Hello everyone,
I am assigned to a line following robot competition, and I have some questions regarding it.
First of all, about the motor. What is the best type to use with PID? How do I know what will suffice me(like voltage, rpm, etc)? Is an encoder necessary for maximum performance?
Lastyly, what about the microcontroller? I was thinking of using the ESP32 or Teensy 4.1. Are they good options? Is there a better one? Mind that I have a big budjet.
Thank you for your attention
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Hello @JoaoPedro and welcome to our forum!
Sound like a simple but interesting project. I could help with some general questions.
For PID control in a line-following robot, DC motors are commonly used. They work well with PID controllers to maintain precise speed and direction control. When choosing a motor, consider the required voltage and RPM to match your robot’s speed and torque needs based on the track and competition requirements.
An encoder is important for maximum performance, especially if you want precise speed and position control. It provides feedback to the PID controller, allowing for accurate adjustments.
Both the ESP32 and Teensy 4.1 are good choices. The ESP32 offers built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which can be useful for wireless communication. The Teensy 4.1 is known for its speed and ample input/output pins, which might be advantageous for handling multiple sensors and real-time control.
Given your big budget, both options are viable, but if you need higher processing power and more features, Teensy 4.1 might be slightly better. Ultimately, the best choice depends on the specific requirements of your competition and what you’re most comfortable working with.
If you need further assistance, please share more info about the competition and requirements.
Thank you for your assistance, Igor!
I asked about the motor because it is something that I am having difficulties to find. Can you give me some advice regarding the encoder? Because I cant realyy find any that fits my needs. Like at least 100 cpr
Also, I know my questions are kinda “out of topic” and difficult to understand, but my situation is quite complex. I live in Brazil, and I can’t find a big variety of robotic products here. I already have some experience in this topic, because I participated in two other competitions before, but I don’t know what to ask. My real problem is: I have this competition in August, that I know the things my robot needs to do, but I am not aiming specifically for that one, in fact, my goal is an Olympiad that occurs in Greece and I can have access to it winning this competition(or at least making it to the podium). I know my opponents, and they aren’t really a risk for me, so with my current robot( Botnroll ONEA) it is really likely that I win it, even though it sometimes just stop working properly, so it’s not something reliable to a national or international level competition. Because of that, me amd my partner were trying to make a new one, that we could use to this first competition and also use some parts of it in the International one. I will give some more details regarding the robot. It is meant ti be really precise and fast(the fastest possible), we are expecting it to weigh 500g. Let’s get things clearer, I need a motor that can go to the maximun speed that the PID would support(like 1,5~2m/s for now), and also an encoder for it. The model that I was thinking of buying is this one
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mK8iXkL(the version with 280 rpm and 12V), but the enconder on it really sucks, it just have 11CPRs, so it’s almost like nothing. Do you think it is a good option( I am expecting the robot to have 20cm of length), and can you recommenf a good driver and encoder for it. Talking about the microcontroller, I was thinking of one that we could use for most of the problems(line following, obstacle avoidance) and change it to one that better fits our needs in the future.
Thank you