Optimized Hardware Design of Low Power and Low Cost Self Driving Multi-Purposes Robotised Platform

Abstract

Mobile ground robots have become commonly used systems due to the advancements in sensing technologies, image recognition algorithms and wireless communication solutions. Commonly robots are bulky and have low reliability, while having high cost. Most of the technologies have requirements for the human operator presence, which reduces the potential of the fully automated systems. The main technical challenges in the mobile robot operation are the battery life and the processing speed from the sensors. The paper present signal fusion and the hardware circuitry of microcontroller based autonomous rover. The rover's embedded system has opted out from using state of the art sensor, for more power efficient techniques with lower data generation. This in turn reduces the demand for processing power, which enables for less power consumable and cheaper processors. The differential drive system traditionally followed on mobile robots has been modified towards an all-wheel steering all-wheel drive model. This design improves the maneuverability of the rover. The reverse kinematic equations used balanced wheels velocities and turning angles combined with the feedback from the wheel encoders to prevent slippage and improve accuracy.