Omnidirectional Robot

In this instructable, will be described step by step the making of an omnidirectional robot. The maneuverability of this robot is extraordinary, it is capable of moving in any direction in reduced spaces and keeping the same orientation, or navigating with any orientation.

The design of the robot is the first step. Making drawings with possible solutions for the locomotion and localization of the componets is of great help in order to know in advace the required space and arrangement of components. After the idea is pretty clear, the next phase consist on making a 3D design of the robot. All the components (wheels, motors, sensors, display, etc.) are digitalized and then assembled. This will make possible to have a good idea how will look the robot at the end

After the design (mechanical, electric, software, programming) is done, the manufacturing of the pieces starts. The robot base is made in plastic and four servomotors will provide the wheel orientation (independent for each wheel) and one dc motor with reduction will provide the locomotion for the robot. A distance sensor (sonar) will allow the avoidance of obstacles while navigating, and a stepper motor attached to the turret (where the sonar is attached), will allow to gather information about any possible obstacle in a range of 360 degrees. The brain of the robot is a microcontroller, and an encoder is attached to ther rear wheel

A main on/off switch is installed and a user interface is available. A LCD screen together with two menu buttons and an "enter" button will allow the user to select the task to be performed by the robot. The chassis of the robot is made of carton in order to keep the light weight structure and the battery is installed in the lower part in order to improve the center of gravity, making the robot more stable. At the front it is installed a line follower system. As a result the omnidirectional robot is robust, strong, trustworthy and fast. This configuration has the best maneuverability for any wheeled robot.