Wall sensor alignment error
However many wall sensors you have on your micromouse, it pays to think about exactly where they are pointing. Decimus 2 used a slightly different alignment to Decimus 1 and it has not helped…
Designing a phase lead controller
A PD or PID controller is probably the most commonly used type for micromouse motor control. It is not the only way to get the job done though. An alternative is the phase-lead controller. This is the kind of controller described by David Otten in his Circuit Cellar articles…
Designing the motor controller
At the heart of a micromouse is usually a pair of position controllers. These maintain the mouse position for one of two kinds of movement – forward and rotation. Each can be configured independently. Like any position controller, the idea is to get a fast, stable response to changes in the demanded position…
Characterising the drive system on the micromouse
Designing the micromouse motor control is a key task which will go a long way to determining the performance of the mouse in the maze. Before that can be done, you will need to know the physical characteristis of the motors and the drive system. All that can be calculated as part of the design process but it is easier to measure it if you already have the mouse built…
Setting up a gyro on the micromouse
Putting a gyroscope on the micromouse is pretty much standard practce now. Being a bit slow to catch up, I have just added gyros to both my mice. Since the mice run at 5V, I had to use the ADXRS300 and ADXRS610 gyros. The first job is to get them calibrated…
Easier Wall Sensor Calibration
A while back, I posted a way to make simple reflective wall sensor responses appear linear. After struggling with it for a while, it is apparent that it is over complicated. There is an easier way to get acceptable responses…
All Japan Micromouse Contest 2011 Dates
The New Technology Foundation have announced the dates of the 32nd All Japan Micromouse Tournament. The event will be held in Tsukuba on Friday 18th November 2011 to Sunday 20th November 2011. Full details on the NTF web site.
Measuring Moment of Inertia
The moment of inertia of a micromouse is a useful number to know. It tells you how easy or hard your mouse will be to turn and lets you calculate an appropriate value for the angular acceleration during the lead-in and lead-out of the turn. Indeed, you may find out the upper limits or what your mouse can achieve. the race is, after all, won in the turns they say. So, how can you find out what the moment of inertia is for your mouse?
UK Micromouse at TechFest 2011
The UK micromouse contest will be held this year as part of the 2011 TechFest event hosted at Millenium Point by Birmingham City University on Saturday June 25th. This year sees a wider than ever range of robot contests and other related events including a biped robot football match…
Simpler Line follower sensors
Some time ago, I wrote about a way to work out your position when following a line based on the readings from a set of reflctive sensors. The method was a bit complicated and I was never happy with it. This should be a much better setup.
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