F13: Line Following Robot

Grading Criteria

• How well is Software & Hardware Design described?
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• Code Quality
• Overall Report Quality:
  • Software Block Diagrams
  • Hardware Block Diagrams

    Schematic Quality

  • Quality of technical challenges and solutions adopted.

Abstract

The Line Following Robot detects a black line on a white surface and moves forward following the line. If a black line is not detected, the Line Following Robot moves forward searching for a black line to follow. Once the Line Following Robot detects a black line, it will begin following the black line.

Objectives & Introduction

Show list of your objectives. This section includes the high level details of your project. You can write about the various sensors or peripherals you used to get your project completed.

Team Members & Responsibilities

• Kurt Breault II
  • Hardware Design
  • Driver Development
  • Software Design
  • Integration and Test
  • Project Documentation

Schedule

Show a simple table or figures that show your scheduled as planned before you started working on the project. Then in another table column, write down the actual schedule so that readers can see the planned vs. actual goals. The point of the schedule is for readers to assess how to pace themselves if they are doing a similar project.

The proposed schedule lists the tasks to be completed each week. The time frame for each task spans from a Wednesday to the following Tuesday. This time frame format was selected to facilitate project progress discussions with the professor at the end of each weekly lecture held on Tuesday.

Week	Date	Proposed Schedule	Actual Schedule
1	10/02 to 10/08	Write project proposal. Begin ordering components.	Project proposal written, submitted and approved. Placed order #1 with Sparkfun. Placed order #2 with Pololu.
2	10/09 to 10/15	Finish ordering components.	Placed order #3 with Pololu.
3	10/16 to 10/22	Generate proposed schedule. Begin physical layout of components. Begin electrical layout of componets.	Generated proposed schedule. Began physical and electrical layout of components. After beginning the physical and electrical layout of components, realized another order was required to obtain additional mounting components. Placed order #4 with Pololu.
4	10/23 to 10/29	Complete physical layout of components. Complete electrical layout of components.	Continued physical and electrical layout of components. Encountered issues routing wires from the IR LED Reflectance Sensor Array to the SJ One Board due to physical limitations. Reprioritized the physical and electrical layout of components to be an ongoing task throughout the duration of the project.
5	10/30 to 11/05	Interface SJ One Board with IR LED Reflectance Sensor Array.	Resolved issues related to routing wires from the IR LED Reflectance Sensor Array to the SJ One Board. Continued physical and electrical layout of components. Completed initial driver revision for the IR LED Reflectance Sensor Array and interfaced it with the SJ One Board. Tested the IR LED Reflectance Sensor Array driver by passing the array over a black line on a white background and verifying the individual sensors of the array reported the correct readings.
6	11/06 to 11/12	Interface SJ One Board with Dual Serial Motor Controller.	Continued physical and electrical layout of components. Completed initial driver revision for the Dual Serial Motor Controller; however, the Dual Serial Motor Controller was not interfaced with the SJ One Board because the required physical and electrical infrastructure has not yet been completed. Tested the generation and transfer of motor controller commands by looping back the UART2 TXD2 pin to the UART3 RXD3 pin. The UART2 TXD2 pin will be used to connect to the Dual Serial Motor Controller serial receive input pin. The UART3 RXD3 pin was configured to support motor controller command generation debug efforts. Motor controller commands transmitted on the UART2 TXD2 pin and received on the UART3 RXD3 pin were read from the UART3 receive FIFO and printed to the Hercules serial console to verify their validity. The proper initialization of the UART2 TXD2 pin for serial communication with a 9600 baud rate, 8-bit data, no parity bit, and one stop bit was also verified. Began integrating and testing the IR LED Reflectance Sensor Array driver with the Dual Serial Motor Controller driver by passing the array over a black line on a white background, generating the appropriate motor controller command to steer the center of the array over the black line, transmitting the generated command on the UART2 TXD2 pin, receiving the transmitted command on the UART3 RXD3 pin, printing the received command to the Hercules serial console, and verifying the printed command indicates the expected action based on the sensor array reading.
7	11/13 to 11/19	Begin integration and test of SJ One Board, IR LED Reflectance Sensor Array, and Dual Serial Motor Controller.	Completed physical and electrical layout of components. Began integration and test of SJ One Board, IR LED Reflectance Sensor Array, and Dual Serial Motor Controller. The Dual Serial Motor Controller had to be reconfigured to its default configuration of two-motor control with motor numbers two and three. It is unknown whether the Dual Serial Motor Controller was delivered in a non-default state or if initial integration and test efforts corrupted the default configuration. The pull-down resistor value for the Dual Serial Motor Controller reset input pin was changed from 4.7 kOhms to 1.0 kOhms in order to produce an appropriate low voltage value. The GPIO pin used for reset control to the Dual Serial Motor Controller was changed from pin P2.9 (RXD2 on the SJ One Board) to pin P1.22 due to the pull-up resistors and LED connected to the RXD2 signal line of the SJ One Board. The Dual Serial Motor Controller was stuck in reset prior to the change of pins used. The “move forward” function for the Dual Serial Motor Controller had to be modified to send separate control commands for the left and right motors with the same speed setting. The original version of the function sent one control command intended for both the left and right motors; however, a single command sent for both motors was not functioning as described in the Dual Serial Motor Controller User’s Guide.
8	11/20 to 11/26	Complete integration and test of SJ One Board, IR LED Reflectance Sensor Array, and Dual Serial Motor Controller.	Completed integration and test of SJ One Board, IR LED Reflectance Sensor Array, and Dual Serial Motor Controller. Refactored the source code to provide separate .cpp and .h file pairs for drivers and utilities. Previously, all of the code was contained in a single main.cpp source file. Began generating project documentation to be included in the project report.
9	11/27 to 12/03	Write project report. Demonstrate project.	row 9, cell 3

Parts List & Cost

The table below summarizes the parts used and the cost for the Line Following Robot project.

Qty	Item Description	Manufacturer	Manufacturer Item No.	Vendor	Vendor Item No.	Cost	Total Cost
1	SJ One Board (LPC1758)	SJSU	N/A	SJSU	N/A	$75.00	$75.00
2	Pololu Robot Chassis RRC01A Transparent Gray	Pololu	250	Pololu	250	$5.95	$11.90
1	Tamiya 70097 Twin-Motor Gearbox Kit	Tamiya	70097	Pololu	61	$12.00	$12.00
1	Tamiya 70144 Ball Caster Kit (2 casters)	Tamiya	70144	Pololu	66	$5.99	$5.99
1	Tamiya 70101 Truck Tire Set (4 tires)	Tamiya	70101	Pololu	65	$4.80	$4.80
1	4-AA Battery Holder, Enclosed with Switch	N/A	N/A	Pololu	1159	$1.75	$1.75
4	AA Alkaline Battery	Panasonic - BSG	LR6XWA/B	Digi-Key	P646-ND	$0.35	$1.40
1	170-Point Breadboard (Red)	N/A	N/A	Pololu	1491	$2.95	$2.95
1	0.100" (2.54 mm) Breakaway Male Header: 1x40-Pin, Straight, Double-Sided	N/A	N/A	Pololu	1065	$1.49	$1.49
3	0.100" (2.54 mm) Shorting Block: Red, Top Closed	N/A	N/A	Pololu	971	$0.19	$0.57
1	Ceramic Capacitor 6-Pack 0.1uF 50V	N/A	N/A	Pololu	1165	$0.99	$0.99
1	Stranded Wire: Black, 22 AWG, 50 Feet	N/A	N/A	Pololu	2640	$5.00	$5.00
1	Stranded Wire: Red, 22 AWG, 50 Feet	N/A	N/A	Pololu	2642	$5.00	$5.00
1	Stranded Wire: White, 22 AWG, 50 Feet	N/A	N/A	Pololu	2649	$5.00	$5.00
1	Female Crimp Pins for 0.1" Housings 100-Pack	N/A	N/A	Pololu	1930	$5.95	$5.95
2	0.1" (2.54mm) Crimp Connector Housing: 1x1-Pin 25-Pack	N/A	N/A	Pololu	1900	$0.59	$1.18
1	Pololu Low-Voltage Dual Serial Motor Controller	Pololu	120	Pololu	120	$39.95	$39.95
1	Pololu 3.3V, 600mA Step-Down Voltage Regulator D24V6F3	Pololu	2106	Pololu	2106	$5.95	$5.95
1	Pololu 5V, 600mA Step-Down Voltage Regulator D24V6F5	Pololu	2107	Pololu	2107	$5.95	$5.95
1	Resistor Kit - 1/4W (500 total)	N/A	N/A	SparkFun	COM-10969	$7.95	$7.95
1	0.100" (2.54 mm) Breakaway Male Header: 1x40-Pin, Straight	N/A	N/A	Pololu	965	$0.99	$0.99
1	QTR-8RC Reflectance Sensor Array	Pololu	961	Pololu	961	$9.95	$9.95
1	Aluminum Standoff: 1" Length, 2-56 Thread, M-F (4-Pack)	N/A	N/A	Pololu	1944	$1.59	$1.59
1	Machine Screw: #2-56, 1/4" Length, Phillips (25-pack)	N/A	N/A	Pololu	1955	$0.59	$0.59
1	Machine Hex Nut: #2-56 (25-pack)	N/A	N/A	Pololu	1067	$0.99	$0.99
1	Machine Washer: #2 (100-pack)	B&F Fastener Supply	FWSS 002	Digi-Key	H733-ND	$3.36	$3.36
1	Machine Washer: #4 (100-pack)	B&F Fastener Supply	FWSS 004	Digi-Key	H734-ND	$3.48	$3.48
1	Tamiya 70164 Universal Metal Joint Parts (4pcs)	Tamiya	70164	Pololu	90	$3.90	$3.90
1	Aluminum Standoff: 1-1/4" Length, 4-40 Thread, M-F (4-Pack)	N/A	N/A	Pololu	1951	$1.99	$1.99
1	Aluminum Standoff: 3/4" Length, 4-40 Thread, M-F (4-Pack)	N/A	N/A	Pololu	1949	$1.59	$1.59
1	Machine Hex Nut: #4-40 (25-pack)	N/A	N/A	Pololu	1068	$0.99	$0.99
1	Machine Screw: #4-40, 5/16" Length, Phillips (25-pack)	N/A	N/A	Pololu	1961	$0.69	$0.69
4	Aluminum Standoff: 3/8" Length, 6-32 Thread, F-F	Keystone Electronics	2209	Digi-Key	2209K-ND	$0.40	$1.60
1	Machine Washer: #6 (100-pack)	B&F Fastener Supply	FWSS 006	Digi-Key	H735-ND	$3.66	$3.66
1	Machine Screw: #6-32, 1/4" Length, Phillips (100-pack)	B&F Fastener Supply	PMSSS 632 0025 PH	Digi-Key	H708-ND	$6.54	$6.54
1	Machine Screw: #6-32, 3/8" Length, Phillips (100-pack)	B&F Fastener Supply	PMSSS 632 0038 PH	Digi-Key	H710-ND	$8.10	$8.10
1	USB Cable A to Mini-B, 6 ft	N/A	N/A	Pololu	130	$2.49	$2.49
1	Crimping Tool: 0.1-1.0 mm² Capacity, 16-28 AWG	N/A	N/A	Pololu	1928	$34.95	$34.95
1	ST-1 Mini Diagonal Cutter	N/A	N/A	Pololu	159	$3.99	$3.99
1	ST-2 Mini Long-Nose Pliers	N/A	N/A	Pololu	150	$3.99	$3.99
1	Paladin Tools 1118 GripP 20 Wire Stripper/Cutter, 30-20 AWG	Greenlee Communications	PA1118	Digi-Key	PA1118-ND	$17.33	$17.33
1	Scotch Removable Mounting Squares, 1" x 1", 16 ct.	Scotch	N/A	Amazon	N/A	$7.99	$7.99
	Total Cost						$321.52

Design & Implementation

The design section can go over your hardware and software design. Organize this section using sub-sections that go over your design and implementation.

Hardware Design

Discuss your hardware design here. Show detailed schematics, and the interface here.

Power Routing for the Line Following Robot

Signal Routing for the Line Following Robot

Breadboard Connections for the Line Following Robot

Chassis, Assembled Gearbox with Tires, and Ball Caster

Assembled Chassis with Gearbox, Tires, and Ball Caster

Battery Holder (4-AA with Switch) and Breadboard (170-point)

Assembled Chassis with Battery Holder, Breadboard, Headers, and Jumpers

Assembled Chassis and Brushed DC Motors with Capacitors and Wires

Assembled Chassis with Brushed DC Motors

5V Step-Down Voltage Regulator, Dual Serial Motor Controller, 3.3V Step-Down Voltage Regulator, and Pull-Down Resistor

Assembled Chassis with 5V Step-Down Voltage Regulator, Dual Serial Motor Controller, 3.3V Step-Down Voltage Regulator, and Pull-Down Resistor

Reflectance Sensor Array, Universal Metal Joints, 1.0" 2-56 Standoffs, and Hardware

Assembled Chassis with Reflectance Sensor Array

Upper Chassis, SJ One Board (LPC1758), 1.25" 4-40 Standoffs, 0.75" 4-40 Standoffs, 0.375" 6-32 Standoffs, and Hardware

Assembled Upper Chassis with SJ One Board (LPC1758)

Modified USB Mini-B Cable

Assembled Chassis and Upper Chassis with Modified USB Mini-B Cable)

Line Following Robot

Hardware Interface

In this section, you can describe how your hardware communicates, such as which BUSes used. You can discuss your driver implementation here, such that the Software Design section is isolated to talk about high level workings rather than inner working of your project.

Software Design

Show your software design. For example, if you are designing an MP3 Player, show the tasks that you are using, and what they are doing at a high level. Do not show the details of the code. For example, do not show exact code, but you may show psuedocode and fragments of code. Keep in mind that you are showing DESIGN of your software, not the inner workings of it.

Software Flow Diagram for Reflectance Sensor Array Initialization

Software Flow Diagram for Reflectance Sensor Array Read

Implementation

This section includes implementation, but again, not the details, just the high level. For example, you can list the steps it takes to communicate over a sensor, or the steps needed to write a page of memory onto SPI Flash. You can include sub-sections for each of your component implementation.

Testing & Technical Challenges

Describe the challenges of your project. What advise would you give yourself or someone else if your project can be started from scratch again? Make a smooth transition to testing section and described what it took to test your project.

Debug of the IR LED Reflectance Sensor Array and Dual Serial Motor Controller Drivers with the SJ One Board (LPC1758)

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Wifi Connection Issues

Many wifi connection issues were encountered. To solve this problem, a dedicated task was created to re-connect to wifi if the connection was ever lost.

Conclusion

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Project Video

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Project Source Code

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References

Acknowledgement

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References Used

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Appendix

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