Development of a Prototype Autonomous Electric Vehicle

The paper presents an Autonomous Electric Vehicle with obstacle avoidance system. This research work made use of ultrasonic sensors, the principle of distance measurements and calculations as well as detecting obstacle on its path. The device consists of three ultrasonic sensors that detect object for each left, right and front of the vehicle, based on developed and installed codes in the Arduino microcontroller and displays the range using ISIS Proteus 8 electronic modelling software. The minimum and maximum range of object detections is 2cm to 400cm respectively. However, the measured distance was from 25cm to 150cm and the corresponding calculated distances using oscilloscope waveforms are 28.10cm and 148.3cm. The difference between the measured and calculated distance was 5.4% on average. GPS navigates the vehicle autonomously to its destination using an algorithm for navigation based on reactive behavior. The vehicle is powered by rechargeable batteries (4 lithium ion batteries) which are charged using external power source by connecting into electricity grid. Furthermore, a solar panel has been utilized as a secondary source of power to charge the batteries. This reduces the dependency of the vehicle on external power sources. The vehicle is capable of moving for about 20m to and fro and avoiding obstacle on its path

PIC CONTROLLED ROBOT

A working prototype of a mobile robot is designed for the project. The robot has the capabilities to travel in a predetermined path with obstacle collision avoidance systems. The robot composed of five main components which are body structure, controller, mobility and movements, power distribution and sensors. The body of the robot is the platform where all the circuits and battery are positioned at. Controller is the main 'brain' or CPU controls the overall operation of the robot. Power supply on the other hand is used to distribute power and thus making to every circuit and parts of the robot to work. As a mobile robot, the mobility and movements are very important aspects in order to ensure the robot manages to travel in every path determined earlier. Sensors included in this project namely ultrasonic sensor as well as infrared sensor are used to make the robot 'feel' and 'see' the environment. All these components are fabricated partly and being integrated or combined to produce a one whole working prototype. Hardware and software simulation are two methods used in completing the project

A Robust Platform for Mobile Robotics Teaching and Developing Using Arduino’s Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Programming the Arduino MEGA 2560

In light of the rapid pace at which development happens with modern technology, mobile robots play an important role in our daily lives. This is due to their great importance in facilitating the affairs of life in various economic, commercial, industrial, scientific, and many other fields. In this research and project, we have restructured the microcontroller and system for one of the mobile robots (CEENBOT) that was designed by the University of Nebraska and replaced it with an Arduino Mega 2560. The purpose of using the Arduino Mega 2560 robot is to provide alternative programming for the CEENBOT platform to support an Arduino programming option. It is an open-source program which makes it easily accessible for developers and programmers. The Arduino Mega 2560 is an open-source electronics platform built on easy-to-use hardware and software. The Arduino Mega 2560 robot provides one of the most accessible ways to install different sensors and can be used in different aspects or applications that can be useful for mobile robotics teaching and development. Following the completion of this research and project, the electrical and computer engineering department at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln will be able to enhance its existing robotics course offerings using this robot. New laboratories have been created for teaching and development in this research. The laboratories include Simulink Getting Started, Simulink with Arduino Mega 2560, Integrated development environment IDE Getting Started with Arduino Mega 2560, Getting to Know the Robot Hardware, Getting Started on Moving the Robot, Obstacle Avoidance, Wireless Communication, and Create Your Own Lab Adventure. Advisors: Alisa Gilmore and Bing Che

Mobile robot transportation in laboratory automation

In this dissertation a new mobile robot transportation system is developed for the modern laboratory automation to connect the distributed automated systems and workbenches. In the system, a series of scientific and technical robot indoor issues are presented and solved, including the multiple robot control strategy, the indoor transportation path planning, the hybrid robot indoor localization, the recharging optimization, the robot-automated door interface, the robot blind arm grasping & placing, etc. The experiments show the proposed system and methods are effective and efficient

Automated driving and autonomous functions on road vehicles

In recent years, road vehicle automation has become an important and popular topic for research and development in both academic and industrial spheres. New developments received extensive coverage in the popular press, and it may be said that the topic has captured the public imagination. Indeed, the topic has generated interest across a wide range of academic, industry and governmental communities, well beyond vehicle engineering; these include computer science, transportation, urban planning, legal, social science and psychology. While this follows a similar surge of interest – and subsequent hiatus – of Automated Highway Systems in the 1990’s, the current level of interest is substantially greater, and current expectations are high. It is common to frame the new technologies under the banner of “self-driving cars” – robotic systems potentially taking over the entire role of the human driver, a capability that does not fully exist at present. However, this single vision leads one to ignore the existing range of automated systems that are both feasible and useful. Recent developments are underpinned by substantial and long-term trends in “computerisation” of the automobile, with developments in sensors, actuators and control technologies to spur the new developments in both industry and academia. In this paper we review the evolution of the intelligent vehicle and the supporting technologies with a focus on the progress and key challenges for vehicle system dynamics. A number of relevant themes around driving automation are explored in this article, with special focus on those most relevant to the underlying vehicle system dynamics. One conclusion is that increased precision is needed in sensing and controlling vehicle motions, a trend that can mimic that of the aerospace industry, and similarly benefit from increased use of redundant by-wire actuators

Actuators and sensors for application in agricultural robots: A review

In recent years, with the rapid development of science and technology, agricultural robots have gradually begun to replace humans, to complete various agricultural operations, changing traditional agricultural production methods. Not only is the labor input reduced, but also the production efficiency can be improved, which invariably contributes to the development of smart agriculture. This paper reviews the core technologies used for agricultural robots in non-structural environments. In addition, we review the technological progress of drive systems, control strategies, end-effectors, robotic arms, environmental perception, and other related systems. This research shows that in a non-structured agricultural environment, using cameras and light detection and ranging (LiDAR), as well as ultrasonic and satellite navigation equipment, and by integrating sensing, transmission, control, and operation, different types of actuators can be innovatively designed and developed to drive the advance of agricultural robots, to meet the delicate and complex requirements of agricultural products as operational objects, such that better productivity and standardization of agriculture can be achieved. In summary, agricultural production is developing toward a data-driven, standardized, and unmanned approach, with smart agriculture supported by actuator-driven-based agricultural robots. This paper concludes with a summary of the main existing technologies and challenges in the development of actuators for applications in agricultural robots, and the outlook regarding the primary development directions of agricultural robots in the near future