Description

In this project, I build a wheeled robot and programmed it to navigate autonomously through a series of tasks, Using Arduino, motors, encoders and distance sensors.

Take a look at the project on my GitHub page.

The autonomous vehicle

Tasks

The main goal was to successfully pass a series of tasks in an obstacle course, as fast as possible:

1. Maze navigation and exploration - Navigating through a maze
2. Angle control - Driving through changing-slope path, keeping constant roll
3. Distance control - Following curved wall, keeping constant distance from it
4. Velocity control - Driving on a changing-gradient slope, keeping constant speed
5. Feature detection - Locating and reaching the finish line flag

The autonomous vehicle in the obstacle course

System Description

I used several components to control the robot motion:

• Control - Arduino Mega 2560 R3
• Motors & encoders:

  - PMW motor and encoder - One on each rear wheel to activate and control the motion

  - Servo motor - Located on the front of the vehicle and used to rotate the TOF sensor to desired scanning angle

• Sensors:

  - IR sensor - One on each side of the vehicle to measure side distance

  - TOF (Time of Flight) sensor - Assembled on the servo motor to scan the surrounding space

  - US (ultrasonic) sensor - Located on the top of the vehicle to measure distance from objects above the vehicle

  - IMU 9250 (9 DOF) - Measures orientation (Gyroscope) and acceleration (Accelerometer). Compass is not in use

• Visual indication - Led matrix, Indicates mission number and mission success/fail

The system