Introduction
A robot that is able to move in any direction immediately is very useful. It can be
used in tight spaces or to more effectively follow something.
1.1 Background
A triangular platform with three Omni wheels such as this is generally called a Kiwi
Drive (Figure 1.1). It is because of that a Kiwi Drive can move in any direction
immediately [1]. If a robot can drive in any direction immediately it is called
holonomic. That means in other words that it has two degrees of freedom on the
floor (A car where all the wheels are lined up has only one degree of freedom and
are therefor not holonomic). The Omni wheels can move in 90 degrees to their axis,
that way you can mount the wheels facing different directions [2].
In this project the Omni Wheels will be used to build an obstacles avoiding
robot. It will avoid obstacles with the help of Ultrasonic sensors and IR-sensors.
The difference between the two sensors will be researched.
1.2 Purpose
The main purpose of this robot car is that it should be able to drive by it self and
avoid obstacles, with the help of Ultrasonic sensors and IR-sensors. The difference
between the two sensors will be tested to research which sensor will give the best
viewing angles for this robot. The different cases will be tested with Ultrasonic
sensors, IR-sensors and with both.
1.3 Scope
The scope of the will be that only three of Ultrasonic sensors and three IR-sensors
will be used. The Arduino UNO does not have the processing power to do trigono-
metric calculations so we will have to use a look-up table. The budget for the
project will be 1000 SEK.
1.4 Method
The construction will be built in wood in two stories to make room for all the
components. The construction will be built like a triangle as there is three motors
and three wheels that are used. There will also be two different sensors used,
Ultrasonic and IR-sensors, and there will be three of each. Ultrasonic and IR-
sensors are used to make the robot able to avoid obstacles. The Ultrasonic sensors
will be placed on each side of the triangle and the IR-sensors will be placed in each
corner. That way the robot will have the best range to see the obstacles.