Skip to content

Obstacle avoidance

Jump to bottom
NilsDunlop edited this page May 28, 2021 · 15 revisions

Description

Using an ultrasonic sensor and Infrared sensor, the Medcar should avoid obstacles that are about 30cm in front and behind it. In a hospital setting, the car will have to travel down (potentially tight) corridors with medical workers and patients also walking around. Implementing obstacle avoidance to the front and the back of the car, may prevent/reduce the risk of the car colliding and potentially being damaged/injuring medical staff and patients.

Functional Requirements

  • The car should be able to detect obstacles in ambient light and in dimly lit areas.
  • The car, when driving forwards, should stop when an obstacle is detected at a distance of about 30cm.
  • The car, when driving backwards, should stop when an obstacle is detected at a distance of about 30cm.
  • The car should not be able to drive faster than 60% of its maximum speed, so that it can stop in time when an obstacle is detected.
  • The car should not be able to drive forwards via manual control when an obstacle is detected in the front.
  • The car should not be able to drive backwards via manual control when an obstacle is detected in the back.
  • The car should be able to move forwards when an obstacle is detected in the back.
  • The car should be able to move backwards when an obstacle is detected in the front.

Non-Functional Requirements

  • The car should stop 95% of the time when an obstacle is detected in the front/back.
  • The car should take no more than 1 second to stop when an obstacle is detected in the front/back.

Example

A medical staff member is currently manually maneuvering the Medcar. The medical staff member takes a wrong turn and ends up in a dead end. The sensor detects an obstacle (wall) that is 30cm away from the Medcar. The car then starts to break and comes to a stop, avoiding the obstacle. The medical staff member tries to drive forward again, but the Medcar does not move forward as an obstacle is still being detected in the front. The medical staff member then maneuvers the car to drive backwards, and can afterwards continue to drive the Medcar to the intended destination.

Clone this wiki locally