Design and Manufacturing of a Driverless Cart

Mechatronics

The objective is to design and manufacture a robotic cart having an ability of user recognition (voice and gesture), capable of accompanying a person wherever he/she moves. It can be used in hospitality purpose for carrying luggage as well as in shopping malls. The robot should maneuver in any possible direction and be capable of taking 20 kg load without failure. The major design aspects of this model are the mechanical frame, steering mechanism, user recognition / sensing device, electronic interface between the software input and actual mechanical output. Microsoft Kinect, launched in November 2011 for the Xbox 360 gaming console, a motion sensing input device capable of tracking the user and taking audio data is used. The capability of the Kinect sensor to detect joints of the human body can be utilized to track a human being and follow him. Arduino Uno, an open-source physical computing platform based on a simple microcontroller board, and a development environment for writing software for the board is used to control and steer the cart in desired direction by giving differential input to the rear wheels through motors. L298 motor driver is used as an intermediate device between the microcontroller, power supply or batteries, and the motors to cater for different current requirements. To provide high strength and rigidity to the cart, high grade aluminium base and wheels are being used. For the robot to be used in different scenarios as an autonomous companion, the main aim is recognizing and tracking a human target while avoiding obstacles. A system capable of doing this efficiently and the accurate movement of the robot is the focus of this study

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