IEEE Line Follower Competition
Overview
Kavya Khare, one of my teammates on the Makebox, and I decided we wanted to test our skills in the Spring of 2024. We noticed a new competition for an IEEE line follower, fastest time wins. Kavya and I both had experience in making a line follower before so we decided to enter.
We decided quite early on that if we entered this competition, we were aiming for first place and both of us were going to put our full engineering mettle into this problem. Thankfully, we both brought some experience to the table—she’d tackled a similar line follower projects in a prior class, and I’d built line-following robots with LEGO Mindstorms back in middle school for my science fair.
Categories
Robotics
UC Davis
Date
Apr 2023
-
Jun 2023
The lightest line-follower
Line followers in essence follow one side of the line, lets for example take the left edge: If ithe color sensor is on the table (white) then the left wheel should spin faster than the right making the robot turn right towards the line. If the color sensor is on the line then the right wheel should spin faster than the left, turning the robot left away from the line.
Our goal was straightforward: minimize weight without sacrificing performance.
Because this was more of a fun project with a lot of creative freedom I got to use some design techniques I had been meaning to try. Instead of mounting electronics in a traditional enclosure, I integrated the PCB directly into the chassis—inspired by Formula 1 teams using their engine as a structural element for the rear suspension. We used rubber bands stretched around 3D printed wheel hubs to make tires for additional mechanical grip. I incorporated carbon-fiber rods, experimenting with mating a rectangular frame to round stock—inspired by a elevator design I’d seen back in FIRST Robotics. I also wanted to use some aircraft-style pocketing features that someone had created for Solidworks and Onshape. I also mounted all of the sensors including a group of 7 color sensors for more accurate line sensing.
The finished design was definitely one of my most creative and the hard work payed off as we took home 1st place.
IEEE Line Follower Competition
Overview
Kavya Khare, one of my teammates on the Makebox, and I decided we wanted to test our skills in the Spring of 2024. We noticed a new competition for an IEEE line follower, fastest time wins. Kavya and I both had experience in making a line follower before so we decided to enter.
We decided quite early on that if we entered this competition, we were aiming for first place and both of us were going to put our full engineering mettle into this problem. Thankfully, we both brought some experience to the table—she’d tackled a similar line follower projects in a prior class, and I’d built line-following robots with LEGO Mindstorms back in middle school for my science fair.
Categories
Robotics
UC Davis
Date
Apr 2023
-
Jun 2023
The lightest line-follower
Line followers in essence follow one side of the line, lets for example take the left edge: If ithe color sensor is on the table (white) then the left wheel should spin faster than the right making the robot turn right towards the line. If the color sensor is on the line then the right wheel should spin faster than the left, turning the robot left away from the line.
Our goal was straightforward: minimize weight without sacrificing performance.
Because this was more of a fun project with a lot of creative freedom I got to use some design techniques I had been meaning to try. Instead of mounting electronics in a traditional enclosure, I integrated the PCB directly into the chassis—inspired by Formula 1 teams using their engine as a structural element for the rear suspension. We used rubber bands stretched around 3D printed wheel hubs to make tires for additional mechanical grip. I incorporated carbon-fiber rods, experimenting with mating a rectangular frame to round stock—inspired by a elevator design I’d seen back in FIRST Robotics. I also wanted to use some aircraft-style pocketing features that someone had created for Solidworks and Onshape. I also mounted all of the sensors including a group of 7 color sensors for more accurate line sensing.
The finished design was definitely one of my most creative and the hard work payed off as we took home 1st place.
IEEE Line Follower Competition
Overview
Kavya Khare, one of my teammates on the Makebox, and I decided we wanted to test our skills in the Spring of 2024. We noticed a new competition for an IEEE line follower, fastest time wins. Kavya and I both had experience in making a line follower before so we decided to enter.
We decided quite early on that if we entered this competition, we were aiming for first place and both of us were going to put our full engineering mettle into this problem. Thankfully, we both brought some experience to the table—she’d tackled a similar line follower projects in a prior class, and I’d built line-following robots with LEGO Mindstorms back in middle school for my science fair.
Categories
Robotics
UC Davis
Date
Apr 2023
-
Jun 2023
The lightest line-follower
Line followers in essence follow one side of the line, lets for example take the left edge: If ithe color sensor is on the table (white) then the left wheel should spin faster than the right making the robot turn right towards the line. If the color sensor is on the line then the right wheel should spin faster than the left, turning the robot left away from the line.
Our goal was straightforward: minimize weight without sacrificing performance.
Because this was more of a fun project with a lot of creative freedom I got to use some design techniques I had been meaning to try. Instead of mounting electronics in a traditional enclosure, I integrated the PCB directly into the chassis—inspired by Formula 1 teams using their engine as a structural element for the rear suspension. We used rubber bands stretched around 3D printed wheel hubs to make tires for additional mechanical grip. I incorporated carbon-fiber rods, experimenting with mating a rectangular frame to round stock—inspired by a elevator design I’d seen back in FIRST Robotics. I also wanted to use some aircraft-style pocketing features that someone had created for Solidworks and Onshape. I also mounted all of the sensors including a group of 7 color sensors for more accurate line sensing.
The finished design was definitely one of my most creative and the hard work payed off as we took home 1st place.
