Book Image

Learn Robotics Programming

By : Danny Staple
Book Image

Learn Robotics Programming

By: Danny Staple

Overview of this book

We live in an age where the most difficult human tasks are now automated. Smart and intelligent robots, which will perform different tasks precisely and efficiently, are the requirement of the hour. A combination of Raspberry Pi and Python works perfectly when making these kinds of robots. Learn Robotics Programming starts by introducing you to the basic structure of a robot, along with how to plan, build, and program it. As you make your way through the book, you will gradually progress to adding different outputs and sensors, learning new building skills, and writing code for interesting behaviors with sensors. You’ll also be able to update your robot, and set up web, phone, and Wi-Fi connectivity in order to control it. By the end of the book, you will have built a clever robot that can perform basic artificial intelligence (AI) operations.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)

Painting the test track

To test our sensors and our code, you will need a test track. A test track for line-following needs to be a thick, continuous line, in a loop. It must not have any sharp turns and it's probably best it doesn't cross anywhere. Curving bends are good.

The thickness should be around 15 mm. The more consistent this is, the easier it will be for your robot—my own has a few curves that are too thick! Beware of this. This needs to be as close to a solid consistent black as you can manage. The contrast here is important. Any gaps may cause the robot to misbehave. The line should ideally be matte black, that is, not shiny as, if it's too shiny, it will still reflect enough light to be treated as white.

The next photo shows you how to draw or paint a test track:

Drawing the test track

In the previous photo, I've started by making two outlines...