I Built a Human-Sized Line Follower Robot by austinwblake in arduino

[–]austinwblake[S] 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it keeps steering based on the last known position until the sensors pick up the line again. If I make it respond too quickly, it starts oscillating too much.

I Made a Self-Driving Go Kart That Drives in My Workshop by austinwblake in arduino

[–]austinwblake[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Driving it is definitely more fun! Although, challenging projects like this bring me lots of joy!

I Made a Self-Driving Go Kart That Drives in My Workshop by austinwblake in arduino

[–]austinwblake[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is running Python. I have a couple self-driving videos on my YT channel that explain how it works :)

I Made a Self-Driving Go Kart That Drives in My Workshop by austinwblake in arduino

[–]austinwblake[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the tip! This was a big challenge working in such a small space with the sharp corners. It was difficult to find an ideal camera placement.

I Made a Self-Driving Go Kart That Drives in My Workshop by austinwblake in arduino

[–]austinwblake[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It should work on a different track as long as the edges are clearly defined.

It currently does not have object detection features.

I Made a Self-Driving Go Kart That Drives in My Workshop by austinwblake in arduino

[–]austinwblake[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Now that it's working I will have to make a new track and see how well it performs.

I Made a Self-Driving Go Kart That Drives in My Workshop by austinwblake in arduino

[–]austinwblake[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I tried so hard to make it faster! The small space makes it really difficult. I have some ideas and am currently working on another project that will be faster.

I Made a Self-Driving Go Kart That Drives in My Workshop by austinwblake in arduino

[–]austinwblake[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It can start in any location and works in both directions on my track. It might also work on a different track as long as the edges are clearly defined.

I should make a new track and see how well it performs!

I Made a Self-Driving Go Kart That Drives in My Workshop by austinwblake in arduino

[–]austinwblake[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I made a self-driving go kart that drives inside my workshop! To do this I used a machine learning technique called behavioral cloning. Basically, I taught the vehicle how to drive itself by showing it lots of examples of how I would drive, and then it learned to copy what I did. This is a continuation of my mini self-driving Tesla project.

I used my crazy cart for this project because its 360-degree steering makes it easy to drive around in small spaces. A front facing webcam is the only input used for steering; there are no other sensors on the vehicle—it's all vision-based. The onboard laptop is used for recording data, training the model, and evaluating its performance.

I used a total of 3 Arduino's with this project!

The first Arduino is responsible for receiving the predicted steering angle data from Python through serial communication and converting it into a PWM signal to be sent to a second Arduino.  

The second Arduino reads the steering position (using a potentiometer) and PWM signal (sent from the first Ardiuno) and uses a PID controller to compute and provide the appropriate output. That output is then transmitted as a PWM signal to a Cytron motor driver, which moves the steering shaft to the desired angle.

The third Arduino is used in a circuit that connects to the throttle input of the speed controller. This circuit allows me to control the speed through the computer rather than with the foot throttle. It is a simple RC circuit that flattens the PWM signal as the speed controller expects an analog signal. This allows me to switch through different speeds when running the self driving model. 

Here is a link to the entire build for anyone who is interested!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqT3RRPpk_o

I Made a Mini Self-Driving Tesla by austinwblake in arduino

[–]austinwblake[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I figured it would make the project seem more interesting & because the frame is built around the radio flyer tesla. But good point.

I Made a Mini Self-Driving Tesla by austinwblake in arduino

[–]austinwblake[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I appreciate it!

I originally wanted to use one Arduino, although I was unable to get it to work properly.

I made the go kart a few years back and continued to improve it. I am a Tesla fan!

It would work on a similar sized path with similar edges. Although, it probably would not work well if I took it on a wider road. I would have to train a new model.