Future work Improvements
- Testing of manual and auto mode on real hardware
Due to remote work and unavailability of actual hardware, alternative cheaper components had to be purchased which caused some code changes to optimize for the current hardware. When it will be tested with the finalized hardware the performance should increase. - Sensor integration and obstacle avoidance algorithm testing
In the future implementation, the bot should be tested along with the ultrasonic sensors whose code is already there and has been verified with the help of simulation in coppeliaSim. At the time auto is tested without any obstacle in its path. - Position control loop
Because of the large wheel dia as compared to the wheelbase to achieve precise angular rotation, position control can be used instead of velocity to avoid overshoot and errors. - Docking mechanism
When the battery is critically low the robot has to go back to the charging station to charge its batteries. This algorithm is designed from referring to some of the research papers and it is yet to be implemented. To dock itself to the charging station a pair of IR transmitters are mounted on the charging station and a pair of IR receivers are placed on the robot, once the robot is near home position the IR sensors are used to orient itself precisely.
Fig.28. Docking mechanism flow diagram[1]
Fig.29. Docking mechanism flow diagram[2]