Scout: A 6WD platform designed to navigate autonomously

A roboticist with the code-name BITHEAD942 has built an autonomous 6WD robot able to navigate and move toward an orange traffic cone. As the designer says, the robot was built “with a Robo-Magellan competition in mind.” The competition idea is implemented in the navigation system between two predefined points: the start and the finish.

The robot uses GPS and visual reference to navigate between the predefined points. The location of the robot is set by GPS coordinates and is part of the start-up routine. The first operation is to place the robot at the target location to memorize the coordinates of the location. Once the final location is determined, the robot can be moved to the starting position to initiate the navigation.

Scout can travel at a top speed of 11 km/h (7mph). The battery should last maximum 2 hours, but the time could decrease if the robot runs wild.

The chassis is the well-known Wild Thumper Chassis by Dagu. It is a 6WD chassis with enough space for batteries, electronics, sensors and accessories.

The brain of the robot is an Arduino Due. The microcontroller is powerful enough to drive all the sensors and run some math algorithms.

The robot works in two modes: autonomous or RC mode. The remote control is an ABS project box that hosts an Arduino Fio with Xbee Pro, a Laird antenna with U.FL connector, the battery and an LCD display.

You can continue reading much more details about components on this page.

You may be interested in the following all-terrain robots as well:
Best chassis to build an all terrain robot on wheels
Compact 4WD robot platform for all-terrain applications

Robotics community only grows by sharingShare on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on RedditShare on StumbleUponDigg this

Share:

Related Posts

Don't Miss Out!

Get the latest news, tutorials, reviews and more direct to your inbox when you subscribe!