Intelligent Tracking and Obstacle Avoidance Vehicle
An autonomous move vehicle based on 51 microcontroller
Project Introduction
With the advancement of embedded systems and semiconductor technologies, as well as robotics perception and control technologies, intelligence and automation have gradually become irreversible trends in next-generation industrial upgrades and product iterations across industries such as automotive. Technical verification and research on small-scale autonomous vehicle prototypes have emerged as essential foundational steps.
Combining our undergraduate major, we have chosen Intelligent Tracking and Obstacle Avoidance Vehicle as our freshman-year project. By integrating existing modules including sensors, processors, and actuators, we aim to build a functional smart car capable of path-tracking and obstacle avoidance. Through this project, we aim to enhance hands-on design skills and teamwork while deepening our understanding of unmanned vehicle system and improving embedded software programming techniques. This project will lay a foundation for future research and professional development in related fields.
System Overview
Hardware Design
We selected the ZK-RPR220 integrated infrared transmitter-receiver module as the tracking sensor and the HC-SR04 ultrasonic ranging module as the obstacle-avoidance sensor. For the processing unit, we adopted a development board centered around the STC12C5A60S2 microcontroller. The actuation system comprises a dual L298N DC motor driver module, four DC3-6V motors, and two SG90 micro servos.
The mechanical structure of the vehicle was constructed using perforated acrylic panels as the chassis framework. The system architecture diagram is shown below.
Hardware Design
Program Procedure
In the software program, there are four modules are essential:
Timer 0: Configured to generate timer interrupts for producing PWM signals that control the servo motors.
Timer 1: Utilized to measure the ultrasonic transmission/reception time of the HC-SR04 module for calculating obstacle distances.
PWM Module:Generates PWM signals for the L298N motor drivers to operate the DC motors.
UART Module:Facilitates serial communication with a host computer to transmit the vehicle's real-time status data.
The program procedure as follows.
Program Procedure
Demonstration
After debugging with the host computer and the physical prototype, we successfully implemented an intelligent vehicle capable of basic path-following and obstacle avoidance. The demonstration results are shown below.
Achievements
Through one academic semester dedicated to hardware module selection and vehicle assembly, followed by another semester focused on microcontroller programming, functional development, and system debugging, our team successfully concluded our freshman-year project after two semesters of collaborative effort.
Freshman Year Project Certificate
Acknowledgement
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Prof. CHAO Tao for his valuable guidance and instruction throughout the project. We also thank other team members, DU Lingyu, YAO Shangbin, and QIU Changrui, for dedication and collaboration. It is worth noting that we all four team members graduated from the same high school class and were admitted together to the School of Astronautics at Harbin Institute of Technology, making this journey particularly memorable.
