Ive been thinking about building my first arduino robot. My plan is to build a platform that i can put my backpack on and have it follow me as i walk to school or ride my bike (thats probably not gonna be plausible 
) i have seen the way ben heck did it by using the ultrasonic distance sensors. I am wondering however if there is other ways this could be done.
That can be done in different ways but will not be 100% accurate.
You can try the following:
- Ultrasonic (not suggested)
- Infra Red Leds (80% could work)
- GPS (not accurate for ground vehicles)
- Radio Signal (complicated)
Personally I would suggest the Infra Red version, not so complicated and it would work from my
opinion 89%
I see well i go do some looking around to learn more about it. Lucky that should be accurate enough considering people are relatively large objects to track.
Hmm i cant quite seem to find what it is your meaning from the infrared led option. Any links?
Actually, GPS might be a good choice here, so long as you don't have intermittent coverage. Suppose you have a unit on your person receiving your GPS location and transmitting it to the follower. The follower has a GPS and compares the transmitted coordinates with its own. It then moves toward the location it received. If you allow for about a10 ft. follow distance, the differences in position would be adequate to allow some distinction between the positions. As to GPS error, it is not random: the error at any one spot on the planet shifts all positions in that area very nearly the same amount, which is why differential GPS is highly accurate.
One big problem with the other techniques mentioned is that if you suddenly turn a corner, your sensor line would be disrupted.
Good luck.
For the gps i wonder if it would be a good idea for it to say every 5 seconds transmit the x and y coordinates then the device moves to thouse coordinates, after it gets to them it then recives the new coordinates, And so on
The GPS is bad idea for ground and small vehicles/robots, the error is really big, you get approx
from 3 to 5 meters error moving slowly, even if you move like 2 meters your robot maybe get the new
position of your location 4 meters to your left or right, the GPS is not really accurate for small distances.
About the Infra Red try to search line following robots, you will understand what I mean and
what you can do, if you still don't understand how to use it as a following you try harder 
or I may tell you later.
Hmm heres what ive come up with i have built a ton of smart watches, so to solve my problem ill build a new one. What my plan is to is that i will have a smart watch i where with a radio transmiter a accelerometer and a compass the robot will automatically point in the same direction as i am facing and when the accelerometer detects my movement the robot will begin to move forward. For example i stop at a stop light the robot noticed i stoped so it stays still untill i move forward. I could aslo use a joystick for manual control if i need it.does this seem like a good system.
Hmm heres what ive come up with i have built a ton of smart watches, so to solve my problem ill build a new one. What my plan is to is that i will have a smart watch i where with a radio transmiter a accelerometer and a compass the robot will automatically point in the same direction as i am facing and when the accelerometer detects my movement the robot will begin to move forward. For example i stop at a stop light the robot noticed i stoped so it stays still untill i move forward. I could aslo use a joystick for manual control if i need it.does this seem like a good system.
I'd really like to see your smart watches
having a watch with a accelerometer you will need to hold your hand without moving it while walking, if you turn away or what ever the hand the robot will get wrong data and will face other direction so in this case i don't see the point, the compas will not help at all.
Adding a joystick I don't see the point of this topic.
You can use bluetooth on your phone to track your localtion and follow you.
You can use bluetooth on your phone to track your localtion and follow you.
Connected to bluetooth to give commands maybe but following you by 3x ultrasonic sensors
finding your center position.
I don't see how it could follow you just using bluetooth
Domino60:
I'd really like to see your smart watcheshaving a watch with a accelerometer you will need to hold your hand without moving it while walking, if you turn away or what ever the hand the robot will get wrong data and will face other direction so in this case i don't see the point, the compas will not help at all.
Adding a joystick I don't see the point of this topic.
the accelerometer would only be to detect IF im moving not what direction. A compas would be used to determine the direction im facing, the robot would always face that direction, if my arm starts to move then the robot will begin to move forward.
Compas transmits north sould east west. Direction it needs to face(same as im facing) then it moves forward when i do. The only problem with this is say i face one direction then shake my arm to wave at a feeind or something yhe robot will then move that direction. And if say i have the robot behind me and then i turn right the robot will then be following me while driving right beside me. So there are about 4 positons around me it could be stationed.
It's nice to have imagination but it's better to know how everything works as well,
Compass: Using compass as you said to determine direction, the compass always shows on North,
there is no way to determine in which direction are you moving, the only thing with compass you
can determine in which direction your smart watch is facing but while moving your hand you
will not face anything with the compass, another problem with compass is that even if you use
it on your "smartwatch" the compass in really sensitive to electromagnetic fields so you need to keep
it out of other electronic components/modules at least 15~30cm away.
Would be nice if you could stop waste your time in theories and start using facts and real data,
components/modules, coding.
Ok. Well my ideas are only in the planing stages ive only just begun preparing to order parts.the ideas are also that of a irrational teen, so im bound to have some crap tastic ideas ^-^. What i think ill do is ill go for the infared tracking. Ill just have to watch to robot to make sure it doesn't decide the sun is me. If i need i can always use the joystick om the watch. (Which im already gonna build the watch for a diffrent project im working on so i figured "why not make it more useful!") Ill see how this all goes.
brenden_nerd_:
Ok. Well my ideas are only in the planing stages ive only just begun preparing to order parts.the ideas are also that of a irrational teen, so im bound to have some crap tastic ideas ^-^. What i think ill do is ill go for the infared tracking. Ill just have to watch to robot to make sure it doesn't decide the sun is me. If i need i can always use the joystick om the watch. (Which im already gonna build the watch for a diffrent project im working on so i figured "why not make it more useful!") Ill see how this all goes.
Attach a string to your robot and other part of the string to yourself. Attach wheels to your robot. 100% working solution, doesn't need batteries.
You start ordering parts even if you don't have the basic idea or plan of what you trying to do and
build, what the point of this topic.
Topic from following robot to joystick robot.
Well I'm not going to waste my time anymore or yours, good luck.
Just remember, next time try to follow your own topic idea if you think or change plans just
don't start a topic.
It still is a following robot i never said it was a 100% joystick controled device. The point of this topic was to discuss all of the possible ways to make it follow someone. And that topic has done what it was made to do.
Thank you everyone for your ideas i will be using pir infrared sensors as markT suggested
1 Like