Custom Central Controller for Robotics Applications
Sponsor
Edwards Robotics
Mentor
Nate Edwards
Design Team
Ian Machuca machucai@onid.orst.edu
Jillian Bailey shermaji@onid.orst.edu
Anthony Pettigrew pettigra@onid.orst.edu
1 Project Overview
A local startup company needs electrical engineering help in creating suite of solutions for creating robots for the golf course and future applications. The market for such a product has great potential but is mostly untapped since there are very few current products to accomplish this goal. Also, almost every course currently needs to hire and employ a worker to drive a large cart around the driving range in order to retrieve the range balls. The current ball collection vehicles also need a special cage or screen for the driver as they are frequently targeted by those on the range and the risk of the driver being hit could be a liability for the course owner. An automated system would not have the liability or expense of an operator. The suite will ideally include a microcontroller, motor speed controller and sensors. However, due to time and complexity constraints three separate groups have been assigned sections of the suite. Design and implementation of the central controller for the golf course robots will be the main task accomplished by this group, while a motor controller and data processing tasks will be accomplished by the other groups. The sponsor will provide mechanical platform to which electronics can be added. The initial goal of the group is to design a controller for a robot whose function is to tow a cart which will collect golf balls along a driving. Collaboration with other groups is necessary to ensure proper functioning of the overall robot.
The controller will be designed to run for four uninterrupted hours using two twelve volt batteries. Raw data from sensors, such as a camera, GPS, wheel encoders and an ultrasonic distance sensor, will be transmitted to the CS group for data processing. The CS team will translate the data into instructions which will guide the robot around the bounded area and away from obstacles. The instructions are then sent to the controller, where the signal will be modulated and sent to the motor controller. The controller will also need to monitor the system for any errors and take appropriate actions to stop the device if any occur. The remaining battery life will also need to be tracked by the controller and displayed. The controller will also print out any messages for the user on an LCD screen.
Minimum Requirements
- Battery Powered
- Cost Effective
- Dedicated Sensor Lines
- Dedicated Motor Lines
- C Programmable
- Sensors Aid in Autonomous Navigation
- Sensors Must Interface With the Controller
- Dedicated PCB's for each sensor
- Sensor Specifications Must Be Competitive
2 Needs Identification and Background Research
3 System Requirements and Desired Features
4 Design Solutions
5 Top Level Block Design
5.1 Power Supply
5.2 Chassis
5.3 GPS
5.4 Wheel Encoders
5.5 Critical Function
5.6 Object Sensors
5.7 Electrical Expansion
5.8 Low-Level Controller
5.9 Low-Level Controller Code
5.10 LCD Display
5.11 Battery Life
5.12 Encoder Display
5.13 System Ok
6 Testing
7 Project Timeline
8 Budget
9 Expo Materials
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