A remote controlled mobile mini robot

The Institute of Robotics of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Zurich (ETH) has recently developed a remote controlled mobile mini robot. It has been designed to take part in the International Micro Robot Maze Contest, in Nagoya. The robot´s intelligence is based on the PIC16C84 microcontroller. It is actuated by two SWATCH motors and powered by two small watch-batteries. The control-loop for the maze is based on both the global and local feedback. The global feedback is realized by a human operator navigating the robot with an infrared-based unidirectional remote control. The operator is able to drive the robot through some control points in the maze. A local feedback based on two small distance sensors is used to drive the robot automatically in between the walls of the maze. The combination of both control-loops allows the robot to fulfil the goal of the contest with very good performance. The technical data of the mobile mini robot are: 21 mm×21 mm×19 mm in dimension; velocity of 20 mm/s; and power consumption of <10 mW. This low power consumption allows autonomy of about 10 hours