PC and microcontroller-based remote-controlled exploring wheeled robot

Date

10-2005

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics

College

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Nelio C. Altoveros

Abstract

A personal computer and a PIC16F877A microcontroller -based area exploring wheeled robot system was constructed. The study aims to program the wheeled robot to explore a specific area and feed the data to a computer remotely for data processing. Data processing would eventually generate the map layout of the explored area and the current robot conditions such as position, movement and direction, battery voltage levels and status, and then display it through the user interface software. The robot explores an enclosed area by constantly traveling parallel to the surrounding wall at a set distance from it. The vehicle uses an array of three ultrasonic ranging sensors for obstacle and collision avoidance, and two infrared ranging sensors for wall proximity. A digital electronic compass and a wheel encoder provide parameters for position calculation. After exploring, the wheeled robot could then be controlled remotely through manipulation of the user interface software. The system was tested in a 380cm X 480cm wall-enclosed area to determine the mapping accuracy and precision of the system. It showed that the generated map was consistent with the shape of the actual area with respect to direction. However, the generated map has an offset with respect to the robot's origin, which is due to the summing up of different errors such as the position calculation deviations, data transmission delays, compass magnetic field reading interference, and many other sources. This factor also caused the map image to look like a spiral pattern when the robot is made to circumnavigate the area several times, which also affected the "Go-to-Location" function of the system.

Language

English

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

Call Number

Thesis

Document Type

Thesis

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