GPS Rover

This project consists of a mobile robot vehicle which can be controlled using data from an onboard GPS unit and a remote laptop base station. The robot uses advanced communication mediums in order to control and monitor its movement. Although the robot itself has a limited use, the purpose of developing the vehicle is a proof of concept. The combined technology used in this project may lead to future development in the area of GPS navigation.

A GPS receiver is used to determine the current location of the robot. A wireless communications device with WiFi capability captures the GPS raw data from the receiver and transmits the data to a base station. Based on the GPS data readings, the base station calculates the direction the robot needs to travel in order to reach the final destination. The base station does not take into account the mechanical issues with the physical structure of the robot or the obstacles that may be in the way of the vehicle. The base station sends data and commands via wireless link to a microprocessor onboard the vehicle. The microprocessor controls the physical motion of the vehicle, taking into account the obstacles that may be in the way and adjusts the steering accordingly. There are always accuracy issues in any mechanical device. Some of the issues include wheel slippage, steering adjustments and speed of communication between mechanical and electrical devices. The microprocessor provides the control and speed to handle these mechanical problems and adjusts the robot’s motion accordingly.