INTRODUCTION TO AI

N45 Avoidance Robot

Design Document
Nicola Gordon 11012129
1/25/2014

Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1
Goal ...................................................................................................................................... 2
Research .............................................................................................................................. 2
Project Solution Block Diagram .......................................................................................... 3
Pseudo Code ........................................................................................................................ 4
Concept Art ........................................................................................................................... 5
Circuit Wiring Diagram .......................................................................................................... 5
Breadboard Diagram ............................................................................................................. 6
Testing the Servos ................................................................................................................ 7
our sensor ............................................................................................................................ 7
What is it? ......................................................................................................................... 7
Testing the Sensor ............................................................................................................ 8
Constructing a body .............................................................................................................. 9
Adding the Arduino Uno ........................................................................................................ 9
our project
Testing all components together ......................................................................................... 11
Source Code ....................................................................................................................... 11
Goal achieved ..................................................................................................................... 11
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 12
Appendix ............................................................................................................................. 13
Appendix A: Research Slides .......................................................................................... 13
Appendix B: Ping Ultra Sonic Sensor data sheet ............................................................. 14
Appendix C: Final Source code ....................................................................................... 15

Introduction
This design document has been taken and modified from the blog the author set up to
document each stage of the build www.robotsbuiltbynikkig.wordpress.com. Further
information including pictures and videos can be found at the above address

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Goal
The goal for my project was to make a robot as cheap as possible to build and run, yet still
capable of having its own personality. The robot will not be a remote-controlled bot it will
think for its self, trying to avoid obstacles and determine its own direction.

Research
Initial research was conducted into obstacle avoidance robots and robotics in general. A
copy of the research presentation slides that I presented is located in Appendix A.

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Project Solution Block Diagram

Project Flow Chart

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Pseudo Code
Set constants Right Forward at 0o
Set constants Right Backward at 180o
Set constants Left Forward same as Right Backward
Set constants Left Backward same as Right Forward
Set constants Right Motor at 90o
Set constants Left Motor at 90o
Set constants for ping)))
Set threshold for obstacles (in cm)
Set distances on either side
Set constants for motors
Set time it takes to receive PING))) signal
setup()
attach motors to pins 10 and 11

loop()
Set constant for Forward Distance equals ping sensor
If distance forward is more than the threshold
Move Forward
else
If distance forward is blocked
Turn off motors
Delay for a few seconds to think
Turn to the left and scan
Turn to the right and scan
Compare the distance
compareDistance()
if left Distance more than right Distance
Turn left
else if (right Distance less than leftDistance)
Turn right
else
if they are equally obstructed
turn 180 degrees
long ping()
Send out PING))) signal pulse
Get duration it takes to receive echo
Convert duration into distance

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Concept Art

Circuit Wiring Diagram

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Breadboard Diagram

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Testing the Servos

Please visit blog for videos of testing of servos.

Ping))) Ultra-Sonic Sensor

What is it?
The HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor uses sonar to determine distance to an object like bats or dolphins
do. It offers excellent range accuracy and stable readings in an easy-to-use package.

I ordered a 4 pin ultra-sonic sensor from china for only 1.00 including postage and only had
to wait 21 days for it to arrive. Once I received I looked at the data sheet to work out what
pins done what.

Using the HC-SR04 with an Arduino

There is an Arduino library for the HC-SR04 that offers two ways to use the sensor, See
Appendix B for the 3 Ping))) ultra-sonic data sheet.
The library includes 3 functions that I will use:
1. Ultrasonic(int TP, int EP)
This is an initial function for ultrasonic ranging module, choose the pins for module TRIG and
ECHO pin. For example:
Ultrasonic (13,12);

Defines the digital pin 13 of Arduino as the TRIG pin of HC-SR04 and pin 12 for the ECHO
pin.
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2. long Timing()
This function triggers the ultrasonic module and returns the duration that the ECHO pin was
held high. For example:
long time; Ultrasonic hcsr; time = hcsr.Timing();

The distance of the object corelates to the time the ECHO pin is held high. The distance
formula is:
Distance = ((Duration of high level)*(Sonic :340m/s))/2

3. long Ranging(int sys) (sys : CM / INC)

As I dont want to change the time into distance, this function helps you get the distance
immediately. This function has a parameter (using CM or ICN) that shows the distance in
centimetres or inches. This function will call Timing() and you dont need to use the Timing()
before it. For example:
long distance; Ultrasonic hcsr; distance = hcsr.Ranging(CM);

returns the distance in centimetres.

Testing the Sensor

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Constructing a body

Adding the Arduino Uno

Lucky Find Old RC Car no Remote

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Motor Shield
The motor shield can drive up to 4 DC motors bi-directionally. That means they can be
driven forwards and backwards. The speed can also be varied at 0.5% increments using the
high-quality built in PWM. This means the speed is very smooth and won't vary!
Note that the H-bridge chip is not meant for driving loads over 0.6A or that peak over 1.2A so
this is for small motors. Check the datasheet for information about the motor to verify its OK.
To connect a motor, simply solder two wires to the terminals and then connect them to either
theM1, M2, M3, or M4. Then follow these steps in your sketch
Make sure you #include <AFMotor.h>
Create the AF_DCMotor object with AF_DCMotor(motor#, frequency), to setup the motor
H-bridge and latches. The constructor takes two arguments.
The first is which port the motor is connected to, 1, 2, 3 or 4.
frequency is how fast the speed controlling signal is.
For motors 1 and 2 you can choose MOTOR12_64KHZ, MOTOR12_8KHZ,
MOTOR12_2KHZ, orMOTOR12_1KHZ. A high speed like 64KHzwont be audible but a low
speed like 1KHz will use less power. Motors 3 & 4 are only possible to run at 1KHz and will
ignore any setting given
Then you can set the speed of the motor using setSpeed(speed) where the speed ranges
from 0 (stopped) to 255 (full speed). You can set the speed whenever you want.
To run the motor, call run(direction) where direction is FORWARD, BACKWARD or
RELEASE. Of course, the Arduino doesn't actually know if the motor is 'forward' or
'backward', so if you want to change which way it thinks is forward; simply swap the two
wires from the motor to the shield.

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Modifying the RC
The first thing I done was unconnected all wires, there was three wires in total, two for the
motors and one for the antenna for the controller. As I did not have any controllers I just took
it all apart and added in my own motors with the Arduino. Instead of throwing the old brains
out and purchasing a battery compartment, I used the RCs battery component to power the
Arduino and motors.

Testing all components together

Please visit blog to see all the testing videos.

Source Code
The final source code can be found in appendix C.

P.I.M.P My Ride
Once all the components were in place and working correct I purchased some spray paints
and letter stencils and started to customised my robot.

Goal achieved
Overall the goal I set myself at the start of the project has been 98% achieved, the only
missing component was an on/off switch.

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Bibliography
Book:
Karvinen, K, Karvien, T. 2011, Make: Arduino Bots and Gadgets, Maker Media, Inc, USA
Websites:
Arduino Playground http://playground.arduino.cc/ [Last accessed 03 January 2014]
Hacking RC Car http://www.instructables.com/id/Autonomous-Control-of-RC-Car-UsingArduino/ [Last accessed 03 January 2014]
Lady Ada http://www.ladyada.net/make/mshield/[Last accessed 13 January 2014]
Lets make robots http://letsmakerobots.com/node/26905 [Last accessed 10 January 2014]
Make ICT
Workshop http://cratel.wichita.edu/blogs/eecsseniordesignspring2013fall2013/files/2013/02/
Hacking-a-RC-Car-(1).pdf [Last accessed 10 January 2014]
Maker Shed http://www.makershed.com/Articles.asp?ID=263 [Last accessed 06 January
2014]
Parallax http://www.parallax.com/sites/default/files/downloads/28015-PING-Sensor-ProductGuide-v2.0.pdf [Last accessed 13 January 2014]
Robot Tutorials using the Arduino http://arthursrobotorial.blogspot.co.uk/ [Last accessed 13
November 2013]

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Appendix
Appendix A: Research Slides

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Appendix B: Ping Ultra Sonic Sensor data sheet

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Appendix C: Final Source code

#include <AFMotor.h>
#define trigPin3 // Ping))) Sensor
#define echoPin 2 // Ping))) Sensor
AF_DCMotormotor1(1, MOTOR12_8KHZ); // create motor #1, 8KHz pwm
AF_DCMotor motor3(3, MOTOR34_8KHZ); // create motor #2, 8KHz pwm
void setup()
{
Serial.begin (9600);
pinMode(trigPin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(echoPin, INPUT);
motor1.setSpeed(255); // set the speed to 200/255
motor3.setSpeed(255); // set the speed to 200/255
}
intCheckDistance()
{
long duration, distance;
digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(2);
digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(10);
digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
duration = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH);
distance = (duration/2) / 29.1;
return distance;
}
void MotorForward(intdelaytime)
{
motor1.run(FORWARD);
motor3.run(FORWARD);
delay(delaytime);
}
void MotorBackward(intdelaytime)
{
motor1.run(BACKWARD);
motor3.run(BACKWARD);
delay(delaytime);
}
void MotorRelease()
{
motor1.run(RELEASE);
motor3.run(RELEASE);
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delay(1000);
}
voidMotorLeft()
{
motor1.run(FORWARD);
motor3.run(BACKWARD);
delay(600);
}
voidMotorRight()
{
motor1.run(BACKWARD);
motor3.run(FORWARD);
delay(500);
}
void loop()
{
inttestDistance = CheckDistance();
Serial.print(testDistance);
Serial.println( test);
if (testDistance>= 50|| testDistance<= 0){
Serial.println(Out of range);
//go forward and check range again
MotorForward(700);
MotorRelease();
}
else
{
Serial.print(testDistance);
Serial.println( cm);
//object in path, reverse and turn to avoid
MotorBackward(600);
MotorRelease();
MotorRight();
MotorRelease();
MotorForward(600);
MotorRelease();
MotorLeft();
MotorRelease();
}
delay(500);
}
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