Unmanned Ground Vehicle

Published on 20 May 2022. Written by Athulya Menon

Are you interested in robotics and mechatronics? If you are an engineer with a passion for mechatronics, then you should invest in projects to gain more insight into your chosen field.

Projects help engineers use the concepts they have learned in real-life. Hence, they go a long way in assisting students in growing and improving. This time around, we will be exploring projects related to Mechatronics.

Project Description

This project aims to devise and construct a low-cost Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicle (AUGV), which is basically a vehicle that can be controlled wirelessly from a distance. An Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) operates on the ground but without an onboard human presence. It is controlled remotely and is, therefore, capable of sensing the environment and navigating without any human intervention. Such AUGVs move autonomously and detect obstacles. The vehicle is also capable of reading directions off QR codes, calculating the shortest distance to any direction and can automatically move thereby avoiding obstacles. They allow disabled persons to move around without relying on others. Such devices also find use in military surveillance operations and use Raspberry Pi or Arduino architecture to move. Mechanical components used are DC or servo motors, sensors, power supplies, and a mobile application to control the vehicle's motion.

Project Implementation

First and foremost, the body of the AUGV must be built. You can use an old toy car base if needed, or construct a new model as per your design specifications.
Draft up a design using a modeling tool, and then test it for strength and stress resistance before deciding on the final design. Once the design is finalized, create the parts required from a suitable material-steel/aluminum/wood or cork, etc.
Next, you need to have the code ready for autonomous navigation. Well, the machine works on two modes: Remote controlled, wherein it takes specific instructions from you and the Autonomous mode, wherein it travels between two points automatically without any instructions.
Python codes are required for both operations. For autonomous navigation, you need Python scripts to calculate path distance, find the shortest path and also a script to follow the line or read QR code to find the best route.
Additional code is required to enable the AUGV to scan the QR code and change its direction to evade obstacles.
The line following algorithm will take the inputs from the IR sensors. Hence, they must be mounted on both the legs of the vehicle for maximum visibility.
If the left IR detects a black line, the code will make the vehicle rotate left.
If the right IR detects the black line, the vehicle will rotate right. If both the sensors detect nothing, the vehicle will move forward.
While in motion, the ultrasonic sensor enables the AUGV to calculate distances. If an object is detected in front, the code will ask the vehicle to change its direction. A new path is then calculated from the new starting position.
When both sensors detect a black line, the vehicle will stop to read the QR code at the intersection and then change its motion code accordingly.
Once the code is ready and the sensors are mounted, all the wheels or wheel belts of the machines must be attached to the servo motors, and it will be good to go.

Programming tools and languages needed to implement this system:

Android Studio
Python 3
Bash Shell
PHP5
MJPG-Streamer
Wiring Pi

Test scenarios

Once you have built a model, here are a few test situations you can try out before finalizing the design.

Manually or remotely controlling the AUGV
Autonomously follow a route using IR sensors
Independently track a route and detect obstacles
Read directions from QR code
Reading instructions from QR code and detect obstacles
AUGV Lost

Concepts Used

Electrical Engineering
Circuit-making and soldering
Raspberry Pi programming
Machine Designing Fundamentals
Basic Java or Python coding
Sensor Technology

Kit required to develop Unmanned Ground Vehicle:

Technologies you will learn by working on Unmanned Ground Vehicle:

Unmanned Ground Vehicle

Any Questions?

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