Supported Hardware

BotPyle works with any robot that can:

1. Stream video over a network (MJPEG, WebSocket binary frames, or RTSP)
2. Receive control commands via WebSocket
3. Connect to the internet via WiFi or Ethernet

Recommended Compute Boards

Common Bot Configurations

Software Requirements

Your bot needs a script that:

1. Connects to BotPyle's relay server via WebSocket
2. Streams camera frames as binary WebSocket messages
3. Receives and parses control commands (JSON gamepad data)
4. Translates commands to motor signals (PWM, serial, I2C, etc.)

Example: Basic Python Bot Script

import asyncio
import websockets
import json
import cv2

RELAY_URL = "ws://botpyle.com:8090"  # Your relay port

async def bot_main():
    async with websockets.connect(RELAY_URL) as ws:
        cap = cv2.VideoCapture(0)  # Camera

        while True:
            # Send video frame
            ret, frame = cap.read()
            if ret:
                _, buf = cv2.imencode('.jpg', frame,
                    [cv2.IMWRITE_JPEG_QUALITY, 50])
                await ws.send(buf.tobytes())

            # Receive control commands
            try:
                msg = await asyncio.wait_for(
                    ws.recv(), timeout=0.03)
                cmd = json.loads(msg)
                handle_controls(cmd)
            except asyncio.TimeoutError:
                pass

def handle_controls(cmd):
    """Translate gamepad input to motor commands."""
    axes = cmd.get('axes', [])
    buttons = cmd.get('buttons', [])

    # Example: differential drive
    throttle = -axes[1] if len(axes) > 1 else 0
    turn = axes[0] if len(axes) > 0 else 0
    left_speed = throttle + turn
    right_speed = throttle - turn

    # Send to motors (implementation depends on your hardware)
    # set_motors(left_speed, right_speed)
    print(f"L: {left_speed:.2f}  R: {right_speed:.2f}")

asyncio.run(bot_main())

Wiring Considerations

• Motor driver — Connect motor driver enable/input pins to GPIO. Use PWM for speed control.
• Power — Separate power for motors and compute (prevents brownouts). Use a voltage regulator or BEC.
• Camera — USB cameras work everywhere. Pi Camera has lower latency on Pi boards.
• WiFi range — Standard WiFi is usually ~30m indoors. Use a WiFi extender for larger areas.