Control of an obstacle avoidance robot

Obstacle avoidance robots are the game versions of the autonomous mobile platforms used in the industries. The obstacles are fixed and the vehicle moves on a 16×16 maze formed by retro-reflective tapes. The maze has a random distribution of obstacles placed in the centres of several squares. The square with the co-ordinates (CCH) is designated as the goal. The robot has to start from one corner of the maze and navigate its way to the goal. To make the game interesting, the robot optimizes the path in order to minimize the time of travel and performs the “dash”. The path finding capability is quite relevant to real life due to the random nature of the obstacle distribution on a shop floor. The racing part, in addition to being a factor for choosing a winner, has been a motivating factor for improving the drive system. This paper addresses a few issues relevant to the design process of such a vehicle, with an inevitable accent towards the game version