Project Description: The project required all enrolled students to come up with a robot using the given LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Education kit. The mission of this robot was to explore the room and navigate through the given aisle autonomously without colliding with the obstacles present in the given area. To make such robot, we were allowed to use one (1) brick, three (3) motors, two (2) touch sensors, one (1) ultrasonic sensor and one (1) light sensor.
Design: I have named my robot ‘Crusher’. I used one ultrasonic sensor, three motors and other basic Lego parts to build my robot. I used two motors to run the wheel, and attached the ultrasonic sensor to a different motor to detect any obstacles present in the course of its movement. I attached ultrasonic sensor to a movable motor so that it can move around and check the distance of obstacles in its sides. However, if detects anything in front of it within 0.40m, then it will stop immediately and the sensor will make a left turn. Again, if the sensor finds something when turned left, it will make a 180° turn, making it right from the original direction. This will continue until it finds a way to move on. I have used the code to move forward 10cm at a time if the obstacle in front of it is more than 45cm, making it almost impossible to hit the barrier. Also, the robot will check for the distance from the obstacle after every movement to avoid any unforeseen obstacles that might come along the way. I have also made some more classes to help with the lighting of the brick before starting its journey.
Discussion and Improvements: There are certain improvements that can be made to enhance the performance of the robot. One of them is to add the number or ultrasonic sensors. Adding one more ultrasonic sensor will significantly decrease the time required to complete the mission as the required no. of moves of the third motor will be far lesser. Also, the ultrasonic sensor could be made movable even while robot is moving to detect any diagonal surface, which otherwise could go unnoticed. Other improvements will be to add the touch sensor to the bottom so that the robot can detect if there are any unusual elevations in the surface that went undetected by the ultrasonic sensor. Also, using the AA batteries instead of the original packaged battery will be far more efficient and powerful to make the motor movement smooth.