2. Main Objectives
Create a vehicle that will remotely track a
high frequency RF transmitter, which may or
may not be stationary.
Detect the signal strength of the target in
order to determine which direction to go.
The practical application is a golf caddy that
will follow a golfer when requested.
3. Possible Project Extensions
Add proximity sensors in order to
circumnavigate obstacles.
Cell phone used to control vehicle.
GPS navigation.
Signal Acquisition Improvement
Additional RF controlled functions.
10. Potential Concerns / Unknowns
Rotating Antenna &
Motor Mount
Antenna Construction
& Actuator Torque
Ground Wheel Control
Sensor Resolution
Terrain
Tower Height Control
11. Addressing Anticipated
Difficulties
Rotating Antenna & Mounting Motor
Wheel vs. chain
How to attach, depends on dimensions
Antenna Weight / Shape & Actuator Torque
dependant upon antenna implementation
wind resistance, etc…
Ground Wheel Control
motor specs unknown, researching new motors
possible substitutes – how to mount??
12. Difficulties Part Deux
Sensor Resolution
Compass
magnetic distortion maybe present
hard-iron calibration should be performed
Data acquisition issues
Frames of reference
Terrain too rough
considering additional functionality, safe mode / shutdown
vehicle durability
Tower Height Control
motor specs unknown, may not be necessary
Automate signal query
13. Power Specifications
12V car Battery, AA/AAA Battery, Dry Cell
Two 12V wheel motors
One 5V antenna motor
Base and antenna Circuitry
Low-powered transmitter
15. Overview of Power Concerns
Power transformation on navigational unit
Power noise due to rotation
Power cable routing to rotating mount
16. Power Concerns Addressed
Power transformation on navigational unit
Voltage regulators
Noise due to antenna rotation
Decoupling caps
Power cable routing to rotating mount
Rotating contact plates
A 12V Battery where we can source 800mA
In addition we will have two 12V motors at the base for motion control
These ones are dual-directional so we will control them with relays
One additional motor to rotate the antenna, which will be a 5V motor
And we will need to power the circuitry that will be controlling all this.
But overall, we are assuming that the two base motors will consume the most power
We are looking at something that would use a AA or AAA battery.
So the transmitter will be a remote similar to the one shown on the slide above,
we want it small so that it’s portable and so that its something you could
attach to your car keys.
Number 1 will be delivering power from the car battery to all of the circuitry on the unit.
Also, because of the rotation of the antenna, we are also expecting noise from this movement
Lastly, our biggest issue will be how to cable the power to the antenna since it will be rotating.
For power transformation this will definitely come later in the design stage since we will need to
we will need to calculate the power consumption for each part
Then we will need to obtain a few 12V and 5V linear regulators
As far as the noise is concerned, that will most practically be addressed with decoupling capacitors
throughout the circuitry and determining the impact the rotation has on the power
For powering the circuitry on top of the rotating mount we decided to have rotating grooved plates
that will keep in contact during rotation.
- To give you a better picture of what this will look like.
We plan on having a conductive grease between the grooved plates
And now Josh will talk about....
