Mobot 2009

Let's Make Robots Robots
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This is my entry for Carnegie Mellon's Annual Mobot Race. The object of the race is to follow a line.

This robot has yet to be named as as tested didn't work quite as well as I had hoped. The front of the robot has a 4 bar linkage which would allow the sensor to ride along the ground. All it does however is get caught and drag when the robot tries to turn.

It is also very slow. I'm working on remounting the sensor and speeding up the mobot. As you can see in the video, it's very slow. I'm currently running the motors at 5 volts (regulated) and I'm swapping them over to direct battery power (6V).

The competition is in less than 2 weeks so I'll be updating the robot to get it prepared for the competition.

 

line following

  • Actuators / output devices: 4x GM8
  • Control method: autonomous
  • CPU: Arduino Diecimilla
  • Power source: 4 AA batteries
  • Programming language: C
  • Sensors / input devices: IR emitter/detector
  • Target environment: outdoor, sidewalk
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/robots/show/mobot-2009
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looks great, but for a race
looks great, but for a race it might be a little on the slow side. If the terrain is mostly flat you could try changing the motors you have for lower geared ones to increase the speed. Also how is CMU? I really want to go there. Would you have any advice or information to offer?

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The course is not totally

The course is not totally flat. There are 2 hills. One of which is very steep. The second hill (the steeper of the two) is usually what does in most competitors that make it that far. The robots end up going too fast and losing track of the line.

As for speed. I’ve made some changes to the electronics (running off of 6v instead of 5v) and the program (better line following algorithm) and it’s increased the speed some.

As for CMU I enjoy it. It can be a lot of work at times, but the Robotics club is awesome. It’s a great place to learn and work on robots.

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that sounds awesome, good
that sounds awesome, good luck in the race, hopefully ill be entering it soon : /.