Kyle L. Carithers
REU 2006
Electronics
Overview
A microcontroller, the MAVRIC IIb, autonomously controls the robot. The robot was programmed using an AVRISP in conjunction with AVR Studio 4. WinAVR’s Programmer’s Notepad was used to compile the software. The CMU2+ interfaced with the MAVRIC using transmit/receive serial lines. Five Devantech SRF05 sonar modules were used on the robot. The trigger lines of the sonar were connected to input/output pins on the MAVRIC. The echo lines of the modules were sent to a multiplexer that used three digital signals from the MAVRIC to determine which sonar line to send to an external interrupt pin on the microprocessor. A lighting system using a combination of six LEDs and six small flashlight bulbs were used. The motor controller interfaced with the MAVRIC using a single PWM signal connected to the R/C input of the motor controller. The motor encoder sent a pulsing signal to the tachometer pin on the motor controller. The encoder was powered off VCC and GRD pins on the motor controller. The MAVRIC, CMU2+, sonar modules, and lighting system were powered off a custom designed power board. The motor controller received power from an 18.5V lithium ion battery. The power board received power from a 7.2V lithium ion battery.