Projects
Follower of Light

Follower of Light

Team: MRIDULAPAL84

Project Details

Project Description: The robot in this project uses light sensors, which are electronic components that can detect light; they will help the robot follow a flashlight beam—just like a cat uses its eyes to track a laser pointer. Figure 1 and the video show what the robot looks like and how it works. The robot uses a special electronic circuit to control the speed of two motors through the use of two light sensors. The motors are connected to the robot's wheels, which allow it to drive around. Figure 3 shows a simplified diagram of this process (continue reading for a more detailed description of the circuit). If both light sensors detect the same amount of light, the wheels spin at the same speed, so the robot goes straight. If one light sensor detects more light than the other, one wheel will spin faster, which will make the robot turn. In this engineering project, you will follow step-by-step directions to build a light-following robot. You will then follow the Engineering Design Process to make some adjustments to your robot to improve its performance. While previous experience with electronics will be helpful in building the robot, it is not required. If you would like to get started building your robot right away, you can move on to the Procedure. For more information about how the robot works and what the different parts of the circuit do, continue reading the rest of the Introduction. For a detailed explanation of the robot's circuit (for advanced students or robotics/electronics hobbyists), including a complete circuit diagram, see the Help section. The circuit you will build in this project uses a variety of electronic components. All of the components are combined on a chassis, or plastic base for the robot, which includes wheels. Some of the components, like batteries and switches, you probably use every day (even if you do not notice it). Others, like diodes and transistors, might be new to you if you have not done an electronics project before. Table 1 has pictures and descriptions of each component you will use in this project. The possibility to control a robot by using only light may not be the most accurate way. It is not impossible to follow a track but it is surrounded by certain limitations. It is achievable if the robot is supposed to follow a certain light as a flashlight or a light trail, but the ability to let the robot freely drive in a normally lit room and seek after the brightest light source is unattainable without adding other sensors to avoid obstacles. Although it is not the best possible way to construct a tracking robot, could a conclusion still be drawn based on the information determined during this thesis. For this kind of tracking robot, the LDR was selected as the most suitable light sensor. The ability to get the robot to avoid obstacles by using only coloured light were possible with the use of a colour sensor and the colour easiest to detect was the red colour, due to its long wavelength. To sum this up, using light sensing for a tracking robot are an easy and inexpensive method, but should be used as a complement to other sensing devices not as a stand alone method. Light follower robot is a mobile robot which detects the light (such as the light of a flashlight) and follows the light on the travelling path. The robot has two light detection sensors which are prepared with LDRs (light dependent resistors). The sensitivity of the sensors can be set by using the trimpots on each sensor circuit. Light follower robot is activated with light. The robot moves as long as it detects the light. It has two 9 V geared DC motors, two wheels and a caster ball wheel.
Project Theme: Save the Environment
Project Category: Hardware Projects
Country: India