Self driving RC-car

Thread Starter

nofuture

Joined Mar 1, 2015
6
hello guys ,i'm new to this forum,this is my first post and its my first embedded project :D
i'm trying to program a PIC micro-controller to control an RCcar so it can solve a maze by it self, can any one suggest to me how do i start, which PIC would be better to use, how many ultrasonic sensors should i use ,and most importantly, how to target a certain goal ??
note: i cant use any GPS modules for security reasons.
Thanks in advance
 

Thread Starter

nofuture

Joined Mar 1, 2015
6
I thought the GPS would be an option, so I mentioned that I can't use it, if I used it I might get jailed,and I can't do anything about it. It's just this county regime.
 

tshuck

Joined Oct 18, 2012
3,534
how do i start
I would suggest you define the problem (e.g. What is the goal? It is to solve a basic maze? What are the requirements for solving the maze?).

Once you understand the problem you are attempting to solve, see how others did it - what algorithms, motors, wheels, processors, etc.

Then, formulate an approach you will attempt to use.
which PIC would be better to use
Figure out what works with your approach. If you are unsure, think of what you might need - ADC? (How many channels?) Hardware SPI? I2C? H-bridge driver (with dead time features?)? Memory size?

All of these features can be found using Microchip's parametric search tool.

how many ultrasonic sensors should i use
You don't need to use any. There are other options - have you looked into them?

[...]and most importantly, how to target a certain goal ??
Define your goal. Design for the goal. Attain your goal. If any step fails, return to the previous step.
 
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Thread Starter

nofuture

Joined Mar 1, 2015
6
I would suggest you define the problem (e.g. What is the goal? It is to solve a basic maze? What are the requirements for solving the maze?).

Once you understand the problem you are attempting to solve, see how others did it - what algorithms, motors, wheels, processors, etc.

Then, formulate an approach you will attempt to use.

Figure out what works with your approach. If you are unsure, think of what you might need - ADC? (How many channels?) Hardware SPI? I2C? H-bridge driver (with dead time features?)? Memory size?

All of these features can be found using Microchip's parametric search tool.

You don't need to use any. There are other options - have you looked into them?
sorry for so many not specified questions,
thanks for responding.
 

djsfantasi

Joined Apr 11, 2010
9,156
I thought the GPS would be an option, so I mentioned that I can't use it, if I used it I might get jailed,and I can't do anything about it. It's just this county regime.
What is the maze that your RC car will traverse and where are you from, that using GPS will get you jailed? If you can share.

I'm sure everyone is curious...
 

Thread Starter

nofuture

Joined Mar 1, 2015
6
The maze is kinda like this one
And I'm from Egypt, the military just took over the country by a coup and and things are a little too messy, assasinations,bombings .... etc
so if you are working on things like RFs or GPS then you are a threat and threats go to to jail, simple as that.
 

djsfantasi

Joined Apr 11, 2010
9,156
The maze is kinda like this one
And I'm from Egypt, the military just took over the country by a coup and and things are a little too messy, assasinations,bombings .... etc
so if you are working on things like RFs or GPS then you are a threat and threats go to to jail, simple as that.
Ok, things make more sense. You need to be careful. I have friends with relatives in country. El Gazzar...

IMHO, an RC car may not be the best platform, as it would require a relatively large turning radius.

@tshuck 's comments are very good. Start listing your goals and requirements to meet those goals. This will be a living list for a while, as new ideas will change old ones.

Sleep! Your ideas will gell into a design. Then it is time to make more lists and diagrams. Block diagrams, flowcharts, parts lists, suppliers.

While it sounds like a lot of unnecessary work, trust me, it is necessary. Each step will not be as difficult as you think and will make the process easy to make an excellent result. Always remember it is an iterative process, a tiny bit at a time.

Good luck.
 

sevenfold4

Joined Jan 12, 2015
80
May be a stupid question, but are they using wheels, or magnets? How does such a light thing have such a good friction and sharp turns, if it has wheels.
 
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Thread Starter

nofuture

Joined Mar 1, 2015
6
i've started by buying the pic16f887 and 3 ultrasonic sensors and a chesp dc car ,and i'll start by reading from the sensor ,if I haD aby further problem I'll post it ,thank you guys .
 

John P

Joined Oct 14, 2008
2,025
I believe that in contests like this, the machines have an initial run to learn the terrain, and then they do another pass where they're running the maze for speed. I don't know if the first run is timed, or if they just get so many minutes to explore.

If the Egyptian maze is on the same scale as the ones in the videos, optical sensors would work better than ultrasonic ones. And a model car with conventional steering wouldn't be very maneuverable compared with cars that steer by driving their wheels at different (or opposite) speeds.

I'm sorry that you have to operate in a place where you need to worry about getting into trouble over perfectly harmless stuff. Life shouldn't be that way.
 

Thread Starter

nofuture

Joined Mar 1, 2015
6
I believe that in contests like this, the machines have an initial run to learn the terrain, and then they do another pass where they're running the maze for speed. I don't know if the first run is timed, or if they just get so many minutes to explore.

If the Egyptian maze is on the same scale as the ones in the videos, optical sensors would work better than ultrasonic ones. And a model car with conventional steering wouldn't be very maneuverable compared with cars that steer by driving their wheels at different (or opposite) speeds.

I'm sorry that you have to operate in a place where you need to worry about getting into trouble over perfectly harmless stuff. Life shouldn't be that way.
Thanks for the help Jon :D ,I really hope for things to change in my country.
Ok ill go for the steering by driving the wheels in opposite directions, about the sensors the scale of the maze is a little bit larger so I'll go for the ultrasonic sensors .
I just have a one question that's troubling me the most, if the target is to get to a certain point in the maze , like goal may be the center,how do I program it to go for that point ?
What If the goal was a mobile device what would be the case then ?
 
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