Make an Obstacle Avoiding Robot Today
Robotics is a fast emerging field in India, all thanks to the veritable powerhouse of engineering talent that we have in the country. With STEM taking the driving wheel for the young mass, making robots is no longer a dream.
India's position as a global hub for robotics has strengthened over the years, with our daily life slowly becoming centred around the internet. In the bigger picture, almost our entire population depends on some form of automation. As warehouse automation is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12%, it has become essential to implement engineering, technology, robot toys for kids, and robotics in India at the young level.
Use of Robotics in India
The global economy crashed in 2008; however, it also gave rise to the age of robotics. Robotics in India saw a sharp rise in 2011 when the sales increased and the automotive industry started implementing robots on a large scale. As robotics in India has started to encompass diverse areas like the fields of mechanics, electrical, and electronic systems, it is imperative for their usage to grow even further.
Robotics in India has engulfed a large part of the industry as it has started to move towards automation to increase production and efficiency. Although India accounts for less than 1.5% of global purchases of industrial robots, several industries like motor vehicles, chemical rubber, food, industrial machinery, communication, ceramic, healthcare, and consumer domestic appliances have successfully implemented robots.
STEM and Children
Conventionally, science and mathematics have largely been taught but the real problem lies with their practical application. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and we need to implement these subjects at schools across the country. Therefore, robotics in India is one of the most creative ways to foster the interest in innovation among kids. In addition to that, children can get hands-on training from industry experts and understand the fundamentals of building robots better.
Practical applications and activities like obstacle avoiding robot can create genuine interest in kids to take up STEM education. With an obstacle avoiding robot, kids can understand the basics of photovoltaics, programming, and mathematics, all at one go.
Real-time Application of Obstacle Avoiding Technology
Today, scientists and engineers have been instrumental in creating an obstacle-avoiding robot, and you can actually find this advanced technology in many fields. The real-time usage of such robots is vast, and the technology is not stagnant and keeps on upgrading continuously.
For instance, Tesla's new auto-drive car uses the technology of obstacle avoiding robot to identify blockers in the way and avoid them. Similar obstacle avoiding technology is also being used towards building autonomous robots to be used in healthcare and manufacturing, something you can still find today.
The design and development of robots that use obstacle avoiding technology can automatically sense the hindrance by using electronic sensors and programming languages for the robot to be navigated in real-time. Such models are smart enough to sense and prevent hindrance on their path.
Components of an Obstacle Avoiding Robot
Robotics in India is not a vivid dream anymore, thanks to the rapid advances being made every second. Obstacle avoiding technology is very commonplace now and many educational institutions have added it as part of their curriculum. You can find this technology being used primarily in household robots for vacuum cleaning and dusting.
Although the concept of mobile robots is riddled with complexities, it is evolving quite fast. Various mobile robot navigation techniques include path planning and map interpreting and these techniques are currently added to the new robots. As there are several robokits available, it is quite easy to create an obstacle avoiding robot.
The obstacle avoiding robot consists of various components like Arduino Uno, Ultrasonic Range Finder Sensor - HC - SR04, Motor Driver IC, Servo Motor Tower Pro SG90, 2 Geared Motors, Robot Chassis, Power Supply, Battery Connector, and Battery Holder.
Before starting with an obstacle avoiding robot, it is necessary to know all the components, especially the sensors and Arduino boards.
Arduino UNO
It is an ATmega 328p Microcontroller-based prototyping that can be used with various sensors and actuators. 6 pins out of the 14 digital input-output pins will be used to make the robot.
HC - SR04
Your ultrasonic range finder sensor is a distance measurement system to measure distance in the range of 2cm to 4m.
L293D
This component provides the bi-directional drive current for the motors.
Servo Motor
The motor will help in rotating the device 90 degrees in each direction and will help the robots in moving wherever you want.
Process of Making and Obstacle Avoiding Robot
Obstacle avoiding robot is an intelligent device that can automatically sense any hindrance in their path and avoid them. To make the robots, you need to know that the Arduino is the most essential. A total of 7 out of the available 14 input-output pins are used in designing the Robot. The ultrasonic sensors will use only 4 pins which are VCC, Trig, Echo, and GND. VCC and GND are connected to the +5v and Arduino pins. The Trig pin is connected to the 9th pin and ensures that Echo will be connected to the 8th pin of the Arduino board.
The servo motor fixed on the Arduino board will rotate the Ultrasonic sensors to scan all the hindrances on its path. The servo motor has a total of 3 pins - Control, VCC, and GND - that will be connected to the 11th pin of the Arduino, +5V, and GND. L293D has 16 pins, out of which Pin 1 and Pin 9 are enable pins.
You need to note that you have connected these pins to +5V. Similarly, Pins 2 and 7 control all the microcontroller inputs and need to be connected to Pins 6 and 7 of Arduino. Pins 10 and 15 are control inputs from the second motor connected to Pins 5 and 4 of the Arduino. In addition to that, you need to connect GND to the ground pins, which are Pins 4, 5, 12, and 13 of L293D.
The first motor will be connected to Pins 3 and 6 of L293D, and the second motor will act as the right wheel motor. Thus, the second motor will be connected to Pins 11 and 14. The final pin, Vcc1, is connected to +5V, and the 8th pin is connected to Vcc2.
You need to keep the connection anywhere between 4.7V and 36V. Note that you need to keep a separate power supply for Pins 1, 8 (Vcc2), 9, and 16 (Vcc1).
Conclusion
Obstacle avoiding robot is an amazing robot toy for kids and they can use it for making various gadgets. Do note that the programming can be easily modified to include an IR transmitter, ultrasonic sensors, and many other components. You can also build several robots using the programming code that is available on a lot of platforms. The application of robots are not limited as a large number of industries like defence continue to use them. It is time to encourage young minds to be creative so that they can have a brighter future.