ABSTRACT

Line Following is one of the most important aspects of robotics. A Line Following Robot is
an autonomous robot which is able to follow either a black line that is drawn on the surface
consisting of a contrasting color. It is designed to move automatically and follow the line.
The robot uses arrays of optical sensors to identify the line, thus assisting the robot to stay on
the track. The array of four sensor makes its movement precise and flexible. The robot is
driven by DC gear motors to control the movement of the wheels. The IC -741 Op-amp is
used as comparator to control motors, steering the robot to travel along the line smoothly.
This project aims to implement the algorithm and control the movement of the robot by
proper tuning of the control parameters and thus achieve better performance. It can be used
industrial automated equipment carriers, small household applications, tour guides in
museums and other similar applications, etc.
CHAPTER 1 Introduction

1.1 Overview
Line follower robot is a machine that can follow a path. The path can be visible like a black
line on a white surface. Sensing a line and maneuvering the robot to stay on course, while
constantly correcting wrong moves using feedback from the sensor forms a simple yet
effective system. It can be used in automobile, industrial automations, guidance, etc [1]. This
technique can be incorporated into the Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) for providing the
easy way of operation.

Generally, the AGV is integrated with the microprocessor and computers for controlling its
system. It also uses a position feedback system for traveling in the desired path. In addition,
the electric signals and RF communication are needed for communicating with the vehicle
and system controller. Such awkward functions are completely not required in this line
following robot, and it just uses the IR sensors to travel on the black lines.

Unlike room-exploration robots that often get stuck against chairs and carpet edges, you don’t
have to chase after a well-designed line-following robot. Most line-following robots have two
motors, two front sensors, and a basic electronic circuit for autonomous control. But, a great
thing about this type of robot is that it easy to make small changes for added complexity.
Simple improvement is to install the robot in a decorative container, along with colorful
LEDs. More advanced designs add various sensors and a programmable microcontroller for
faster speed, smoother turning, or maze-solving.

The history of robots has its origins in the ancient world. The modern concept began to be
developed with the onset of the Industrial Revolution which allowed for the use of complex
mechanics and the subsequent introduction of electricity. This made it possible to power
machines with small compact motors. In the early 20th century, the replica of a humanoid
machine was developed. Today, it is now possible to envisage human sized robots with the
capacity for near human thoughts and movement.

The first uses of modern robots were in factories as industrial robots – simple fixed machines
capable of manufacturing tasks which allowed production without the need for human
assistance. Digitally controlled industrial robots and robots making use of artificial
intelligence have been built since the 1960s.
A Robot is any machine which is completely automatic, i.e. it starts on its own, decides its
own way of work and stops on its own. It is actually a replica of human being, which has
been designed to ease human burden. It can be controlled pneumatically or using hydraulic
ways or using the simple electronic control ways. The first industrial robot was Unimates
built by George Devil and Joe Eagleburger in the late 50’s and early 60’s.

Line tracking is an autonomous robot which tracks either black line in white area or white
line in black area. Robot must be able to detect particular line and keep following it. For
special situations such as cross over’s where robot can have more than one path which can be
followed, predefined path must be followed by the robot. Line following is a task in which
robot has to follow the line. It must be capable of taking various degrees of turns to follow
the curved lines also. The Line following Robot moves to follow a line drawn on the floor.
This Robot tracks the black line which is drawn over the white surface .The line sensors are
used to sense the line. When the signal falls on the white surface, it gets reflected and if it
falls on the black surface, it is not reflected this principle is used to scan the Lines for the
Robot.

The Robot should be capable of taking various degrees of turns and must be insensitive to
environmental factors such as lighting and noise.

1.2 Motivation
How ants always travel in a line, following an invisible route in search of food, or back
home?. How on roads the lanes is followed to avoid accidents and traffic jams?. Ever thought
about a robot which follows line? A perfect or near perfect mimic of nature? After all the
purpose of robotics is to recreate in terms of machines what one see around to solve a
problem or fulfill a requirement.

The area will be benefitted from the project Industrial automated equipment carriers,
Entertainment and small household applications, Tour guides in museums and other similar
applications.
1.3 Problem Formulation
In the industry carriers are required to carry products from one manufacturing plant to another
which are usually in different buildings or separate blocks. Conventionally, carts or trucks
were used with human drivers. Unreliability and inefficiency in this part of the assembly line
formed the weakest link. The idea is to automate this sector, using carts to follow a line
instead of laying railway tracks which are both costly and an inconvenience.

1.4 Literature Survey

John Iovine [1],in this book various aspects of designing a Robot is described. It deals with
different types of Arm design, controlling techniques, vehicle design etc. ER. Rajput [5], in
this book the operation and control of robots is discussed. ARDUINO COOKBOOK [6], in
this book details and methods of interfacing hardware components such as DC motor, Servo
motor and RF Transmitter and Receiver is been discussed. The other references listed in the
references section discusses similar concepts in its various fields such as color identification
and segregation robot, robot for surveillance, pick and place robot controlled using android
etc.
In paper [2], The line follower is a self-operating robot that detects and follows a line that is
drawn on the floor .The line follower robot using Arduino is a self-operating system that
detects and follows track drawn on the floor. The track consists of a black path drawn on
white surface. Transistor circuits were used to drive the motors and LDR were used to sense
the path laid on the surface.

In Paper [3], The line following robot were built using feedback by using Arduino micro-
controller which may not be necessary for line following applications. As the usage of
controller makes the system complex and maintenance would be difficult to maintain.

1.5 Objective
To implement a low cost, robust, reliable and rigid line following robot which improves the
efficiency of operation in various industries.
1.6 Methodology

Regulated Dc Power Supply

IR Sensor 1 DC Motor 1

IC -741

L293D
(Op-Amp)

IR Sensor 2 DC Motor 2

Fig. 1.1 Block diagram of proposed concept

The above fig. 1 represents block diagram of proposed concept. Concept of working of line
follower is related to light. We use here the behavior of light at black and white surface.
When light fall on a white surface it is almost full reflected and in case of black surface light
is completely absorbed. This behavior of light is used in building a line follower robot.
In this line follower robot we have used IR Transmitters and IR receivers also called photo
diodes. They are used for sending and receiving light. IR transmits infrared lights. When
infrared rays falls on white surface, it’s reflected back and catch by photodiodes which
generates some voltage changes. When IR light falls on a black surface, light is absorb by the
black surface and no rays are reflected back, thus photo diode does not receive any light or
rays.
Here in this line follower robot when sensor senses white surface then IC gets 1 as input and
when senses black line IC gets 0 as input. Depending upon the threshold set the IC-741
develops an output signal to drive the motor via motor driver circuit.
1.7 Applications
Industrial Applications: These robots can be used as automated equipment carriers in
industries replacing traditional conveyer belts.

Automobile applications: These robots can also be used as automatic cars running on roads
with embedded magnets.

Domestic applications: These can also be used at homes for domestic purposes like floor
cleaning etc.

Guidance applications: These can be used in public places like shopping malls, museums etc
to provide path guidance.

1.8 Organization of Report

This report is a documentary delivering the ideas generated, concepts applied, activities done
It contains four chapters. The following is a description of information in this report. Chapter
1 provides a general overview of the project and the use and importance of autonomous
robots in the world. The Problem formulation, Literature survey, objective, methodology, and
applications are described in this chapter.

Chapter 2 describes the hardware development unit in line following robot. This chapter
describes about sensor arrays, motor driving system and explains hardware development for
the implementation of the robot.

Chapter 3 contains all the results obtained from the hardware experiments that include the
algorithm implemented.

Finally, The report discusses about conclusion, scope for improvements that can be
implemented in future followed by references referred for development of the model.
CHAPTER 2 ROBOTICS

2.1 INTRODUCTION
A robotic arm is a type of mechanical arm, usually programmable, with similar functions to a
human arm; the arm may be the sum total of the mechanism or may be part of a more
complex robot. The links of such a manipulator are connected by joints allowing either
rotational motion (such as in an articulated robot) or translational (linear) displacement. The
links of the manipulator can be considered to form a kinematic chain. The terminus of the
kinematic chain of the manipulator is called the end effectors and it is analogous to the
human hand.

2.2 DEGREES OF FREEDOM (DOF)

The degrees of freedom, or DOF, is a very important term to understand. Each degree of
freedom is a joint on the arm, a place where it can bend or rotate or translate. The number of
degrees of freedom can be typically identified by the number of actuators on the robot arm.

2.3 DENAVIT-HARTENBERG (DH) CONVENTION THE ROBOT ARM FREE BODY

DIAGRAM (FBD)
The Denavit-Hartenberg (DH) Convention is the accepted method of drawing robot arms in
FBD's. There are only two motions a joint could make: translate and rotate. There are only
three axes this could happen on: x, y, and z (out of plane). A few robot arms are shown below,
and their FBD next to it, to demonstrate the DOF relationships and symbols. Note that the
DOF on the gripper (otherwise known as the end effector) is not counted. The gripper is often
complex with multiple DOF, so for simplicity it is treated as separate in basic robot arm
design.
Fig 2.1 Robotic Arm with four and three degrees of freedom
Notice between each DOF there is a linkage of some particular length. Sometimes a joint can
have multiple DOF in the same location. An example would be the human shoulder. The
shoulder actually has three coincident DOF. If you were to mathematically represent this, you
would just say link length = 0.

Fig 2.2 Degrees of freedom on human hand

Also note that a DOF has its limitations, known as the configuration space. Not all joints can
swivel 360 degrees! A joint has some max angle restriction. For example, no human joint can
rotate more than about 200 degrees. Limitations could be from wire wrapping, actuator
capabilities, servo max angle, etc. It is a good idea to label each link length and joint max
angle on the FBD.
2.4 ROBOT WORKSPACE
The robot workspace (sometimes known as reachable space) is all places that the end effector
(gripper) can reach. The workspace is dependent on the DOF angle/translation limitations, the
arm link lengths, the angle at which something must be picked up at, etc. The workspace is
highly dependent on the robot configuration.
Since there are many possible configurations for the robot arm, we will only concentrate on
the 3 DOF configuration.

Fig 2.3 Robotic Arm with three degrees of freedom

Now let us assume that all joints rotate a maximum of 180 degrees, because most servo
motors cannot exceed that amount. To determine the workspace, trace all locations that the
end effectors can reach as in the image below.

Fig 2.4 Robotic Arm with three degrees of freedom

If you change the link lengths you can get very different sizes of workspaces, but this would
be the general shape. Any location outside of this space is a location the arm can’t reach. If
there are objects in the way of the arm, the workspace can get even more complicated.
Chapter 3 Hardware Implementation

Reflection of light

This stage consists of reflection of light phenomena in which light reflect from the plane
surface.

LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for general
lighting. Long leg is positive. Short leg is negative.

Figure 2.1 : structure of LED

2.2 Logic Circuit Unit

Logic circuit consists of LM324 IC which is used for to generate logic signal. It takes input
from the line sensor and generates the output signal which is used for to drive the motors.

2.2.1 PIN Diagram of LM 324 IC

LM324 is a 14pin IC consisting of four independent operational amplifiers (op-amps)

compensated in a single package. Op-amps are high gain electronic voltage amplifier with
differential input and, usually, a single-ended output. The output voltage is many times higher
than the voltage difference between input terminals of an op-amp.

Pin Diagram:

Figure 2.4: PIN Diagram of LM 324 IC

2.2.2PIN Description

Pin Description:

Pin No Function Name

1 Output of 1st comparator Output 1

2 Inverting input of 1st comparator Input 1-

3 Non-inverting input of 1st comparator Input 1+

4 Supply voltage; 5V (up to 32V) Vcc

5 Non-inverting input of 2nd comparator Input 2+

6 Inverting input of 2nd comparator Input 2-

7 Output of 2nd comparator Output 2

8 Output of 3rd comparator Output 3

9 Inverting input of 3rd comparator Input 3-

10 Non-inverting input of 3rd comparator Input 3+

11 Ground (0V) Ground

12 Non-inverting input of 4th comparator Input 4+

13 Inverting input of 4th comparator Input 4-

14 Output of 4th comparator Output 4

2.3 Description of motor driven

Motor Driving Stage

In this stage the motor driver l293D IC is used for to drive the motor. As the signal comes
from the inverter IC it drives the motor according to signals comes.

2.4 Description of L324 IC

L293D is a dual H-bridge motor driver integrated circuit (IC). Motor drivers act as current
amplifiers since they take a low-current control signal and provide a higher-current signal.
This higher current signal is used to drive the motors.

L293D contains two inbuilt H-bridge driver circuits. In its common mode of operation, two
DC motors can be driven simultaneously, both in forward and reverse direction. The motor
operations of two motors can be controlled by input logic at pins 2 & 7 and 10 & 15. Input
logic 00 or 11 will stop the corresponding motor. Logic 01 and 10 will rotate it in clockwise
and anticlockwise directions, respectively.

Enable pins 1 and 9 (corresponding to the two motors) must be high for motors to start
operating. When an enable input is high, the associated driver gets enabled. As a result, the
outputs become active and work in phase with their inputs. Similarly, when the enable input
is low, that driver is disabled, and their outputs are off and in the high-impedance state.
9
2.4.1 PIN diagram of L324 IC

Figure2.6 : Pin diagram of L324

Concept of working of line follower is related to light. We use here the behavior of light at black
and white surface. When light fall on a white surface it is almost full reflected and in case of
black surface light is completely absorbed. This behavior of light is used in building a line
follower robot.

Fig. 15 Working principle of the Sensors

 Fig. 16 Working principle of the Sensors
In this line follower robot we have used IR Transmitters and IR receivers also called photo
diodes. They are used for sending and receiving light. IR transmits infrared lights. When infrared
rays falls on white surface, it’s reflected back and catch by photodiodes which generates some
voltage changes. When IR light falls on a black surface, light is absorb by the black surface and
no rays are reflected back, thus photo diode does not receive any light or rays.
Here in this line follower robot when sensor senses white surface then IC gets 1 as input and
when senses black line IC gets 0 as input.
2.4.2 Truth Table for Robot Movement

Movement of
SI. No IN1 IN2 IN3 IN4
robot

1 1 0 0 1 Forward

2 0 1 1 0 Backward

3 0 1 0 1 Left

4 1 0 1 0 Right

Note: exchange the motor wire with output pins to make the above respective movement.
4.1.1 Check calibration step from below table as output generate on color

Check your calibration step from below table as output generate on color.

Led 2 of LM324 IC

Sr.no LDR_sensor1 LDR_ sensor 2 Led1 of LM324 IC

On On

1 White White Off Off

2 Black White On Off

On
3 White Black Off

On
4 Black Black On
CHAPTER 3 Results and Discussion

Circuit Explanation:
The whole line follower robot can be divided into 3 sections: sensor section, control section and
driver section.

Sensor section:
This section contains 2Array IR Sensors which includes IR diodes, potentiometer, Comparator
(Op-
Amp) and LED’s. Potentiometer is used for setting reference voltage at comparator’s one
terminal and
IR sensors are used to sense the line and provide a change in voltage at comparator’s second
terminal. Then comparator compares both voltages and generates a digital signal at output. Here
in this line follower circuit we have used two comparator for two sensors. LM 358 is used as
comparator. LM358 has inbuilt two low noise Op-amps.

Control Section:
IC ULN2003 is used for controlling whole the process of line follower robot. This IC reads these
signals and send commands to driver circuit to drive line follower.
Driver section:
Driver section consists motor driver and two DC motors. Motor driver is used for driving motors.
So we add a motor driver circuit to get enough voltage and current for motor. IC ULN 2003
sends commands to this motor driver and then it drive motors.

Here in this project we are using two IR sensor modules namely left sensor and right sensor.
When both left and right sensor senses white then robot move forward.
Fig. 17 Line following principle of the robot
If left sensor comes on black line then robot turn left side.

Fig. 18 Line following principle of the robot

If right sensor sense black line then robot turn right side until both sensor comes at white surface.
When white surface comes robot starts moving on forward again.
Fig. 19 Line following principle of the robot
If both sensors comes on black line, robot stops.

Fig. 20 Line following principle of the robot

Fig. 21 Line following principle of the robot
Whenever the IR sensor falls on a reflective surface or white surface it starts to give 5v as output.
ULN 2003A is a high-voltage, high- current, Darlington transistor array. In this circuit it act as a
switch , whenever it receives 5v as input , the output switch opens. if there is no input, switch
closes. Whenever IR sensor produces 5v as output, the output pin of IR sensor is connected with
the input pin of ULN 2003 IC, so the motor starts to run, if there is no output, the motor stops.

CONCLUSIONS
The Line tracking robot works successfully to track on the black line. Above the white surface
(art paper) there are some black lines in different directions. The robot still good enough to sense
the line and tracks the track. Also the robot is capable to carry some load likely 500gm.

FUTURE WORK

The line Tracking robot is made by op-amps and transistors, where the motor is directly on or off
using the signal of the comparator. Now the techniques can be replaced by PWM using more
sensor, microcontroller and H-Bridge motor controller IC i.e. L293D. I want to try it earlier but
failure in some cases. I have compiled some programs of microcontroller. Also instead of LDR it
can be used phototransistor whose response is much better than LDR. There are 2 line sensors
used here so the fluctuation of line is a fact. Using more than 2 sensor likely 5 sensor array may
be used to detect the black line quickly. Also using microcontroller it can draw the reverse
direction as well as obstacle avoiding turning the motor 180º. The block diagram may be
represented as tracks. Also using color sensors the robot can sense different colors. It can be used
in the robotic game competition and other fields.