Automated Robotic Vehicle Steering System
Power
One of the requirements of the steering system is universal, so the team should design that the steering system is available to use independent battery such as the Kubota battery, which is 12V, or external battery. Purchasing the 24V motor from MIDWEST MOTION PRODUCT, the team needs the 12V-24V dc/dc converter. On the Figure 1 as shown below, the first two wires from the top are input, which is connected to 12V. The Next two wires are connected to controller.
Figure 1: 12V-24V dc/dc converter
The team used 16 gauge wires for input of the converter. But the wires used in the input were overheated. So the team obtained 6 gauge wires for the input. They were enough thick to handle the current from the 12V battery.The team tried to test the motor with 12V battery from Senior Design Room. The 12V battery was connected to 12V-24V dc/dc converter, then the controller was connected to output of the converter. After preliminary testing in Senior Design Room demonstrated correct functionality, design was placed in Kubota for final testing. The steering system was initially tested while Kubota was running and stationary. After proper functionality was verified, the steering system was then tested while the Kubota was in motion.
Appendix
In the future, the cars would be changed to unmanned vehicles, which means a vehicle without a person. It can be remote controlled or remote guided vehicle. The automated steering the team designed is the first step of the unmanned vehicle. This vehicle can help the accident to be reduced. It can make the road faster, if everybody rides the unmanned vehicles. Using unmanned vehicles, people, children, and disabled people can go anywhere easily. Also it can help people drunken to go back home with safety.
Doing this project, I learned what the teamwork is for the project and what the engineering design process is. Since we had 4 people group, we had to use the step of the engineering design process. I learned how we work well together, which means that we listen to and respect all ideas in the brainstorming session. With the democratic decision, we focused on how to improve and extending the ideas. When we chose the final design from the brainstorming session, we still had the design failures. Then we went to the ECE shop to revise our design. They helped to solve our problems from mechanical engineering stuff. Then we could finish our project successfully.