Electrical componenets for autonomous navigation

[Al Skierkiewicz]

We used a rotation sensor built into the wheel assembly consisting of two optical sensors (kit part) and a alternating light dark encoded disk that was part of the wheel. This system gives direction and distance traveled with accuracy down to less than an inch. Add to that the gyro to determine turning or moving and some feedback from the steering servo and you can tell where you are anywhere on the playing field within a few inches. Map out the field with a coordinate system and you can easily tell the robot to go somewhere on the field and it will do precisely that. In addition, a long string of direction commands will be carried out in sequence as the robot moves from point to point correcting at each point along the way. Add some storage to the custom circuit that does the control and a way to select different strategies and you have a fairly powerful system. Our operator interface would allow the drive team to select from 11 different strategies at the field without reprogramming.