VOICE OPERATED AUTOPILOT ROBOTICS MINIATURE CAR WITH OBSTACLE AVOIDANCE AND MAP NAVIGATION

A Project Study Presented to the Faculty of Electronics Engineering Department Technological University of the Philippines College of Engineering

In partial Fulfillment of the Course Requirement for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering

Presented by: Daplas, Mark Janneil S. Del Hugo, Shena S. Flor, Debbie Ann P. Huerta, Sharjah Mae R. Lucas, Marie PetteAndrela M. Mercado, Mc Nichole O. Posadas, Justin Jules R.

July 2012

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The project, VOICE OPERATED AUTOPILOT ROBOTICS MINIATURE CAR WITH OBSTACLE AVOIDANCE AND MAP NAVIGATION, is a miniature car with enhanced controls and intelligence. It is designed to innovate the way of transportation with ease of access, improved security and a wider application.

A radio-controlled car will be used as the miniature vehicle. It will be controlled mainly by voice, but manual control using a specialized transmitter or remote control may be used anytime for emergency purposes. Commands such as go left, go right, forward, backward, and stop will serve as the main instructions. It will be sent to the car through a microphone which is wired to the circuit.The car will move according to the instruction given.

When an obstacle is present, the car will automatically stop and will continue to act in accordance to the command given only when the obstacle is removed.

Another feature in the project is the map navigation. This feature will also be controlled by voice; manual control is not available. The user will give command to the car by saying a certain part of the map. The car will automatically move until it arrived at the desired location.

CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

1.1 Introduction Humans first means of transportation were walking.The domestication of animals introduces a new way to lay the burden of transport on more powerful creatures, allowing heavier loads to be hauled, or humans to ride the animals for higher speed and duration. Inventions such as the wheel and sled helped make animal transport more efficient through the introduction of vehicles.Until the Industrial Revolution, transport remained slow and costly, and production and consumption were located as close to each other as feasible.Until such time comes that the development of the transportation changes rapidly. The invention of automobiles and airlines makes the transportation even faster and efficient.

Automobiles were utilized for transporting goods and passengersby land. Different variations of automobiles are widely used all over the world. The invention of automobiles is more accessible and less hassle to transfer from location A to location B especially when huge goods are involved.

The familiarity of a certain place is also important in using automobiles. People intend to ask direction from strangers or use a map when lost. The innovation of vehicles as days go by are getting more interesting and are also based on the latest technologies.

The new technologies nowadays for vehicles are increasingly more convenient and less hassle to use. A voice operated car with autopilot is manufactured and are widely used in other countries. The invention of this certain vehicle prevents accident than those with manual driving because it has speed limit and is capable of avoiding obstacle.

1.2 Background of the Study

The proponents came up with a decision to design a miniature car that will be controlled mainly by voice and manually when needed. Features like obstacle avoidance and map navigation will be added to enhance the mechanism. These added features, combined with the voice command, will result to a smart car.

1.3 Significance of the Study The proposal of this project is the innovation of the Automated Voice Based Home Navigation System for the elderly and the physically challenged which is only applicable at a certain establishment. The proponents come up with a challenging idea in which the scheme is to be applied outside the establishment.Voice Operated Autopilot Robotics Miniature Car with Obstacle Avoidance and Map Loader Navigation is one way to make the transportation easy and quick for people especially for those who are not familiar to a certain place. Some advantages of this projectis to less straying, less hassle and efficiency.

1.4 Objectives of the Study

General Objective: To create a smart miniature car using new existing technologies.

Specific Objectives: 1. To test the sensitivity of the voice activated and obstacle avoidance circuit. 2. To check the efficiency of the Voice automated autopilot robotics miniature car. 3. To harness and orient all information operations and influence related activities on how to get on your destination through the help of map loader.

1.5 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

In this project study, the proponents focus to design a prototype similar to the process of Voice Navigated and Autopilot Vehicles but with an application of obstacle avoidance and map loader. This study is conceptualized using a miniature car. It will take a while to distinguish a voice command. In line with that, it will also take some time to load the map and to distinguish the autopilot on where place to go. If the voice is not recognized, the voice recognition circuit will not interact with the map will result to a no action taken by the car. The voice recognition circuit has low memory since it is only a miniature. Tiny obstacles are most likely to be ignored.

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Related Studies

a. Voice Recognition Robotic Car

The project is intended to be used to aid disable people to perform their daily work. The device is composed of a microphone, a microcontroller, and a robotics car. The device is operated using voice commands. The frequency of the voice is then amplified to give a better response. The signal is then converted into a fingerprint. Fingerprints are used because the memory of the microcontroller used is limited. The fingerprint is compared to previously stored fingerprint templates. The output response of the car will depend on the comparison of the fingerprints. The cars response or movement is limited to the four directions: left, right, forward and backward plus a standby.

b. Voice Controlled Motorized Wheelchair with Real Time Obstacle Avoidance The devices goal is to assist a disabled person to move around independently, using a joystick and a voice recognition application which is interfaced with motors. It consists of a microcontroller, a camera, DC motors, a microphone, joystick and the wheelchair itself. The device is operated using voice recognition or joystick. The voice command is converted to text using the Microsoft speech SDK Speech Application Programming Interface. The computer will then compare the text to previously stored text templates with a known meaning. The

obstacle avoidance processing is done using MATLAB. The camera will serve as the input device in performing the technique. An appearance captured by the camera that is different from the ground will be considered as an obstacle.

c. Radio Controlled Voice Activated Car

The main purpose of this project is to perform voice commanding through wireless means. It uses voice controls, wireless remote control for manual controlling, ultrasonic sensors for protection, and various controls integrated into the system. The system is controlled mainly by voice commands. Manual control is used for emergency purposes. It has five pre-programmed movements: go, reverse, turn left, right and stop. Ultrasonic sensors are used to detect obstacles within one foot of range. It will automatically stop when obstacles are observed.

2.2 Relevance of the Present Studies

The project has a number of similarities to these related studies. Besides the usage ofa miniature car and voice command as the main medium of control,the previous studies generally aim to aid the elderly, as well as the disabled, when traveling to their destinations. The safety of the users is given huge importance by adding the obstacle avoidance feature. The availability of these previous studies is of significant importance for it allows space for improvement.

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Project Design and Development

Map Voice Command Converted into text Compare Left, Right, Forward, Backward, Stop Text templates

Ultrasonic sensor

Manual Control

Output Car

Figure 3.3The Project Block Diagram

The miniature car is controlled mainly by voice command. The command will be executed using a microphone which is connected to a microcontroller. The microcontroller will then translate the command and convert it to text. The commands text form will be compared to a list of stored text templates. When a match is detected, the microcontroller will decide if the command is of autopilot or one of the five main instructions namely: forward, backwards, go left, go right and stop. The car will then execute the command. When an obstacle is detected while the car is moving, it will automatically stop until the obstacle is cleared. Otherwise, it

will continue to execute the command until it arrived at the desired destination. The car can also be controlled manually if desired or during emergency.

3.2 Project Development

There are things to be considered in designing and constructing the project. Research is the most important thing to be accomplished before anything else. It will provide the proper knowledge regarding the principles associated in the project. The main goal of the project is to help and support people, especially the disabled, mainly in transporting from one point to another in an easy and user-friendly manner.

The title, before being finalized, went through a number of revisions, modifications and enhancements. This is to ensure the high percentage of achievability and to accomplish its best performance with the least possible percentage of error and less cost.