MIMO '98

• Main Authors: Aracan, Gail Kristine Espino, Bustillos, Mary Grace Virtudazo, Calso, Christian Cordez, Santos, Raquel Fugen
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1998
• Subjects: Robotics; Mobile robots; Programmable controllers
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/14599
• Institution: De La Salle University

Autonomous mobile robots have been present since the 1970's. Some of these have evolved into maze solving robots presently known as a micromouse. Micromouse robots are gaining more popularity over the years. Micromouse competitions attract robotic fanatics from all over the world, old and young. MIMO '98 has also been bitten by the mouse mania happening abroad. MIMO '98 is a typical micromouse consisting of four subsystems namely the power, drive, sensor, and control system. Basically, a chassis was needed to support all the required features of a micromouse such as the body, wheels, motors, sensors, and the microcontroller. The wheels, motors, and motor driver circuits comprises the drive system. This system is responsible for the propulsion of the mouse. The sensor serves as the system's eyes and gives input to help build a picture of the robot's environment. For obvious reasons, the power is to supply the needed input voltage to turn on the system. Lastly, the microcontroller is considered as the heart of the system. It coordinates all the inputs from the different systems, process these inputs, and gives out the appropriate output signals. The mouse can think because of the maze-solving algorithm. The algorithm made use of the MC68HC11 instruction set. The program checks for walls from different directions and proceeds accordingly to the instructions coded. MIMO '98 can be considered as a first draft micromouse. It is working but it still needs a lot of improvement. Nevertheless, it serves as a good hands on tool for future robot designers and builders.