Autonomous Buggy

Autonomous Buggy for Course Navigation

Project Image

Project Overview

Collaborators: Nicholas Hardy, Marybel Boujaoude, Hassan Hijazi, Riya Deokar

Date: 2023-04-04

The Autonomous Buggy project aimed to develop a self-driving buggy capable of navigating a course autonomously. The project involved the integration of sensors, actuators, and control systems to facilitate the buggy's autonomous operation. The project's primary objective was to design a system that could navigate a course while avoiding obstacles and maintaining a safe distance from them.

Key Features

  • Proportional, integral, differential (PID) control system for precise speed and steering adjustments.
  • Combination of ultrasonic and Lidar sensors for effective collision avoidance and path tracking.
  • Utilization of an optical encoder for accurate speed measurement and control.
  • Advanced software architecture accommodating sensor and actuator timing for reliable system performance.
  • Wireless control for start and stop commands, enhancing operational flexibility.

Implementation Details

  • ESP32 microcontroller chosen for its processing power and wireless capabilities.
  • H-Bridge motor controller used to calibrate the ESC with a Neutral value (1500) as well as the maximum and minimum values (2000 and 1000).
  • Speed control was achieved by using a PID controller to adjust the PWM signal sent to the ESC.
  • The Lidar sensor was used to detect obstacles and calculate the distance to them to determine the steering angle and speed of the buggy.
  • ESP wifi capabilities were used as a remote control to start and stop the buggy via a node.js server.

Supporting Artifacts

Explore further details of our project through the following resources:

Project Architecture Video

Project GitHub

Project Architecture
Project States
Project Button