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INDEPENDENT DESIGN PROJECT 2
Abstract
The independent design project seeks to come up with a line following robot. This robot will
navigate a black line drawn on a black background. The operational domain will entail ground
missions. Furthermore, the robot can be used in emergencies. It will apply in areas that are
dangerous or inaccessible to humans. The robot will use a three-wheel propulsion system. It will
allow the sensors to be placed in the front while the bulk of the robot will be on the hind wheels.
The robot will also use a three gear system for movement, with an additional two 3.7 Li-ions
battery cells to power it. The robot will use eight photovoltaic sensors for path detection. It will
improve the accuracy of the robot. It will allow the robot to move autonomously on its own.
INDEPENDENT DESIGN PROJECT 3
The independent design project will involve the design of a line following robot. Line
following robots has many applications in the real world. The line robot will often be used in
robot races. Essentially, it involves the time it would take for the robot to transverse a particular
track. It will rely on how the robot can move autonomously by itself, and the time taken to
complete a particular track. It would prove beneficial in improving the design of other robots for
different applications. It can be used for many challenging scenarios such as assisting law
enforcement to locate armed criminals in an enclosed area like a building. In this regard, the
robot will often be used in reconnaissance missions, and would move following a given path
based on maps or blueprints of a particular structure that have been stored in the robot. It will
move in areas that are considered as risky to the human personnel (Dai & Lee, Formation
control of mobile robots with obstacle avoidance based on GOACM using onboard sensors,
2014). There is a need for the robot to be used instead if humans to prevent additional loss of
life. The robot will first be used in line following contests. It will prove the authenticity of the
Robot function
The course for the line following robot will be white lines on a black background. The
robot will autonomously move along a given path. The function is to be able to detect the path,
and follow the provided course within a short time and accurately. The robot should recognize
complex paths, and be able to navigate them. Moreover, it will take corrective maneuvers in
cases where it comes across a complex path. The robot is easy to upgrade. It can then be used in
INDEPENDENT DESIGN PROJECT 4
the control of the robot in real life scenarios. The robots mission will often involve ground
missions. It is the operational domain. Essentially, the robot can work autonomously and will be
much easier to achieve its goals once it advances into the mission. The course that the robot will
follow is often three-quarter inches of tape placed on a white background. It would be easy to
adjust the robots mechanism, and it would be easy to use the black lines. There are two types of
courses that exist (Yamanoor & Yamanoor, 2014). The first is a racecourse. Fixed number of
tiles characterizes it. These have various configurations, such as the figure below:
In this regard, a box with all the above lines can lead to the creation of a racecourse for any type.
It will be through a selection of various tiles, and this can be configured in any way. The final
The pre-drawn tile set will prove beneficial in understanding the robots control
INDEPENDENT DESIGN PROJECT 5
mechanisms, and application in real life. The courses will also be n three difficulty levels. It
would show the challenging courses the robot would be able to transverse. The hard difficulty
was characterized by crossings that are more than 90-degree turns. The medium difficulties will
90-degree turns or areas where the lines cross each other. It will be able to detail the ability of the
robot to make sharp turns, and quick maneuvers (Warren, Adams, & Molle, 2011). The easy
difficulty will have gentle tracks. It is often characterized by 6-inch radius curves. Essentially,
the information will be able to detail how fast the robot will finish each difficulty.
Design
Various variables have to be met by the robot. It will be using several subsystems. The
first is that it has to be very fast. The robot also has to navigate different courses. It will detail
how the robot will handle ground applications. Essentially, the mission of the design project is to
create an autonomous, fast robot that can follow a complicated line (Yu, Xiangdong, Canfeng,
Propulsion system
Many methods can be used in assisting the robot to move. These include tank threads, six
wheels, four wheels, three wheels, two wheels, and a single wheel. The single wheel often
appears as a robot inside a robot. Tank threads tend to be problematic, and can easily wear out.
However, they have the advantage in traversing different surfaces. However, this is not the
expected scenario for the particular robot being designed. A four-wheeler is also very similar to
three and six wheeler. The two-wheeler with a caster or tricycle is even a better alternative. In
this configuration, the sensors and the turning wheel are placed further upfront. Furthermore, the
entire weight of the robot is placed on the two back wheels. It would tremendously increase the
speed of the robot. The faster response time is also attributed to having the turning wheel at the
INDEPENDENT DESIGN PROJECT 6
front. Moreover, the sensors are located in the same area, making the response much quicker. In
this regard, this is an essential element in emergencies where the robot will be used in
reconnaissance (Ceceri, 2014). The other alternative is the two side wheels. It has independent
drives with caster or a free-spinning swivel wheel. This is an easier configuration, and will be
The block diagram is an outline of the robots design. The robots program will have to
INDEPENDENT DESIGN PROJECT 7
contain several aspects. These are the computer, microprocessors, microcontroller, and the
Input: The function is to read the black and white on the floor. It then conditions the input
signals so that they are transmitted to the computer/CPU/MPU or brain. It can be in a similar
manner to how questions are asked and a response is provided (Kelly & Martinoli, 2004).
Process: This relies on the input made. The process makes a decision on what has to be changed
about the robot in regards to direction and speed. It converts the responses and decisions made
into that can change the steering and motor speed (Cook, 2015).
Output: This is involved in sending the newly or old controls signals to the steering and speed.
Storage: This is involved in storing the computer program for it to carry out the process stage.
Several input sensors can be used for the design. The first is the optical sensor. It can use
the QRB1114. It has an oval hole in the center where a bolt and nut can be inserted, making it
more adjustable (Dai & Lee, The leader-follower formation control of nonholonomic mobile
robots, 2012).
The figure above shows a single line IR. It is a good choice as it has onboard electronics
and has a LED status that can be used in troubleshooting. The QRD1114 is in a small package, at
Design decisions
The robot will use a line sensor. For instance, the course can be a black line on a white
background. In this regard, when the robot is programmed for Right and is placed on the sensor
at the left of the black line over the surface. When placed on the white surface, it is directed to
follow the right path until it comes to a black surface. Furthermore, the robot is told to go to the
left until the black line is no longer visible. Specifically, this robot is not following a line. It is
following the edge (Hara & Pfeifer, 2003). However, a single sensor has the limitation of speed.
The robot will be spending more time bouncing off the edge of the line or turning. It would
harder to achieve more speed without an increase in accuracy. In this regard, over one sensor is
the preferable choice. In this regard, six sensors would be the best option.
INDEPENDENT DESIGN PROJECT 9
In figure 7, the sensor is under the third sensor. It would mean that the robot would
always be on the left side of where it wants to be located. If the line is below the left sensor, it is
easier to determine that the robot is very far from the center. The sensors will provide more
information that is beneficial. Moreover, dialing a sharper turn would not be the best choice. It
will mean that the robot with overcorrecting and overshoot, making the steering unstable and
erratic. However, a solution exists. The most popular solution is Proportional, Integral, and
Derivative (PID). These mathematical feedback variables can apply in the reduction of hunting
and overshooting. The second solution involves coming up with a program to know the
differences (Hunt, 2007). The first difference is regarding returning from off a high margin to the
right. The second is regarding moving from a perfect center position. It requires that the robot
starts balancing out from the last dominant corrective turn going to the left. On the other hand,
the first will require that the robot makes a course correction to the left. It is important to note
that over four sensors will provide a smart algorithm or PID. It is much better than using two or
more sensors.
A two-sensor robot will find it hard to navigate the complex tracks. It is common to
tracks that have intersections and corners. The robot would miss the run, or would make the turn
INDEPENDENT DESIGN PROJECT 10
partially turn but then it will be confused. It would then oscillate indefinitely. It occurs at sharp
120-degree turns. On the other hand, 90-degree turns would be much easier depending on the
angle of the robot when it reaches the turn. In this regard, when the left sensor is the first to gets
over the straight line, then it would take a left turn. If the right sensor got to the dark line first, it
would take a right turn. If it met the intersection at a square, then it would first stop moving and
then would straight through the intersection. In this regard, the brainpower will prove beneficial
The V shape sensor array is much better than a straight-line sensor array at recognizing
90-degree turns. It provides an advanced look of intersections. However, the straight-line array is
The schematic has a 220-ohm resistor on the right. It plays a role as a current limiter to produce
INDEPENDENT DESIGN PROJECT 11
Logic design
The maximum current for the LED is 50 milliamps, but this project will use 20
milliamps. The phototransistor is the voltage divider. The light goes back to the base of the
transistor from the floor. The amount of light that is received and the base controls the flow. It
differs from the use of base bias voltage in the control of the current flow. When there is no light,
current will not be present. It acts as a switch that is open. Moreover, a voltmeter that is placed
on the output will read as 5 volts (Yamanoor & Yamanoor, 2014). On the schematics, this is
labeled as RA1. On the other hand, when the phototransistor is exposed to light, the transistor
will become saturated. It then acts as a closed switch. The current will then flow from the ground
to the resistor through the phototransistor. The output will display 0.0 Volts. It arises because the
shorted switch will make the output appear as if it has the same potential as the ground.
Moreover, it is expected that different light levels will lead to readings that are about 0 to 5 volts.
Sensor placement
Sensor spacing is essential to come up with accurate readings. The sensors were placed at
a distance of about 3/4 inches. In case the array moves towards any directions, the highest
number of sensors that will be activated is one (Yamanoor & Yamanoor, 2014). The readings
below show the readings from the eight sensors that might be used in the robot.
Accuracy and precision are improved by placing the sensors much closer. In this regard, the line
is exactly between two sensors, and it means that they both react (Hunt, 2007). It is shown in the
readings below.
In the second scenario, the sensors provided more readings that were accurate. The
spacing used is about half an inch between all sensors. On the board with a spacing of 0.100
between the holes, then the sensors are placed five holes apart. The best configuration, in this
case, would be eight sensors. The white line on board will have the ground bus (Warren, Adams,
& Molle, 2011). The white line will have the five-volt bus line. The 200 Ohm (red, red, brown,
gold) and 10 Ohm (Brown, black, orange, gold) resistors will be placed here. The sensors will
also be placed in the same direction. The phototransistors (small round white circle) will go to
the right while the LEDs (small black rectangle) will go to the left.
INDEPENDENT DESIGN PROJECT 13
Based on figure 8, the assembly has white, yellow, red, and green leads. The bottom-left
green and red leads are the ground and power (5v). They are going to a 2-prong connector placed
at a right angle. The white wires are signal leads for the four left-hand sensors. They end at a 4-
prong connected at a right angle. The yellow wires are hidden below the white wires. They act as
signal leads for the right-hand sensors. They also end at a 4-prong connector at 90 degrees.
Testing
The sensors are tested before assembly. One of the sensors will be first wired to a board.
It is then turned on, and the output is sent from the RA1 to the voltmeter. The next step will
involve using a white paper. It is filled with a black line measuring three-quarters of an inch. It
acts as a reflector for testing purposes. The sensor is then placed on the paper facing downwards.
It is then passed back and forth on the black line. The results will be able to show the voltage
change during this activity (Hara & Pfeifer, 2003). The sensor will then be held over an inch. It
will produce a constant voltage change of about 4.2 volts. It shows that the phototransistor is not
receiving any light (or just the ambient reflection), or that the switch is open. It is considered as
The sensor is also placed at about half an inch from the paper. It should produce a change
immediately. It would provide constant voltage readings of about 0.12v. It is a confirmation that
the phototransistor is saturated and conducting within a maximum range. Moreover, when the
sensor is moved slowly across the dark line, the voltage will increase to almost 4.12 volts. It
would mean that the dark line is not reflecting minimal or nay light back to the phototransistor
(Warren, Adams, & Molle, 2011). Light conditions in a room can easily affect the readings based
on the position of the sensor. The array should easily be adjusted to ensure that the robot would
Assembly
The motor chosen will be one with four gear ratios. The caster is mounted to the robot
base. The sensors will be placed at the front of the caster while facing downwards. Furthermore,
there should be minimal clearance between the ground and sensor covering
The battery will then be connected to the circuit. The batteries will comprise two 3.7 Li-ions
cells that are connected in series. It will allow the robot to move for about four minutes.
The motor driver circuit and potential will then be attached. The threshold of the LDR
should be adjusted when the sensor is placed on the black surface. It should be below 0.5 volts. If
the motors are rotating in a reverse direction, then the polarity of the motors are changed. It is
INDEPENDENT DESIGN PROJECT 15
soldered to a different general-purpose board. It is then placed on top of the chassis. It will make
Conclusion
In conclusion, the independent design project will come up with a simple line following
robot. Many aspects have to be put into consideration during the design. It includes the number
of sensors to be used, mode of locomotion and the motors used. Once assembled, the robot will
be able to follow autonomously a black line on a white acrylic surface. The robot can prove
beneficial in carrying out other complicated tasks. It can be used for reconnaissance in areas
where it is dangerous and risky for humans. The robot will use eight photovoltaic sensors. Two
sensors on the bottom will detect the black line, and this will allow the robot to move along the
References
Ceceri, K. (2014). Making Simple Robots Exploring Cutting-Edge Robotics with Everyday Stuff.
Cook, D. (2015). Robot building for beginners. New York, NY: Apress.
Dai, Y., & Lee, S. G. (2014). Formation control of mobile robots with obstacle avoidance based
Dai, Y., & Lee, S.-g. (2012). The leader-follower formation control of nonholonomic mobile
Hara, F., & Pfeifer, R. (2003). Morpho-functional Machines: The New Species: Designing
Hunt, J. A. (2007). Robot kinematics and the Gantry-Tau parallel machine. The Industrial Robot,
34(5), 362-367.
Kelly, I., & Martinoli, A. (2004). A scalable, on-board localisation and communication system
Warren, J.-D., Adams, J. S., & Molle, H. (2011). Arduino robotics. New York, NY: Apress.
Yamanoor, S., & Yamanoor, S. (2014). Raspberry Pi mechatronics projects hotshot. London:
Packt Publishing.
Yu, L., Xiangdong, J., Canfeng, Z., Jiaqing, C., & Suxin, H. (2015). Welding robot system