User:Davidmichael47/My Project Ideas/Line Following Robot

A line following robot is, as its name says, a robot that follows a line drawn on the floor. Programming a line following robot is a good way of teaching embedded programming.

I would like to have a set of line following robots to use in my introductory programming courses. This project is to design fabricate and test a line following robot using materials that are available in the HCC Engineering Laboratory.

An example of a line following robot is shown in the video. It has been programmed to solve a maze drawn with electrical table on cardboard.

Video of a line following robot

Requirements. The desired robot will:
 * Be constructed from materials available in the HCC Engineering Laboratory. See the list of available materials below.
 * Follow black lines on a white background.
 * Make pivoting turns.
 * Have a provision for an on-board micro-controller and motor controller.
 * Have a provision for on-board "breadboarding".
 * Have provision for mounting an IR sensor array

Materials available.
 * Robot chaises kits containing:
 * An acrylic platform on which to mount parts
 * Two DC gearmotors
 * Two metal mounting posts for the gearmotors
 * A battery box
 * Two driving wheels
 * Two tachometer wheels
 * Two red and two black lengths of wire
 * A swivel caster
 * Assorted #4 machine screws and nuts
 * Microcontrollers
 * Motor controllers
 * Infrared (I/R) sensor array
 * PLA (plastic rod for the Maker-bot)
 * Acrylic plastic and thin plywood for Laser Cutter

Issues
 * Space for micro-controller and motor controller
 * I/R Sensors works best when within 1/8 inch of surface

Design is thinking about, drawing, sketching, brainstorming, exploring alternatives. It is figuring out what is known or can be known and what the difficult, the unknown parts of the project are going to be. Design in a larger context can be used to describe all of engineering's activities. Here it is a category of project documentation that preserves the history of previous attempts and describes the current. What follows below are some short phrases or words that can be used to stimulate design. The CDIO Design syllabus is a more precise, complete version of these activities.
 * Analytical Analysis
 * Brainstorm
 * Model
 * Calibrate
 * Decisions
 * Drawings
 * Possible Failure Modes
 * Instrument
 * Materials
 * Programming .. hack,mod,mash Reuse
 * Reverse Engineer
 * Safety Simulation
 * Testing
 * Theory of Operation
 * Validation

Implement is full of pictures of the latest attempt to get a demonstration to work. These pictures may document failure. When a new attempt is made, then these pictures are moved up into design or conceive to show how the failures helped modify the conceive or design of the project. Operate may be empty for a long time.

Implement can be very different in different engineering project contexts. Here are some phrases that may stimulate implement in this context: The CDIO implement syllabus is a more precise, complete version of these activities.
 * Assembly
 * Decisions
 * Integration
 * Programming
 * Sourcing
 * Staging
 * Storage
 * Testing
 * WorkFlow

The best engineered object can fall apart because nobody knows how to change the knock pattern, backup the database, add another monitor, repair with unknown glue, or explain exactly what it was for. Manuals become outdated because everything is constantly changed. Well designed and constantly revised operation guides keep a demonstration alive to the point it inspires another round of CDIO. All projects are truly open ended if operate creates a feedback cycle where problems are captured and CDIO starts all over again.
 * Decisions
 * Disposables
 * Disposal
 * Improvement
 * LifeCycle
 * Logistics
 * Operations
 * Manual
 * Problem
 * Statement
 * Quality
 * Reporting

The CDIO operate syllabus is a more precise, complete version of these activities.


 * List videos of demonstrations
 * List presentations given, date of presentation and a link to the power point/google slide on a cloud drive where the file has been made public

Engineering projects are open ended. They always have next steps. Even a brand new project. At least three tasks that three people could do to pickup this project and push it forward.

Put the category statement under Next Steps.

General Engineering Projects fall into these categories: Choose one of these categories: Don't use the General Engineering Projects category. Ideally there are only subcategories here.
 * Active General Engineering Projects .. these are projects that are being worked on in someone's user space now. To figure out who, search for the project name. A new growing version should be listed with updated project documentation growing in it.
 * Possible General Engineering Projects ... these are projects that are actively planned, materials are being purchased or have been purchased for them, an installed base of knowledge exists.
 * Inactive General Engineering Projects .. these are projects that meet the minimal documentation requirements but have been abandoned for various reasons.
 * General Engineering Projects 2010-2013 .. these are old version 1 and 2 project documents that don't meet the minimal documentation standards anymore. Slowly these are being converted and moved into the Inactive or Proposed categories.
 * General Engineering Tutorials .. these are less structured. They could be certification study guides, pictures of engineering tours, build space or lab organization details, or they could follow a Target Audience, Goals, Details format.

In addition, find some other categories related to the technology to use. For example Static electricity Arduino Engines RobotsVHDL