Micromouse

DESCRIPTION

Hello PCBway community! I am an electrical and computer engineering student attending California State University, Chico. I am seeking sponsorship for a robotics project where I am designing an autonomous maze solving robot called a micromouse. The micromouse must navigate and solve the maze in a specified amount of time (usually about 10 minutes). I am using this project as a way to learn about PCB design, digital signal processing, and control systems. 

TECHNICAL DETAILS

After extensive research on the micromouse by other students and schools I was able find the common features of successful implementations. These features include:

·       Microcontroller is typically used as the main computational device. The most common are STM, Texas Instruments or an Arduino.

·       IR sensor array is used for proximity detection. The array consists of 4 pairs of IR phototransistor/IR LED sets. Two pairs face forward on either side of the micromouse and two face at 45 degrees, opposite of each other.

·       DC motors with motor encoders are typically used instead of stepper motors. DC motors are lighter than stepper motors and can drive the robot at a faster speed. The motor encoders can connect to a quadrature motor encoder state machine inside the microcontroller. The motor encoders combined with a quadrature encoder can be used to estimate velocity, acceleration and yaw.

·       Gyroscope and accelerometers and other similar peripherals are used with control system algorithms to help micromouse maintain a straight path and not veer into a wall.

My implementation of the micromouse will be based upon these common features. My specifications are:

·       TI 16MHz Tiva C TM4C123GH6PM microcontroller. 64 pin package.

·       STM L3GD20H MEMS 3 axis digital output gyroscope

·       Bosch BMC150 6-axis E-Compass

·       Analog Devices ADXL326 3-axis ±16g Accelerometer

·       Estimated 10-minute battery life.

·       Pololu 30:1 Micro metal Gearmotor HPCB 6V with extended shaft.

·       Pololu Magnetic QEI compatible motor encoders

Using my specifications I created my schematic and PCB layout.

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