Optimal Line following configuration
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Hello,
I've been trying to figure how many sensors and in what geometry seem to be best for line following. For some reason I think a cross with one in front of the drive wheel axles, a left and right on the axle, and one following might be the best.
But I am by no means sure about this. There may be different situations where different set ups have superior performance.
I've been trying to figure how many sensors and in what geometry seem to be best for line following. For some reason I think a cross with one in front of the drive wheel axles, a left and right on the axle, and one following might be the best.
But I am by no means sure about this. There may be different situations where different set ups have superior performance.
Comments
A line following robot's software may not be able to anticipate the curves but there may be an advantage to having the sensors as close to the front as possible. At the very least an early warning may allow the robot to slow down and start the turn earlier.
PS - What purpose would the fourth trailing sensor have? I don't see any use for it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJV-KDqHgDQ
agfa
It seems that 5 sensors is what you agree on as a count. But the geometries differ a bit.
The Polou seems to have 5 in a circular arc that is equidistant from the center of the drive axle.
The other option suggests a parallel line to the drive axle. Personally, the Polou design seems more attractive to me, but certainly more demanding to build from scratch.
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?t=127316
With this kind of geometry the robot has information about distance as well as the angle of the path.
The interface for this sensors set should be a serial one because it requires a lot of io pins and the processing software is much more complex as well.