Week 7: Fine Tuning

Our line following program is just about done. Uploaded to the robot, it works well and reacts to light-reflective surfaces.

The infrared sensors are attached to the gold-colored board at the front.

Our robot has a perforated board attached in front with two mounted infrared sensors. One sensor on the left controls the direction of the left side wheels, while the right sensor controls the right side.

We numbered the wheels for ease of programming. For example, if the right sensor is off, Wheels 1 and 4 turn backwards while 2 and 3 keep going, causing the bot to turn left.

We start by programming the bot to calibrate to the white paper; if the sensors detect something other than that, the wheels will respond. If a left turn is ahead, the right sensor will come off the line first and detect the black floor, and the bot will turn left by switching its righthand wheels backwards while the left sided wheels continue forward. Once both sensors are aligned on the line again, the bot moves forward.

A crude robot arena to test the edge detection and line-following programs. Come back next week when he fights the Coke machine from the second floor.

 We've created the base program for what will eventually be under the bacteria's control. That stage is still far off, but I can imagine that the IR sensor input will be replaced by the bacterial data, controlling the turns on its own. For example, the bacteria releases a specific protein, which means it wants a certain food source. That signal can translate in code to "turn right" or the like.

Next we'll focus on refining the program, placing the sensors in more effective configurations, and drawing up model pathways.

Cheers,

Ben