PC and microcontroller-based remote-controlled exploring wheeled robot

Abstract

A PIC16F877A microcontroller-based area exploring wheeled robot system that remotely interacts with a personal computer was constructed. The robot explores an enclosed area by constantly traveling parallel to the surrounding wall at a set distance from it.
The vehicle uses an array of three ultrasonic ranging sensors for obstacle and collision avoidance, and two infrared ranging sensors for wall proximity. A digital electronic compass and a wheel encoder provide parameters for position calculation. This information is sent to a remote computer to generate a map of the area which could be used by the computer to control the movement of the wheeled robot. This type of wheeled robot could be used in surveillance, hostage situations, for guiding people to safety during building fires when visibility is low and even in mapping the terrain of distant planets while avoiding obstacles.
The study showed that the generated map was consistent with the shape of the actual area with respect to direction.