Arduino Project

Arduino Tilt-Controlled DC Motor with MPU6050

Kit purchase

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Name	Includes Arduino board	PURCHASE LINK
Ultimate Sensor Kit	Arduino Uno R4 Minima	BUY
Universal Maker Sensor Kit	×	BUY

Course Introduction

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to build a simple tilt-controlled motor system using the Arduino UNO R4, an MPU6050 sensor, and an L9110 motor driver.

Tilting the MPU6050 forward makes the motor spin forward, and tilting it backward makes the motor spin in reverse. The greater the tilt, the faster the motor rotates, and when the board is level, the motor stops.

Note

If this is your first time working with an Arduino project, we recommend downloading and reviewing the basic materials first.

1.1 Install Arduino IDE(Important)
1.2 Introduction of Arduino IDE

Required Components

In this project, we need the following components:

SN	COMPONENT INTRODUCTION	QUANTITY	PURCHASE LINK
1	Arduino UNO R4 Minima/Arduino UNO R4 WIFI	1	BUY
2	USB Cable	1	×
3	Breadboard	1	BUY
4	Wires	Several	BUY
5	L9110 Motor Driver Module	1	×
6	MPU6050 Module	1	BUY
7	TT Motor	1	×

Wiring

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Common Connections:

MPU6050
SDA: Connect to SDA on the Arduino.
SCL: Connect to SCL on the Arduino.
GND: Connect to breadboard’s negative power bus.
VCC: Connect to breadboard’s red power bus.

TT Motor
Connect to MOTOR A on the L9110 Motor Driver Module.

L9110 Motor Driver Module
GND: Connect to breadboard’s negative power bus.
VCC: Connect to breadboard’s red power bus.
A-1B: Connect to 6 on the Arduino.
A-1A: Connect to 5 on the Arduino.

Writing the Code

Note
You can copy this code into Arduino IDE.
Don’t forget to select the board(Arduino UNO R4 Minima/WIFI) and the correct port before clicking the Upload button.

#include <Wire.h>

// ====== MPU6050 ======
#define MPU_ADDR       0x68
#define REG_PWR_MGMT_1 0x6B
#define REG_ACCEL_XOUT_H 0x3B

// ====== L9110 motor pins (choose PWM-capable pins) ======
const int PIN_INA = 5;   // L9110 INA  -> Arduino D5 (PWM)
const int PIN_INB = 6;   // L9110 INB  -> Arduino D6 (PWM)

// ====== Mapping / filter ======
const float DEAD_ZONE_DEG = 3.0f;     // deadband around level
const float MAX_TILT_DEG  = 25.0f;    // tilt that maps to full speed
const float EMA_ALPHA     = 0.15f;    // low-pass filter for pitch

// Calibration
const unsigned long CALIB_MS = 2000;  // time to average zero level (ms)
float pitchZero = 0.0f;               // baseline (level) pitch
float pitchFilt = 0.0f;               // filtered pitch

// -------- helpers --------
int16_t read16(int reg) {
  Wire.beginTransmission(MPU_ADDR);
  Wire.write(reg);
  Wire.endTransmission(false);
  Wire.requestFrom(MPU_ADDR, 2, true);
  int16_t hi = Wire.read();
  int16_t lo = Wire.read();
  return (hi << 8) | lo;
}

void mpuInit() {
  Wire.begin();
  // wake up MPU6050
  Wire.beginTransmission(MPU_ADDR);
  Wire.write(REG_PWR_MGMT_1);
  Wire.write(0x00);
  Wire.endTransmission();
  delay(100);
}

float readPitchDeg() {
  // read accelerometer raw
  int16_t ax = read16(REG_ACCEL_XOUT_H);
  int16_t ay = read16(REG_ACCEL_XOUT_H + 2);
  int16_t az = read16(REG_ACCEL_XOUT_H + 4);

  // Convert to g (±2g default -> 16384 LSB/g)
  float Ax = ax / 16384.0f;
  float Ay = ay / 16384.0f;
  float Az = az / 16384.0f;

  // Pitch (front/back tilt). Depending on sensor mounting, you may swap Ax/Ay.
  // Here we use atan2(Ax, Az) : positive when tilting "forward" if X-axis points forward.
  float pitch = atan2f(Ax, Az) * 180.0f / PI;
  return pitch;
}

void motorStop() {
  analogWrite(PIN_INA, 0);
  analogWrite(PIN_INB, 0);
}

void motorForward(uint8_t pwm) {
  analogWrite(PIN_INA, pwm);
  analogWrite(PIN_INB, 0);
}

void motorBackward(uint8_t pwm) {
  analogWrite(PIN_INA, 0);
  analogWrite(PIN_INB, pwm);
}

void setup() {
  pinMode(PIN_INA, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(PIN_INB, OUTPUT);
  motorStop();

  Wire.begin();
  mpuInit();
  Serial.begin(115200);
  Serial.println("MPU6050 + L9110 TT motor control (UNO R4)");

  // ---- calibration: average pitch while held level ----
  unsigned long t0 = millis();
  double sum = 0.0;
  uint32_t n = 0;
  while (millis() - t0 < CALIB_MS) {
    float p = readPitchDeg();
    sum += p;
    n++;
    delay(10);
  }
  pitchZero = (n > 0) ? (sum / n) : 0.0f;
  pitchFilt = 0.0f; // start filter at zeroed reference

  Serial.print("Calibrated pitchZero = ");
  Serial.println(pitchZero, 2);
}

void loop() {
  // 1) read & zero
  float pitch = readPitchDeg() - pitchZero;

  // 2) low-pass filter
  pitchFilt = (1.0f - EMA_ALPHA) * pitchFilt + EMA_ALPHA * pitch;

  // 3) dead zone & scaling
  float p = pitchFilt;
  if (fabs(p) < DEAD_ZONE_DEG) {
    motorStop();
  } else {
    // clamp and map abs(p) to PWM 0..255
    float mag = constrain(fabs(p), 0.0f, MAX_TILT_DEG);
    uint8_t pwm = (uint8_t) map((long)(mag * 1000), 0, (long)(MAX_TILT_DEG * 1000), 0, 255);

    if (p > 0) {
      motorForward(pwm);   // forward when tilting forward
    } else {
      motorBackward(pwm);  // backward when tilting backward
    }
  }

  // debug (optional)
  static uint32_t last = 0;
  uint32_t now = millis();
  if (now - last > 200) {
    last = now;
    Serial.print("pitchRaw=");
    Serial.print(readPitchDeg() - pitchZero, 2);
    Serial.print("  pitchFilt=");
    Serial.print(pitchFilt, 2);
    Serial.print("  PWM=");
    // read back approximate PWM (not exact on UNO R4, just logic)
    Serial.println();
  }

  delay(10);
}

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Arduino Project

Arduino Tilt-Controlled DC Motor with MPU6050

Kit purchase

Course Introduction

Required Components

Wiring

Common Connections:

Writing the Code

Arduino Project

Arduino Tilt-Controlled DC Motor with MPU6050

Kit purchase

Course Introduction

Required Components

Wiring

Common Connections:

Writing the Code

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