our robotics club is building a robot from a electric wheel chair we have a saber-tooth 2x25 motor controller with a r/c control. We are looking to make it autonomous our parameters are object avoidance and the ability to follow a programmed route any suggestions on a sensor package and micro controller. thank you
You just need a microcontroller and some distance sensors and you’re good to go.
robotshop.com/en/microcontrollers.html
robotshop.com/en/infrared-light-sensors.html
robotshop.com/en/ultrasonic- … nders.html
robotshop.com/en/lidar.html
As for the pre-programmed route, can you elaborate? If it’s outdoors, can you use GPS?
we would like to be able to use gps outside but we are also required to use it inside say for example a route from our shop to the deans office to provide proof of concept 
Indoor navigation is quite a bit harder - can you lay a piece of black tape and use line following?
Other indoor navigation systems still require a bit of modification to their environment (landmarks on the ceiling, or repeaters on the walls) and tend to require a lot more programming.
could we use RFID tags along the route as position markers we have a stock of tags for our RFID class? or maybe one on a smaller rover and the larger bot could tag along behind?
Most RFID tags need to be very close to the RFID reader in order to be detected, so unless your robot already knows where it’s going, RFID tags can really only be used as location markers rather than guides.