Robotic Navigation System

An autonomous robot utilizing color detection and obstacle avoidance for navigation.

Project Overview

This project focuses on building a robotic navigation system that autonomously moves towards target colors while avoiding obstacles in its path. The robot uses an EV3 color sensor for target detection and an ultrasonic sensor for obstacle avoidance. The core logic is implemented in Python, with serial communication to an Arduino for motor control and sensor data exchange.

Key Features

The robotic system integrates multiple features to ensure smooth and efficient navigation:

  • Color Detection: The EV3 color sensor identifies specific target colors using a majority-vote algorithm for reliability.
  • Obstacle Avoidance: An ultrasonic sensor detects obstacles and triggers pre-defined evasive maneuvers.
  • Serial Communication: A custom protocol manages real-time motor control and sensor data exchange between Python scripts and the Arduino.
  • Motor Control: Precise commands control the robot's movement, including forward, backward, left, and right directions.

Steps and Implementation

The following steps were taken to complete the robotic navigation system:

  1. Setup: Configured hardware components, including sensors, motors, and the Arduino microcontroller.
  2. Color Detection Algorithm: Implemented a majority-vote algorithm to accurately identify target colors.
  3. Obstacle Avoidance: Developed logic to detect obstacles and execute evasive maneuvers seamlessly.
  4. Serial Communication: Established a custom communication protocol between Python and Arduino to manage motor control and sensor readings.

Example Code Snippet (Python - Serial Communication)


def initSerialConn(baudrate):
    controller = SerialCommunicationController(baudrate)
    return controller

class SerialCommunicationController:
    def moveForward(self, power):
        serial_cmd = f"driveMotor {power} forward\\n"
        self.serial.write(serial_cmd.encode())

This snippet shows the initialization of the serial communication with the Arduino and a sample motor control command to move the robot forward.

Performance Observations

The robot successfully navigated various paths, accurately detecting target colors and avoiding obstacles. The project demonstrated the effectiveness of integrating multiple sensors and utilizing serial communication for real-time control.

Challenges: The main challenges involved ensuring smooth transitions between color detection and obstacle avoidance, as well as optimizing the communication protocol to reduce latency.

Video Demonstration

Below is a spot to embed a video demonstrating the robot in action: