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- Newsgroups: sci.electronics
- Path: sparky!uunet!mcsun!Germany.EU.net!nixpbe!uranium!josef
- From: Josef Moellers <mollers.pad@sni.de>
- Subject: Re: Guided Vehicles
- Sender: josef@nixpbe.sni.de (Moellers)
- Message-ID: <josef.713714826@uranium>
- Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 14:07:06 GMT
- References: <kwilli.2@elaine.ee.und.ac.za>
- Organization: Siemens Nixdorf Info.Sys. AG, Paderborn, Germany
- Lines: 38
-
- In <kwilli.2@elaine.ee.und.ac.za> kwilli@elaine.ee.und.ac.za (KEVIN WILLIAMS : THIRD) writes:
-
- >I am currently investigating circuitry to provide automated guidance to a
- >model car by means of a wire taped to the floor carrying some high frequency
- >signal which is detected by sensors on the car. This is used to provide
- >steering information etc.
-
- >Does anyone know if this is the best way of doing this? If anyone has tried
- >this, I would really like to know about some of the problems or successes
- >you've had!
-
- I can think of two other ways:
-
- One is used by a German company that manufactures model building kits
- for model railroads, Faller. They use an iron (or any othe ferro-magnetic
- material) wire and a little magnet below the cars to do the steering. I
- think it is done completely mechanical.
-
- The other would be by using some contrast-coloring of the path and then
- use reflective opto-couplers. If the track is broad enough to reflect
- (or absorb) the light of two couplers, then two is enough (if the left
- one changes, it means You are heading too much to the left and vice
- versa). If the track is not broad enough, use three and try to keep the
- middle one on the track using the outer onse to detect which side You're
- heading.
-
- The last technique is used by robots on factory floors. It is robust
- enough to survive short defects in ths track. You can do splits by
- "telling" Your car to keep left/right if everything fails, You can use
- more-or-less small defects to convey information, etc.
-
- Using high-frequency might get You in trouble with FCC.
-
- >Thanks!!!
- --
- | Josef Moellers | c/o Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG |
- | USA: mollers.pad@sni-usa.com | Abt. STO-XS 113 | Riemekestrasse |
- | !USA: mollers.pad@sni.de | Phone: (+49) 5251 835124 | D-4790 Paderborn |
-