Abstract

The shift to autonomy is a primary focus for producers moving forward. Researchers are finding ways to make driverless cars while battling energy consumption. Our team aims to design a small-scale autonomous car that reduces energy losses by keeping a constant speed.Scaling down the project is beneficial to our goals. We can more easily deal with challenges that are hard to test with a larger model. We can also replicate a real environment with software that interacts with the scaled car. This is called hardware-in-the-loop. Hardware-in-the-loop is a testing technique that reproduces different environments based on physical signals. We split the project into two sides. These include the mechanical side of the project and the vision side. The two large sides of the project were broken even further into four parts. Looking at smaller parts of our project allows us to analyze the more complex design. The four parts include object detection, path planning, the steering, and the motor. Our team focuses on the mechanical side of the project while a separate team focuses on the vision side. Communication with the vision team is important to the success of the project. The mechanical side includes a steering design that rotates to a set angle. The angle is provided by the vision team, to adjust the direction the car is heading. The mechanical side also includes a motor design working to propel the car forward. The design should work without actions from a user. The path for the car goes from the back entrance of the Aero-Propulsion, Mechatronics and Energy Building to the B side entrance of the College of Engineering. The project will be successful when an efficient power consumption is achieved. This will happen when less energy is lost from the car's movement.

Deliverables

Future Work

Contact Us