Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education

Faculty for High Quality Training

Automation and Control Engineering Technology

Line Following Robot

STUDENT REPORT

Supervisor
Assoc.Prof Le My Ha
Submitted by
Le Tran Vu Hoang
Nguyen Quoc Vinh
La Gia Bao
Hoang Duong
Trinh Nguyen Anh Hao

January 6th, 2021

Contents

Abstract ii

List of Figures iii

List of Tables iv

Assignment of work v

1 Overview 1
1.1 Introducing of line following robot . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Objective of Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 General operating principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.4 Application of line following robot . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

2 Hardware design and software design 4

2.1 Hardware design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1.1 Idea frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1.2 Select electronic appliances . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.1.3 Cost estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.1.4 Circuit Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.2 Software design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2.1 A algorithm idea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2.2 Working principle of Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2.3 Working principle of Line following robot . . . . . 12
2.2.4 Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3 Results 18
3.1 Robot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

1
 3.2 Running results and review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.2.1 Running results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.2.2 Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

4 Discussion 20
4.1 Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.2 Disadvantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.3 Future work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

5 Reference 21

i
Abstract

In this project, we develop the line following robot. Module L298N is chosen as the main

controller.Arduino uno R3 is the brain which control the robot.We use Closed Loop control

and PID control for this project.Dynamic PID control algorithm has been proposed to improve

the navigation reliability of the wheeled mobile robot which uses differential drive locomotion

system. The experimental results show that the dynamic PID algorithm can be performed

under the system real-time requirements.

ii
List of Figures

2.1 Line following car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.2 Arduino Uno R3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.3 Module L298N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.4 Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.5 Motor V1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2.6 Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.7 Li-po battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.8 Block diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2.9 Working principle of sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

2.10 Working principle of line following robot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3.1 Our line following car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

iii
List of Tables

2.1 Parameter of Arduino Uno R3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.2 Parameter of module L298N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.3 Parameter of sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.4 Parameter of motor V1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2.5 Parameter of Wheel V1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2.6 Parameter of li-po battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.7 Details of Price of components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

2.8 Table of Circuit Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

iv
Assignment of work

Member Private work Work in pairs Work together

Nguyen Quoc Vinh Write code Present, write report

La Gia Bao and complete it Discuss report

Le Tran Vu Hoang Design in Solidworks by using LaTex and

Trinh Nguyen Anh Hao Design PowerPoint assemble hardware

Hoang Duong Buying electronic appliance

v
Chapter 1

Overview

1.1 Introducing of line following robot

Automation is a combination of many fields such as mechanics, control, information tech-

nology and mechatronics. These fields come together into systems that automate and, more-

over, automate the entire manufacturing process. Automation companies play an increasingly

important and essential role to meet economic development goals, especially in today’s fast-

moving work process. It asks a highly qualified human resource to operate. In the world

today, there are many types of robots: Large-scale such as: Machine arms in production lines,

automatic production systems. In addition are robots capable of moving, doing dangerous

jobs to replace humans, robots to help the elderly, sales robots ... etc. In this project I do the

line of detection robots, compared to the above robots. Just a small, simple robot, but this

is the foundation for me to make air conditioners, more useful in the process of learning and

doing of me after this. A line follower robot is basically a robot designed to follow a line or

path already pre determined by the user. This line or path may be as simple as a physical black

straight line on the floor or complex line: circle, the round number eight,zigzag... In order to

detect these lines, we use sensor system, it can be individual sensors connected together or

expansive vision systems with many sensors .The choice of these schemes is the key to decide

the speed, the accuracy in line detection.

1
1.2 Objective of Study

We looked up reference on the internet. And they did complete this project better than us. We

tried to do a robot must be capable of following a line:

• The robot must be capable of following a line.

• It must be multitasking ,should be capable of taking various degrees of turns.

• The robot must also be capable of following a line even if it has breaks.

• It must allow calibration of the line’s darkness threshold

• The robot must be insensitive to environmental factors such as lighting and noise.

1.3 General operating principles

The robot moves in a predetermined trajectory thanks to a guide, the two-wheel system is

driven by two DC electric motors through a control circuit and a power circuit. Often the

guides will have a different color from the background color of the moving trajectory. In

order for the robot to move on the right orbit, it is necessary to have a sensor, which is re-

sponsible for distinguishing the guide line and the background color of the moving trajectory.

In order for the robot to move in the right trajectory, it is necessary to have a sensor, which

is responsible for distinguishing the guide line and the background color, bringing the corre-

sponding electrical signal to the control circuit. The control circuit is responsible for receiving

feedback from the sensor, thereby controlling the speed and direction of rotation of two DC

electric motors so that the car always sticks and moves according to the guide.[1]

1.4 Application of line following robot

It is applied in technology detection lines such as automatic movement during transportation.

From the industrial point of view, line following robot has been implemented in semi to fully

autonomous plants. In this environment, these robots functions as materials carrier to deliver

products from one manufacturing point to another where rail, conveyor and gantry solutions

2
are not possible. Apart from line following capabilities, these robots should also have the ca-

pability to navigate junctions and decide on which junction to turn and which junction ignore.

This would require the robot to have 90 degree turn and also junction counting capabilities.

To add on to the complexity of the problem, sensor positioning also plays a role in optimizing

the robots performance for the tasks mentioned earlier. Line-following robots with pick- and-

placement capabilities are commonly used in manufacturing plants. These move on a speci-

fied path to pick the components from specified locations and place them on desired locations.

The control principle is still inertia, but the robot path is detected

3
Chapter 2

Hardware design and software design

2.1 Hardware design

2.1.1 Idea frame

In this project, we had a lot of ideas such as buying frame or designing a new frame. Then

we decided to make a new frame. We used Solidworks to do that. The first, we thought about

using screw to connect electronic appliances but it took a lot of time. So we decided use glue

to connect them. Because it’s very convenient and simple. We have referenced but we used

module L298N and Arduino Uno R3 so we can’t stack it. We designed a long frame to put

on electronic appliances. During the process, we had a problem. We forgot about position of

the sensor. To repair it, we used Solidworks to design two plates mica. And then, we used

glue to connect sensor with frame. Because we used a long frame so two wheels were not

unbalanced, so we used multi-purpose wheel to balance.

Figure 2.1: Line following car

4
2.1.2 Select electronic appliances
Arduino

Nowadays, we have many Arduino such as Arduino Mega R3, Arduino nano V3, Arduino

Leonardo,. . . but in this project we choose Arduino Uno R3.Uno is a great option. It has

many feature which we need for this project.

Table 2.1: Parameter of Arduino Uno R3

Microcontrollers ATmega328
Operating volt-age 5v
Operating frequency 16 MHz
Consumption stream 30mA
Recommended input voltage 7-12V - DC
Input voltage limit 6-20V - DC
Digital I/O pin number 14 (6 pins PWM)
Analog pin number 6 (10bit resolution)
Maximum current per I/O pin 30mA
Maximum out-put current (5V) 500mA
Maximum out-put current (3.3V) 50mA
Flash memory 32KB (ATmega328) with 0,5kb used by the bootloader
SRAM 2KB (ATmega328)
EEPROM 1KB (ATmega328)

This is a picture which we used Solidworks to draw model Arduino Uno R3

Figure 2.2: Arduino Uno R3

5
Module L298N

Module L298N can control 2 DC motors or 1 stepper motor. Because we used two wheels so

we need 4 holes located at 4 corners and L298N provided it for us. It is very convenient for

us. And we know there is an anti-heat heatsink for the IC, helping the IC to control the peak

current of 2A The L298N IC is attached to the on-board diodes to help protect the micropro-

cessor against the induced currents from starting or turning off the engine. It is very useful

Table 2.2: Parameter of module L298N

Driver L298N integration of two H-bridge circuits

Control voltage +5V ∼+12V
Maximum current per H bridge 2A
The voltage of the control signal +5V ∼7V
Line of control signals 0 ∼36Ma
Power dissipation 20W (when temperature T = 75 ° C)
Storage temperatures -25 ° C ∼+130

This is a picture which we used Solidworks to draw model L298N

Figure 2.3: Module L298N

6
Sensor

We decided used 5 sensors. We began with TCRT5000 but it is difficult because one TCRT5000

has one sensor. Then we used The 5-leds bar line detector. It is very convenient. It is designed

to detect black and white lines. On the sensor bar there are 5 infrared sensors pointing to the

ground to detect the line.

Table 2.3: Parameter of sensor

Operating voltage 3.3V ∼5V

Detection distance 0.5mm ∼40mm
Size 128 x 45 x 12mm
Sensor 5 line detection sensors

This is a picture which we used Solidworks to draw model sensor

Figure 2.4: Sensor

7
Motor

We discussed between motor V1 and motor GA25 12V620RPM. Motor GA25 12V620RPM

make from metal so it is better than motor V1 but it is more expensive than motor V1. We

reference on the internet and motor V1 is not bad. It is very suitable for this project. So we

decided to use motor V1 because this line following car is simple.

Table 2.4: Parameter of motor V1

Operating voltage 3 - 9VDC

Electrical current consumption 110 ∼140mA
Transmission ratio 1:48
When 3VDC 125 rotations / minute
When 5VDC 208 rotations / minute
Moment 0.8 KG.CM

This is a picture which we used Solidworks to draw model Motor

Figure 2.5: Motor V1

Wheel

In this project, we used 2 types: wheel V1 and multi-purpose wheel. Because our design

needs from 3 wheels to 4 wheels to balance so we used 3 wheels. If we used 4 wheels V1, it

would be difficult to code. Using 3 wheels is easy. It is the same as 2 wheels.

Table 2.5: Parameter of Wheel V1

Diameter of wheel 66mm

Tire thickness 6.5mm
Width wheels 27mm
Axle of vehicle 5mm
Width vacant of axle 3.66m

8
 These are two picture which we used Solidworks to draw model wheel

(a) Wheel V1 (b) Multi-purpose wheel

Figure 2.6: Wheel

Battery

According assistant Mr. Cuong, Li – po battery ( lithium polymer battery ) is very good. They

are light weight and have improved safety. It can refresh so we just buy one time. We used 2

batteries for this project.

Table 2.6: Parameter of li-po battery

Voltage 3.7V
Capacity 500mAh
Size 50 x 30 x 3.5mm

This is a picture which we used Solidworks to draw model battery

Figure 2.7: Li-po battery

9
2.1.3 Cost estimation

The details of price of components used in project is given below

Table 2.7: Details of Price of components

S.N Particulars Quantum Rate per item (VND) Total (VND)

1 Arduino Uno R3 1 100.000 100.000
2 Module L298N 1 27.000 27.000
3 Sensor 1 52.000 52.000
4 Wheel V1 2 7.000 14.000
5 Multi-purpose wheel 1 15.000 15.000
6 Motor V1 2 10.000 20.000
7 Li-po battery 2 40.000 80.000
8 Wires 20 300 6000
9 Frame 1 25.000 25.000
Total 393.000

2.1.4 Circuit Diagram

We reference on the internet and then we assembled electronic appliances completely. This is

our circuit diagram.

Table 2.8: Table of Circuit Diagram

Arduino L298N Sensor

6 ENA
7 IN1
8 IN2
9 IN3
10 IN4
11 ENB
A0 S1
A1 S2
A2 S3
A3 S4
A4 S5
VCC VCC
GND GND

10
2.2 Software design
2.2.1 A algorithm idea

When the vehicle is operating, the sensor will collect information and convert it into an elec-

trical signal to the microcontroller. The received value will be compared with the preset value.

Based on the value of the sensor sent, determine the relative deviation between the orbit of the

robot and the desired trajectory, then compare that deviation into levels. Based on the devia-

tion levels, adjust the speed of the left and right wheels to return the robot to the fund religion.

Specifically, to turn left the robot’s right wheel speed is one value faster than the left one

correspond to the deviation levels (need to test many times), and vice versa. This method is

simple, but the robot runs unstable, sometimes very fast, sometimes slowly, Stability is highly

dependent on the robot’s motor and mechanical construction. To overcome this drawback, by

applying a position controller PID mind robot

Figure 2.8: Block diagram

11
2.2.2 Working principle of Sensor

One sensor head will emit infrared rays. If there are no obstacles, the infrared will continue.

The other end is the receiver that won’t get anything, it will return -1. In the case of an

obstacle, the infrared rays are reflected back, the receiver will obtain and return the value

0. In the case of a dark surface, the infrared rays will absorb all the returned infrared rays.

enough so the receiver returns 1.

(a) Principle sensor (b) Value sensor

Figure 2.9: Working principle of sensor

2.2.3 Working principle of Line following robot

If line is centered in front of robot, line following robot goes forward. When the center sensor

is high and the remaining sensor is low the center sensor is will always be on the line and as

line is black in color.

If line is right of center, the robot turns right. When the right sensor is high, the remaining

sensor is low and the center sensor is will always be on the line and as line is black in color.

If no line is detected, circle unit is found

12
If line is left of center, beside of the robot, it turns left. When the left sensor is high and the

remaining sensor is low the center sensor is will always be on the line and as line is black in

color.

Figure 2.10: Working principle of line following robot

2.2.4 Code

float Kp = 40, Ki = 0, Kd =160;

float error = 0, P = 0 , I = 0 , D = 0, PID_value = 0;

float previous_error = 0;

int sensor[6] = {0, 0, 0, 0, 0};

int gia_tri_ban_dau = 150;

int PID_phai, PID_trai;

#define In1 7

#define In2 8

#define In3 9

#define In4 10

#define ENA 6

13
#define ENB 11

void read_sensor_values(void); // doc gia tri cam bien

void calculate_pid(void); // tinh PID

void motor_control(void); // kiem soat dong co

void dung();

void chay_thang();

void setup()

pinMode (ENA, OUTPUT);

pinMode (ENB, OUTPUT);

pinMode (In1, OUTPUT);

pinMode (In2, OUTPUT);

pinMode (In3, OUTPUT);

pinMode (In4, OUTPUT);

Serial.begin(9600);

void loop()

read_sensor_values();

14
calculate_pid();

motor_control();

void read_sensor_values()

{ sensor[1] = digitalRead(A0);

sensor[2] = digitalRead(A1);

sensor[3] = digitalRead(A2);

sensor[4] = digitalRead(A3);

sensor[5] = digitalRead(A4);

if (( sensor[1] == 0) && (sensor[2] == 0)

&& (sensor[3] == 0) && (sensor[4] == 0) && (sensor[5] == 1)) // trai

error = -4;

else if (( sensor[1] == 0) && (sensor[2] == 0)

&& (sensor[3] == 0) &&

(sensor[4] == 1) && (sensor[5] == 1))

error = -3;

else if (( sensor[1] == 0) && (sensor[2] == 0) && (sensor[3] == 1)

&& (sensor[4] == 1)

&& (sensor[5] == 1))

error = -2;

else if (( sensor[1] == 0) && (sensor[2] == 0) && (sensor[3] == 1)

15
&& (sensor[4] == 1) && (sensor[5] == 0))

error = -1;

else if (( sensor[1] == 0) && (sensor[2] == 0) && (sensor[3] == 1) &&

(sensor[4] == 0) && (sensor[5] == 0)) // giua line

error = 0;

else if (( sensor[1] == 0) && (sensor[2] == 1)

&& (sensor[3] == 1) && (sensor[4] == 0)

&& (sensor[5] == 0)) error = 1;

else if (( sensor[1] == 1) && (sensor[2] == 1)

&& (sensor[3] == 1) && (sensor[4] == 0) && (sensor[5] == 0))

error = 2;

else if (( sensor[1] == 1) && (sensor[2] == 1)

&& (sensor[3] == 0) && (sensor[4] == 0) && (sensor[5] == 0))

error = 3;

else if (( sensor[1] == 1) && (sensor[2] == 0)

&& (sensor[3] == 0) && (sensor[4] == 0) && (sensor[5] == 0))

error = 4;

void calculate_pid()

P = error;

I = I + error; // sai so truoc do cong sai so hien tai

D = error - previous_error; // sai so hien tai tru sai so truoc do

PID_value = (Kp * P) + (Ki * I) + (Kd * D);

previous_error = error;

16
}

void motor_control()

digitalWrite(In1, LOW);

digitalWrite(In2, HIGH);

digitalWrite(In3, LOW);

digitalWrite(In4, HIGH);

PID_phai = gia_tri_ban_dau + PID_value;

PID_trai = gia_tri_ban_dau - PID_value;

PID_phai = constrain(gia_tri_ban_dau - PID_value, 0, 170);

PID_trai = constrain(gia_tri_ban_dau + PID_value, 0, 170);

analogWrite(ENA, PID_phai);

analogWrite(ENB, PID_trai);

17
Chapter 3

Results

3.1 Robot

Although there are many controversies and disagreements, we did completely this project.

Robot completed on schedule. Rugged and safe hardware during heavy travel. The circuit

inspection part still had errors, but was promptly corrected. During the project, we had 2 trou-

bles. Firstly,when finished assembling the parts together and loading the code. The car was

on, but the wheels were not working. Secondly, Vehicle was not stable, has much fluctuation.

But we fixed it. The idea of making a hybrid robot car was inspired by the team from F1

racing. And we did it complete. Many groups in class buy frame in the store but we designed

it. We can control speed by using code.

Figure 3.1: Our line following car

18
3.2 Running results and review
3.2.1 Running results

We used black electrical tape to test the robot.The result is that divine into two parts.Before

using the PID control, the car moved unstable and sometimes ran out of the line. When

we tested on the circle road, the car can’t follow line.Then we tested on the straight road,

it ran but it didn’t run straightly. After using PID control the robot runs on the black road,

runs according to the required algorithm, completes the task well. Demonstrates the fully

automatic ability of the robot tracing model. It runs better than before. It can run straightly

on the straight road. If we didn’t use PID control, the car still follow line but it is very slow.

It is not good for race.

3.2.2 Review

Complicated circuit design, assembly, and repair process takes a lot of time. We had many

troubles. Many times, we didn’t know we wrong until the car didn’t operate. And we didn’t

know why we wrong? And thanks to tutor Mr. Cuong, we fixed it. We used PID control for

the code. Adjusting PID parameters still takes a long time due to manual change of numbers

(test many times). We tried to understand nature of PID control but we couldn’t understand.

So we don’t reach desired values. Because of reason so the car is not perfect. And our design

is not beautiful. Our code is not good.The car ran badly on the circle road.

19
Chapter 4

Discussion

4.1 Advantage

We learned a lot of things when we did completely this project. We knew how to use Solid-

works to simulate electronic appliances, use LaTeX to write report, use program Arduino IDE

to code and skill teamwork. About the car, we know how to assemble it. We know about write

basic code Arduino. My frame of car is different many groups.The car has followed the line.

This is the first time, we have had a model which we did by hand. And special, we know how

to real teamwork.

4.2 Disadvantage

Our design is not really beautiful. The car is still unstable, still slightly shaking. The speed of

the car is not fast. During the assembly process, there are still many errors leading to many

changes compared to the intended. Teamwork still has many problems, leading to poor work.

4.3 Future work

In the future, we will make frame better than it. We will improve code to make the robot

smarter, follow line better, more stable and run fast. We will try to add more function when

the robot is stability. Following line is very important. We can develop it to make highly

application robots. And we will improve skills about code and teamwork.

20
Chapter 5

Reference

Bibliography

[1] Chu Quang Thao - Trinh Tai Tuan - Phan Cao Khanh, Report about line following robot

with PID control, in: Institute of Military Technology, 4, Slideshare- Education, 2015

[2] Bac Tho Ho, Instruction about line following robot with PID, Part

2, 2018, in Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

fbclid=IwAR2CsVMciYk6WYGPg-7myLxzFQSRB5O2CKpT0_

uyMbeVEWqj92b856suEDE&v=l3uJ-5UvjE4&feature=youtu.be

[3] Sujeet Kumar Jha - Saurab Dulal - Manish Karn - Ahmed Raja Khan, Report line fol-

lowing Robot, in: KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY, 2016

[4] ANUSHA, How to make Arduino line followe robot, in: Elec-

tronics Hub,20/5/2017, https://www.electronicshub.org/

arduino-line-follower-robot/

[5] Do Choi STEM, 32 Xe do line - Khoa hcc Xe robot lap trinh arduino, in: Youtube,

31/12/2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcpMSw-y81g&t=194s

[6] Khin Khin Saw - Lae Yin Mon, Design and Construction of Line Following Robot us-

ing Arduino, in: International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development

(IJTSRD), 940-941, 2019

[7] https://icdayroi.com/

21