Engineering Requirements
Marketing
Requirement(s)
Motors of vehicle shall be powerful
enough to maintain an average speed over
1 mph over the course
1,3
1, 9, 10
1,2
1,2,6
1, 4
1, 4,
1, 5
12
1, 8
1, 7, 11
1, 11
3, 10, 12
Justification
Competition specifies the
vehicle must maintain over
1mph on the first 44 ft and
average at least 1 mph upon
exiting the competition arena
The competition arena is
Vehicle traction platform shall navigate
held outside and specifies
grass-based, rugged terrains with up to
the incline shall not be, but
±15%
up to 15% grade
Dimensions of vehicle shall be constrained Specified by competition
rules
to:
width: 2 ft - 4 ft, length: 3 ft - 7 ft, height:
< 6 ft
According to the
The vehicle must be able to support any
competition rules, the
additional weight up to 20 pounds within
vehicle must be able to carry
18 in x 8 in 8 in
an additional payload while
navigating the course
The vehicle must be able to be cut off from Competition rules stipulate
a remote, wireless, hardware signal from a for safety to have the these
two forms of cutoff
minimum of 100 ft
Competition rules stipulate
The vehicle must be able to be safely
for safety to have the these
stopped on board using an obvious, red,
two forms of cutoff
hardware-controlled button
Competition rules stipulate
The vehicle shall have an on-board
an obvious visual to know
indicator that shows when the vehicle is
powered and when it is in an autonomous when operating
autonomously
mode
The vehicle shall use a GPS system
According to the
competition rules, GPS
waypoints will be given to
direct the vehicle’s course
The vehicle shall observe its environment According to the
in order to avoid obstacles when navigating competition rules, there are
penalties and time
deductions for hitting
obstacles
The vehicle shall detect white-colored lines According to the
outlining a path on entering the first phase competition rules, a white
line will be used to outline
of the course
the boundaries of the course
The vehicle shall detect a different of red
According to the
and blue-colored flags
competition rules, the
vehicle needs to recognize
colored flags to navigate
Practicality of charging in
Vehicle power storage shall be large
enough watt-hours to sustain at least 2 run field
throughs of the course without recharge
Abstract
The Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition is an annual event sponsored by the University of
Oakland. In order to compete in this national competition, teams are required to design and build
a fully autonomous vehicle that is capable of navigating an outdoor course including GPS
waypoints, lanes, marker flags, and obstacles. Our proposed design will make use of multiple
sensors to capture an image of its surroundings. This image will be processed and the optimal
path of the vehicle will be calculated and taken avoiding all obstacles. The University of Akron
has attended this competition in the past but the vehicle designs used have failed. With our
proposed design, we hope to not only be more competitive in the field but also provide a suitable
platform for future teams to improve and expand on.
Theory of Operation
The vehicle is to make its way towards a goal. In order to
perform this feat, it must plan which path it will take. This path
will be determined by processing an image for color paths and
Lidar for depth detection to make a combined map of
waypoints to travel to and the best possible path to follow.
Given this path, the software will output variable voltages to
the two drive motors to control direction and velocity.
Hardware Block Diagram
Power
Power
Compass
Camera
Power
Power
Lidar
Antenna
GPS
Power
Power
Wireless Router
Batteries
PC
Autonomous
Indicator LED
Power Indicator
LED
Source: The 21st Annual Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition: Official Competition Rules. Pg. 9. http://www.igvc.org
Power
Wireless
Remote
E-Stop
Motor
Controllers
Motors
Software Block Diagram
Gregory Close, Electrical Engineering – Team Leader
Jeff Cutright, Computer Engineering – Software Manager
Kyle Gee, Computer Engineering – Co-Software Manager
Gino Rocco, Electrical Engineering – Archivist, Hardware Manager
• 2012-2013 Senior Design Capstone Project • Dr. Jay Adams, Faculty Advisor • Mr. Gregory A. Lewis, Senior Design Coordinator • Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering • College of Engineering • University of Akron •