Choosing a Vehicle
Picking the right chassis shapes what your autonomous vehicle can actually do, from maneuverability to sensor placement. This practical guide walks through using RC platforms or custom builds, then compares steering styles, motor choices, suspension, battery types, sensors and control hardware so you can match parts to mission constraints. Read it to avoid common tradeoffs that wreck runtime or sensing performance.
A few uses for an autonomous vehicle
Autonomous vehicles are already changing how engineers think about reconnaissance, logistics, and rescue, from backpack UAVs to PackBots and DARPA convoy trials. This post surveys practical battlefield and civilian roles where small UGVs and UAVs excel, and calls out real operational limits such as fuel, canopy concealment, command-chain risks, and the potential for asymmetric counters and ethical trade-offs.
Basic Sensors for an Autonomous Vehicle
A compact primer on inexpensive sensors you can use to help a small autonomous vehicle sense its surroundings. The post walks through line follower modules, several switch types for bumpers, ultrasonic PING sensors and passive infrared units, with practical notes on mounting and common pitfalls like reversed pins and unreliable returns on rough surfaces.
Autonomous vehicle - design questions to ponder
Designing an autonomous or remotely controlled vehicle forces tradeoffs between purpose, environment, and terrain. This post lists practical questions to drive decisions about mission profile, ruggedization, power and data handling, sensing, and modularity so your robot survives and completes tasks. Engineers will get a concise checklist to provoke design choices and avoid common failure modes in real-world deployments.
Steering an autonomous vehicle - two basic ways
Choosing how a small autonomous vehicle turns changes its mechanics, controls and navigation. This post compares Ackerman steering, which uses pivoting front wheels for energy-efficient, low-slip driving suited to encoder-based dead-reckoning, with skid-steering, which relies on differential wheel speeds for simple zero-turn maneuvers but introduces tire slip and odometry challenges. Read to weigh stability, mechanical complexity and suitability for tight spaces.
A quick look at the Line Follower Vehicle
A line follower vehicle boils down to four parts: sensors, steering, chassis, and processing. This quick overview explains sensor counts and placement, the tradeoffs between Ackerman and skid-steer steering, and simple processing choices from comparators to an Arduino Uno. Read on for practical tips to pick sensors, arrange the chassis, and avoid common pitfalls when building or tuning a basic LFV.
Mounting plate for Arduino
While having a breadboard with your microcontroller is necessary, it is very cumbersome if the two aren't fastened together somehow. You can buy mounting plates, but I choose to make one.
Basic hand tools for electronics assembly
Though the software tools vary with different microcontrollers, many hardware tools are the same.
Troubleshooting notes from days past, TTL, Linear
Troubleshooting electronics is more about thinking than tools, yet details matter. This concise collection of technician notes condenses practical procedures and probe precautions, IC failure modes, digital logic diagnostics, and common power-supply traps. Drawn from classic guides by Frank R. Dungan and James Perozzo, it provides a methodical checklist to isolate faults faster and avoid costly mistakes when repairing embedded hardware.
Basic Sensors for an Autonomous Vehicle
A compact primer on inexpensive sensors you can use to help a small autonomous vehicle sense its surroundings. The post walks through line follower modules, several switch types for bumpers, ultrasonic PING sensors and passive infrared units, with practical notes on mounting and common pitfalls like reversed pins and unreliable returns on rough surfaces.
Autonomous vehicle - design questions to ponder
Designing an autonomous or remotely controlled vehicle forces tradeoffs between purpose, environment, and terrain. This post lists practical questions to drive decisions about mission profile, ruggedization, power and data handling, sensing, and modularity so your robot survives and completes tasks. Engineers will get a concise checklist to provoke design choices and avoid common failure modes in real-world deployments.
Obsolete? Yes. Still in use? Yes. How do you use it? Ummm...
Old technology refuses to die, and sometimes you must keep it running. This post looks at real-world examples from Voyager needing FORTRAN support to nuclear subs and hospitals still on Windows XP, and argues for practical preservation steps: digitize datasheets and manuals, back them up locally, document code thoroughly, and cross-train personnel. It explains why upgrades help, but why archives and training matter more for unreachable systems.
It ain't heavy, it's my robot...
For anyone building a man-portable unmanned ground vehicle this post collects practical design constraints and mission trade-offs engineers actually face. It summarizes weight and cost classes, locomotion options from throwables to wheeled skid-steers, sensor and camera requirements, power and battery strategies, communications range, and field-repair issues. Use it as a checklist to match platform choices to intended tasks and environments.
Mounting plate for Arduino
While having a breadboard with your microcontroller is necessary, it is very cumbersome if the two aren't fastened together somehow. You can buy mounting plates, but I choose to make one.
Servo Troubleshooting notes
Most noisy, jittery, or hot servos turn out to be mechanical or power issues, not mysterious failures. This short checklist lists common servo malfunctions, probable causes, and straightforward corrective actions, covering gear wear, potentiometer contamination, underpowered or overloaded servos, wiring and battery problems, and alignment faults. Keep it handy when troubleshooting hobby or small robotics servos to speed repairs and avoid further damage.
My little runaway...
A runaway vehicle is a lot less fun when it tips, rolls, or crashes off the bench, so a simple stand can save both time and parts. In this short post, the author shows a homemade storage and work stand built from leftover wood for 1/10 scale and smaller vehicles, with an eye toward stability, portability, and easy disassembly.
Choosing a Vehicle
Picking the right chassis shapes what your autonomous vehicle can actually do, from maneuverability to sensor placement. This practical guide walks through using RC platforms or custom builds, then compares steering styles, motor choices, suspension, battery types, sensors and control hardware so you can match parts to mission constraints. Read it to avoid common tradeoffs that wreck runtime or sensing performance.
Mounting plate for Arduino
While having a breadboard with your microcontroller is necessary, it is very cumbersome if the two aren't fastened together somehow. You can buy mounting plates, but I choose to make one.
It ain't heavy, it's my robot...
For anyone building a man-portable unmanned ground vehicle this post collects practical design constraints and mission trade-offs engineers actually face. It summarizes weight and cost classes, locomotion options from throwables to wheeled skid-steers, sensor and camera requirements, power and battery strategies, communications range, and field-repair issues. Use it as a checklist to match platform choices to intended tasks and environments.
A quick look at the Line Follower Vehicle
A line follower vehicle boils down to four parts: sensors, steering, chassis, and processing. This quick overview explains sensor counts and placement, the tradeoffs between Ackerman and skid-steer steering, and simple processing choices from comparators to an Arduino Uno. Read on for practical tips to pick sensors, arrange the chassis, and avoid common pitfalls when building or tuning a basic LFV.
A few uses for an autonomous vehicle
Autonomous vehicles are already changing how engineers think about reconnaissance, logistics, and rescue, from backpack UAVs to PackBots and DARPA convoy trials. This post surveys practical battlefield and civilian roles where small UGVs and UAVs excel, and calls out real operational limits such as fuel, canopy concealment, command-chain risks, and the potential for asymmetric counters and ethical trade-offs.
Autonomous vehicle - design questions to ponder
Designing an autonomous or remotely controlled vehicle forces tradeoffs between purpose, environment, and terrain. This post lists practical questions to drive decisions about mission profile, ruggedization, power and data handling, sensing, and modularity so your robot survives and completes tasks. Engineers will get a concise checklist to provoke design choices and avoid common failure modes in real-world deployments.
My little runaway...
A runaway vehicle is a lot less fun when it tips, rolls, or crashes off the bench, so a simple stand can save both time and parts. In this short post, the author shows a homemade storage and work stand built from leftover wood for 1/10 scale and smaller vehicles, with an eye toward stability, portability, and easy disassembly.
Servo Troubleshooting notes
Most noisy, jittery, or hot servos turn out to be mechanical or power issues, not mysterious failures. This short checklist lists common servo malfunctions, probable causes, and straightforward corrective actions, covering gear wear, potentiometer contamination, underpowered or overloaded servos, wiring and battery problems, and alignment faults. Keep it handy when troubleshooting hobby or small robotics servos to speed repairs and avoid further damage.
