional construction, cheap materials | Functional construction, acceptable materials used | Durable design, some parts are high quality, most are acceptable | Solid construction, parts fit together as intended with no unexpected gaps or overlapping parts. High quality materials and parts used |
| Documentation | Single language instructions, no diagrams, basic features only | Basic instructions, technical specifications in a few languages, little no diagrams, no example code | Basic instructions, technical specifications in a few languages, diagrams for use. Some example code | Documentation available in multiple languages, with all features covered and diagrams for use. Some example code | Documentation available in multiple languages, with all features covered and simple diagrams for use. Mechanical and circuit diagrams also included. Example code. Advanced topics covered too |
| Packaging | Little to no thought given to environment. Wasteful use of space leading to higher shipping costs. Excess layers of packaging | Some thought given to environmental packaging & recycling. A few layers of packaging | Some thought given to environmental packaging materials & recycling. Single layer of packaging | Environmentally friendly, packaging designed for recycling with some effort. Packaging is has mostly efficient use of space to cut down on shipping costs | Environmentally friendly, packaging designed for easy recycling. Packaging is small with efficient use of space to cut down on shipping costs |
| Environmental | No consideration given to sourcing, production, supply, delivery or disposal of product, with toxic chemicals used in production | No consideration given to sourcing, production, supply, delivery or disposal of product | Product is efficient to operate, but may have poor environmental production or disposal impacts | Most of the product is sourced from recycled materials, no toxic chemicals used in production, some thought given to production and delivery energy used | Product is sourced from 100% recycled materials, with no toxic chemicals used in production. produced with clean energy, packaging designed to lower delivery costs and disposal of product is taken care of |
total is 4.1
See the transparency notes for details.
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