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Showing posts from March, 2024

Autonomous Barrel Collecting

We decided to tackle the Eco-Disaster Challenge autonomously using a Raspberry Pi camera and the  OpenCV library for image processing. First we calibrate for the different colours the colour needs to recognise. Next, the  script initialises the robot's control interface, stops the robot, and sets the operational mode. Camera configuration is set up, including preview format and size. Main Loop: The main loop captures images from the camera and analyzes them to detect objects of interest based on calibrated colors. It alternates between searching for red/yellow and green/blue objects. It moves the robot towards the detected object and performs specific actions (like grabbing or placing) depending on the mode. Movement Control: move_towards: Moves the robot towards the detected object, adjusting its trajectory based on colour detection and distance. Colour Detection: The method begins by capturing an image from the camera using self.take_photo(picam). The image is processed to d...

Line Following

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     One of the challenges in PiWars 2024 is 'Lava Palava' which is an autonomous challenge.      The aim of the challenge is to drive from one end of the course to the other as fast as possible, outrunning the lava flows from a volcanic eruption. We are doing this by following the white line on the course. This is how our code works: initialises the camera at a size of 84*64 pixels takes a photo turns the photo greyscale splits the photo into 10 segments turns the robot towards the average brightest segment When we first tested this, it worked well with minimal tweaking. However, when we swapped out the old motors for more powerful ones, we found the the robot was turning much too fast, though this was easily fixed, despite the mad dashes for escape!

Design and Creation

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To be as flexible as possible with what we wanted our robot to look like throughout the making process, we decided to custom  design and 3D print our entire chassis. We designed everything in CAD, with the help of our mentor, from the base-board and motor-brackets to the artistic car-like cover. We were particularly proud of the headlights shape, as it came out really well and is a small, but important part of selling the land rover look.