Showing posts with label projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label projects. Show all posts

Project #2 : Maze Solving Robot

By Wall - E : (waaal -eee)
Published on 28.11.09 at

When we first stepped into the world of Robotics (it was like 3 years ago, I think), it was all very hazy and lifeless. Not much research and development was made cognizant to the outside world and it may have seemed at that point that some Japanese kid was deeply building a humanoid in a secret underground bunker somewhere in the forgotten lands of Japan. Well, the situation has changed substantially now. Robotics has gained wide spread popularity in the last couple of years by electronics and computer hobbyists around the world. Better robotic systems, cheaper parts, faster algorithms and the advent of open source project tools and resources with a never ending urge to design and build an autonomous system that could make your life simpler than you can imagine have created a wave in the minds of the people, motivating them to push their limits of understanding and to look deep into the potentially promising world of Robotics.
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Project #1 : Line Following Robot

By Wall - E : (waaal -eee)
Published on 23.11.09 at


This was our first major Line Follower robot. The event was held in Anna University(CEG), Chennai back in 2008. The problem statement was : Design and Build a robot which can follow a black line on a white background. The arena would have lots of turns, including sharp ones (less than 90°). It would also have breaks and multipaths. The robot has to make decisions and traverse the entire path.

The code was entirely written using C in the CodeVision AVR Compiler which is by far the most versatile one I have ever seen. It has a lot of inbuilt modules and functions which can be used. The Microcontroller used was Atmel AVR ATmega8. We also used a lot of logic circuitry to boost the speed and control of the bot. It helps a lot when you are have stiff competition and your peers are as stong as you. Apart from a good code, one needs to look into the mechanical aspects of the robot design. The placement of the sensors and motors play a crucial role in the efficient functioning of the bot. In an arena like the one shown above, there are loads of twists and turns which predominantly makes the bot go mad. So, always make sure you get the design right!

As i said earlier, the most essential part in building a perfect line follower robot is to make sure the sensor arrangement is top notch. We tried a series of arrangements before we finalized to the 6 sensor one. 2 on the outer edges of the line and 4 kept symmetrically outside the line. This type of arrangement makes sure the bot is always kept close to the line(while following) as possible, and also to make perfect turns and not to shoot out of the line.

Here is a video of the robot in action. I shall try to find the source code of this project and upload it here.

Omni Car : Multi-directional motion

By Wall - E : (waaal -eee)
Published on 22.11.09 at , ,
While I was searching for some Omni wheels, I stumbled onto Nik melton's Omni Car. For those of you who do not know what it is; It is an omni directional movable vehicle in the sense that, it can travel in any direction at ease without having to turn. The omni directional wheels are those which gives the vehicle such smooth motion.

This car was entirely built by Nik. The body was designed by him, then printed with a 3D printer. The control system is what intrigued me the most. He has used simple circuitry to get the job done. There are a few glitches while it is traveling straight but overall, the job is well done. I liked the design of the car as well. He has done a neat job using the CAD tool also.



You might want to take a few moments to look around his project page. Nik has done a lot of fun stuff like delta robots, strange hybrid wheel/leg robots, tesla coils, and arm mounted flamethrowers. Judging by the videos he made, i reckon he’s pretty young too :) Nice going, Nick.

Here are a few pics of his omni car:

Hope you guys get inspired and start building those circuits and bots..