Brandon Schiff
Jason Scott
Jared Milburn

Comprised of one mechanical and two
computer engineers

Construct vehicle to navigate through an
obstacle course by GPS Waypoints

Improving previous model

Compete in the 22nd Annual IGVC

IGVC

Frame Design

Electronics

Alogrithm Design

Future Plans

Budget







The 22nd Annual Intelligent Ground Vehicle
Competition
Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan
June 6 – June 9, 2014
Ground Vehicle
Autonomous
Qualification
Basic and Advance Courses


Size
◦ Length – 3ft-7ft
◦ Width – 2ft-4ft
◦ Height – Under 6ft
Speed
◦ Average – 1 mph
◦ Minimum – 1 mph
◦ Maximum – 10 mph




Propulsion
Emergency Stop
◦ Wireless
◦ Mechanical
Safety Light
Payload
◦ 18” x 8” x 8”
◦ 20 Pounds

Grass with Dashed Lines

Natural and Manmade Objects

Waypoints

Colored Flags

Fencing

Previous Frame

Stress Analysis

Compliance with IGVC Rules

Material Used
Analysis of previous team’s frame:
Left and right:
deformation
caused by load
and laser range
finder
IGVC Spec.
Dimensio
n
Length
Width
Height
TCNJ Autonomous
Vehicle
3’ 2.5”
2’ 2”
3’ 6”
• Still the best design iteration
• Functional design
• Cons have simple solutions
• Allows focus to be shifted to ensuring
vehicle is fully operational
• Blue Loctite used to lock bolts in place
IGVC
Specifications
3’ - 7’
2’ – 5’
Max: 6’
Material
6105 T5 Aluminum
Fractional T-slotted bars
Product Number: 1010
Cross Sectional Dim.: 1.00” x 1.00”
E = 10,000ksi
ν = 0.33
Reasoning:
• Budget Friendly
• Lightweight
• Machinable
• Modular
Electronics Overview



Allows the vehicle to
be aware of it’s
environment and
location
Powered by two
separate on-board
batteries or laptop.
Laptop used for data
processing of
electrical
components
Manual E-Stop
Button
12 Volt
Battery
Relay
Wireless E-Stop
Button
Motor Controller
Microcontroller
Motor
Motor
Optical Encoder
Optical Encoder



Four Wheels, Two Wheel Drive
NPC-42150 Motors
◦
◦
◦
◦
DC Motors
Torque - 100 Psi
93 Rpm
Previous Years
◦
◦
◦
◦
Model – Sabertooth 2x25 V2
Controls both motors
Controlled through serial ports
Previous Years
Motor Controller


Measure Wheel Speed
Optical Encoder
◦ Attached to gear shaped Disk
◦ LED Light
◦ Voltage Pulses
Voltage
∆ 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠
1
1 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒 3600 𝑠
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑝ℎ =
∗
∗ 𝐷𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑡 ∗
∗
∆ 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 (𝑠) # 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠
5280 𝑓𝑡
1 ℎ𝑟
No Tooth
Tooth

Used to navigate vehicle to given GPS location

Data sent via serial connection to Arduino
port

Used in accordance with magnetometer
Digital Compass

Reads current vehicle orientation

Digital as opposed to analog compass

Accompanies GPS system

Arduino serial connection and power




Used to feed real time images of the course
to our laptop
Primarily focused on line detection as
opposed to object detection
Filters out unnecessary visual information
through applying masks and focuses only on
discovering white lines
Recognition of white lines fed into path
planning algorithm
Laser Range Finder




Short range laser used for object detection
Properties
Data sent via RS232-to-USB connection with
laptop
Output



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Laser Range Finder/GPS operating on two 12V
batteries
Compass/Webcam/Warning Light/Motors and
Motor Controller running on 12V
Sensors and vehicle operations communicates
with Arduino Mega
Software-processing laptop sends and
receives data with Arduino

Arduino Mega

Outputs 3.3V and <50mA

Powered and communicates with laptop via
USB

Arduino IDE
Caution
Light
GPS
Microcontroller
Laser
Range
Finder
Camera
Laser Range
Finder
Software
Compass
Communication
Hub
Arduino
Software
RC and RC
Controller
D* Lite
Motors
- Software
Camera
Software
C++
(Eclipse IDE)
- Hardware Components
- Arduino
- Laptop



Algorithms for the autonomous vehicle need
to be robust and simple
Navigation and Path Planning algorithms are
required for optimal performance
Navigation algorithm relies on utilizing the
capabilities of the GPS and Compass while the
Path Planning algorithm relies on the webcam
and laser range finder

Determines the vehicle’s current position,
maintains a list of waypoints, and keeps track
of the vehicle’s progress

GPS must accurately determine and report the
vehicle’s latitude and longitude

Compass must give the vehicle’s current
heading

Going to use D* Lite path planning

D* is an assumption based algorithm useful
for when a robot needs to navigate to a given
goal in unknown terrain

D* Lite works with the same functionality as
D*, but it is simpler to understand and easier
to execute

Previously
◦
◦
◦
◦

Matlab
Microsoft Visual Studio
Open CSV
Arduino IDE
Now
◦ Eclipse C++ Language IDE
◦ AVR-GCC Compiler
◦ AVRdude

Reproduce all MATLAB code in C++

Testing of C++ code

Write path planning and navigation
algorithms

Final program formulated using Microsoft
Visual Studio and OpenCV




Frame covering
Full electrical system finalized, connected,
and run simutaneously
RC controller configuration and testing
New coding, testing and debugging

Spring
◦ Finalize Frame and Drive Train
◦ Path Planning Components Working in Sequence
◦ Debugging and Testing

Summer
◦ Final Testing and Preparation for IGVC
Budget
Total Price
Mechanical
$100.00
Electrical
$122.90
Travel
$1136.00
Total
$1358.90

Dr. Jennifer Wang

Dr. Orlando J. Hernandez

Mr. Joseph Zanetti

Dr. Steven Schreiner
◦ Advisor – Professor of Mechanical Engineering – The
College of New Jersey
◦ Advisor – Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
– The College of New Jersey
◦ Professional Services Specialist – School of Engineering –
The College of New Jersey
◦ Dean of the School of Engineering – The College of New
Jersey

New Jersey Autonomous Vehicle
◦ Jason Scott
◦ Jared Milburn
◦ Jonathan Sayre