A PATH FOLLOWING CONTROL OF AN

UNMANNED AUTONOMOUS
FORKLIFT
WHAT IS A ROBOT?
The Webster defines a Robot as - An automatic apparatus or device that performs functions ordinarily
ascribed to humans or operates with what appears to be almost human intelligence, which means
Robot, is defined as a mechanical design that is capable of performing human tasks or behaving in a
human-like manner

The Robotics Institute of America defines a robot as follows

A robot is a reprogrammable multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools or
specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks
and used for Relief operations

HISTORY ABOUT THE ROBOTS & ITS EVALUATION

The term “robot” has its origins in a Czech word “robotnik” meaning worker or serf. It was first
introduced by the playwright Karel Capek in a 1920 play. The robot theme was popularized by Isaac
Asimov in science fiction in the late 1940’s and the early 1950’s, and subsequently by Hollywood
movies.
Mechanization and automation can be traced back to the industrial revolution. The first example of
complete mechanization dates back to the development of Jacquard looms (named after the silk
weaver Joseph Maria Jacquard) used in the silk industry in France and Italy in the early 19 th century.
These looms could be mechanically reprogrammed to produce different patterns.
However, these looms were simply machines. There is no notion of “intelligence” that is built into
these looms. Further, the process of programming could be very tedious, particularly for complex
patterns, and had to be done manually.
The next 100-150 years saw many innovative engineering solutions to pressing problems in industry.
A rotary crane equipped with a motorized gripper to remove hot ingots from a furnace was developed
by Babbit in 1892. Pollard invented a mechanical arm for spray painting in 1938.
The first teleoperator or telecheric, a device that allows an operator to perform a task at a distance,
isolated from the environment that the task is performed in, was developed by Goertz1. It was
designed to manipulate radioactive materials. The operator was separated from the radioactive task
by a concrete wall with viewing ports. Two handles on the “master” side allowed the operator to
manipulate a pair of tongs on the “slave” side
Robots come in different shapes and sizes and with
An Industrial Robot is a
different capabilities. They also perform several tasks, some
of them are quite beyond the capabilities of human beings. re-programmable
It was demonstrated by the first human cyborg Prof. Kevin
device which is
Warwick of University of Reading, UK that humans can link designed to both
with robots to acquire several dimensions of nature for manipulate and
better functioning. transport parts, tools,
or used for specialized
WHY ROBOTS manufacturing
 Quality Improvement implementations
 Improvement of Working Environment through variable
 Better-Cost Effectiveness
programmed motions
for the performance of
  Flexibility to Change
 Multi Specialty Operations
MAJOR APPLICATION AREAS
The four major areas where automation should be considered are as follows
 Heavy Lifting
 Repetitive Work
 Contaminated Environments (Solvents, Noise, Heat, Dust)
 Jobs Requiring Continuously High Levels of Concentration

ANATOMY OF A ROBOT
The Basic Components of a Robot System are
• The Mechanical linkage

• Actuators and Transmissions

• Sensors
• Controllers
• Stepper Motors
• User interface
• Power conversion unit

COMPARISON BETWEEN HUMAN TERMS AND ROBOT TERMS

HUMAN TERMS ROBOT TERMS

Brain Computer
Senses Sensors
Blood Electrical/ Hydraulic
Hands Power
Feet Manipulator
Wheels (normally)

Robots can be Turtles, Vehicles, Rovers, Walkers

ADVANTAGES OF USING ROBOT

 The ROBOT is a basic tool for automation and will be of great use to perform repetitive tasks
of picking and placing in an industrial production line
 Its use can be extended and exploited by few modifications to do difficult and hazardous tasks
for nuclear applications
 It can be used to do work effectively due to its great-added accuracy which will results the
quality improvement in the work

ABOUT OUR PROJECT

In manufacturing industry, a large fraction of the work is repetitive and judicious application of
automation will most certainly result in optimum utilization of machine and manpower, Here our
ROBOT plays a vital dual role
 Our ROBOT is a Wireless, Artificial Intelligence based Mobile Robot with multi specialty approach.
Basically it will have facilities such that it can move in any direction, say right, left, forward,
backward etc. the commands will be received from the keyboard - Wireless.

Our robot main functionality is Materials Handling - `Pick and Place', which has been developed to
achieve automation in applications where great sophistication is not needed and simple tasks like
picking up of small parts at one location and placing them at another location can be done with great
ease.
Another main function of our multi specialty robot is fire security function – Fire Fighting, which is a
system of putting together motors, solenoids, and wires, among other important components
Our Robot is used to extinguish the fire in case of Fire Accidents. The movement of the Robotics
controlled by means of stepper motor, which is involved in the major application of Robotics field.
Our Robot also consists of a Solenoid, which is actuated to pour the water whenever it senses the
Fire. This project is divided into modules for better understanding of the circuit.

SPECIAL FEATURES & POWERS OF THE ROBOT

 WIRELESS MOVEMENTS – FORWARD, REVERSE, RIGHT & LEFT

 360 DEGREE ROTATION – ANY ANGLE FREE MOVEMENTS FOR ALL AXES

 MATERIALS HANDLING FUNCTION – PICK & PLACE

 FIRE FIGHTING FUNCTION

 DIRECTION SENSING

 OBSTACLE SENSING AND COLLISION AVOIDANCE

 TEMPERATURE CONTROLLER

 MATERIALS HANDLING, PICK & PLACE ARM

 FIRE SENSING UNIT AND EXTINGUISHER

 AUTO DIALER

 MICROCONTROLLER – FLASH & EEPROM

 MECHANICAL MODEL FOR REAL TIME OPERATIONS

 STEPPER MOTOR

 STEPPER POWER SUPPLY BOARD

 OPTOCOUPLER WITH STEPPER DRIVER BOARD

 SENSORS

 RS 232 CONVERTERS

 POWER SOURCE

 WIRELESS SOLUTIONS – RF
 RF RECEIVER MODULE - 433.92 MHZ (FT-COM-RX2), BANDWIDTH –
4MHz

 RF TRANSMITTER MODULE - 433.92 MHZ (FT-COM-TX2), BANDWIDTH

– 4 MHz
WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
The process using the Radio - Frequency spectrum for Transmitting and Receiving Voice, Data and
Video signals by which information(s) are shared is known as Wireless Communication

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE - DEFINITION

Artificial Intelligence is a branch of Science which deals with helping machines find solutions to
complex problems in a more human-like fashion. This generally involves borrowing characteristics
from human intelligence, and applying them as algorithms in a computer friendly way.
A more or less flexible or efficient approach can be taken depending on the requirements established,
which influences how artificial the intelligent behavior appears. AI is generally associated with
Computer Science, but it has many important links with other fields such as Maths, Psychology,
Cognition, Biology and Philosophy, among many others.
Our ability to combine knowledge from all these fields will ultimately benefit our progress in the quest
of creating an intelligent artificial being.

THE MAIN MODULES INCLUDES

 Microcontroller Board
 Optocoupler with Stepper Driver Board
 Stepper Power Supply Board
 Pick & Place Arm for Materials Handling
 Fire Sensing Unit and Extinguisher

OPTOCOUPLER WITH STEPPER DRIVER BOARD

Optocoupler means two electrical signals are optically coupled with Electrical isolation. Optocouplers
are very essential for stepper motor. The need of Optocoupler is to isolate the Microcontroller Board
form the Stepper Motor to restrict any high voltage to the Microcontroller board, and this board also
contains stepper Driver circuit to amplify the Voltage and to withstand high current because the pulse
coming out from the Microcontroller is not tough enough to drive the Motor.

STEPPER POWER SUPPLY

This board contains the power Supply for the stepper motor and relay driver.

PICK & PLACE ARM FOR MATERIALS HANDLING

The Arm of the Robot will rotate 360 Degrees, Free & easy rotation, which will Pick & Place the
Objects

FIRE SENSING UNIT AND EXTINGUISHER

The fire sensor senses the fire and informs the Microcontroller, which in turn actuates the Solenoid to
pour the water on the fire to extinguish it.

MECHANICAL FEATURES & MODEL

Unbreakable, Less in Weight, Easy Movements, No need for surface grinding, Economic in
Fabrication, Electrical Isolation, Thermal Stability, Free Rotation, Metal Construction, Stepper Motors,
Hose Clamps, Shaft Collars & Couplers, Universal Joints, Wheels, etc.,
 MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE ROBOT PROJECT

ABOUT THE MICROCONTROLLER

A microcontroller is a highly integrated chip, which includes, on one chip, all or most of the parts
needed for a controller. The microcontroller could be called a ``ONE-CHIP SOLUTION''.
It typically includes: CPU (central processing unit) RAM (Random Access Memory)
EPROM/PROM/ROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) I/O (input/output) - serial and
parallel timers interrupt controller By only including the features specific to the task (control), cost is
relatively low.
A typical microcontroller has bit manipulation instructions, easy and direct access to I/O
(input/output), and quick and efficient interrupt processing. Microcontrollers are a ``one-chip
solution’’, which drastically reduces parts count, and design costs

STEPPER MOTOR BASICS – MOTOR WITH STEP MOVEMENTS

Motion Control, in electronic terms, means to accurately control the movement of an object based on
either speed, distance, load, inertia or a combination of all these factors. There are numerous types
of motion control systems, including; Stepper Motor, Linear Step Motor, DC Brush, Brushless, Servo,
Brushless Servo and more. This document will concentrate on Step Motor technology.
In Theory, a Stepper motor is a marvel in simplicity. It has no brushes, or contacts. Basically it's a
synchronous motor with the magnetic field electronically switched to rotate the armature magnet
around.
A Stepping Motor System consists of three basic elements, often combined with some type of user
interface (Host Computer, PLC or Dumb Terminal

TYPES OF STEPPER MOTORS

There are basically three types of stepping motors; variable reluctance, permanent magnet and
hybrid. They differ in terms of construction based on the use of permanent magnets and/or iron rotors
with laminated steel stators.

BIPOLAR CHOPPER
Bipolar chopper drivers are by far the most widely used drivers for industrial applications. Although
they are typically more expensive to design, they offer high performance and high efficiency. Bipolar
chopper drivers use an extra set of switching transistors to eliminate the need for two power sources.
Additionally, these drivers use a four transistor bridge with recirculating diodes and a sense resistor
that maintains a feedback voltage proportional to the motor current. Motor windings, using a bipolar
chopper driver, are energized to the full supply level by turning on one set (top and bottom) of the
switching transistors. The sense resistor monitors the linear rise in current until the required level is
reached. At this point the top switch opens and the current in the motor coil is maintained via the
bottom switch and the diode. Current "decay" (lose over time) occurs until a preset position is
reached and the process starts over. This "chopping" effect of the supply is what maintains the
correct current voltage to the motor at all times.

ADVANTAGES OF USING THIS KIND OF MOTOR

1. Can be started with full speed at any time or instant
2. Can be stopped with full speed at any time or instant
3. The speed of the motor will not be affected by Electrical or Mechanical reasons
4. Similarly the Voltage or the Current or the Torque will not decide the Speed of the Motor
5. Speed can be decided by the Pulses width and speed can be increased or reduced using the
external gears
6. Less maintenance & no need for external cooling
RS232 CONVERTER
It Converts the PC Voltage (-10v to +10) to PIC Microcontroller Voltage (-5v to +5v) and vice versa

TEMPERATE INDICATOR & CONTROLLER

In certain industries we have to maintain the temperature below 20øC to safe guard the electronic
from thermal runaway failures. We are using THERMISTOR (THERMAL RESISTOR), which comes
under passive transducer classification. Thermistor finds wide applications and advantages like Fast
response, smaller in size, Rugged (Not affected by shock and vibration), Good sensitivity, Low cost.
A thermistor is a ceramic semiconductor, which exhibits a large change in resistance with a change in
its body temperature. The word thermistor is actually a contraction of the words "THERMAL
RESISTOR". Although there are both positive coefficient (PTC) and negative coefficient (NTC) are
available, for our application we use negative coefficient (NTC) type thermistor.
These NTC thermistors are compose of oxides such as the oxides of the MANGANESE, NICKEL,
COBALT, COPPER, IRON and TITANIUM

RF TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER

This is the RF based Transmitter and Receiver module, which can facilitate the remote applications

RF FEATURES
 Complete super regenerative RF Transmitter & Receiver Module operating @ 433.92 MHz
 Compact in Size & Model
 No External Components & No tuning is required
 High Performance SAW based architecture with a maximum range of 100 feet @ 4800 bps
data rate
 Low Power Consumption
 RF Receiver Module - 433.92 MHz (FT-COM-RX2), Bandwidth–4 MHz
 RF Transmitter Module -433.92 MHz (FT-COM-TX2), Bandwidth – 4 MHz

FEATURES OF THE ROBOT

 Ours is a Wireless ROBOT with Wireless Movements
 It can move from one location to another location
 Ours is an industrial ROBOT, Controlled by the PC
 It is also a Mobile Robot which has got certain artificial intelligence feature
 The artificial intelligence facility helps the ROBOT to detect any obstacle and deviate from the
obstacle path and move in a different direction
 Our ROBOT will pick the Objects and will place it in another place
 Another unique concept about our ROBOT is that it can sense any fire and detect the fire
 It can also the put off the fire