Motion Following Robot

by MagicByCalvin in arduino

Introduction: Motion Following Robot

Hello instructables community!

After messing around with an Arduino for a couple months and avidly reading instructables, I
decided that I would finally publish my own. I wanted to create something that moves by itself. I
also wanted to create a system that reacts to the outside environment. After some thought I
decided on a simple motion follower.

Potential Applications:

• Motion following camera

• Robots that will acknowledge their environments
• Motion following turret
• Educational projects
• Obstacle avoiding robots

Required Materials:
• Breadboard
• Ultrasonic Range Sensor x2 (I used the four pin version so if you are using the ping version
you'll have to change the code a bit)
• Servo (I used a micro size)
• Arduino UNO or similar microcontroller
• Jumper Cables (female to male and male to male)
• Particle Board
• 9v Battery and connector
• Something to mount the servo on (I used some poster mounting putty)

Required Tools:

• Hot glue gun

• Xacto knife
• Computer with Arduino IDE
• Electrical tape or similar

Step 1: Build the Sensor Mount

First, we will need to build the sensor mount. For this I built a prototype out of cardboard and
then built my final project in particle board. In the future I plan to 3d print a perfect mount for
the sensor.

Cut a rectangle that is about the same height as one of the sensors and an 1/8th inch (about 3mm)
longer than two of them together. Set the rectangle aside and cut out two identical isosceles
triangles with the odd angle out being 120 degrees. I cut it at 120 degrees because the range
sensors have a 15 degree cone that they measure, this allows for no blind spots while optimizing
the area that is sensed.

Finally, place the sensors on the mount to determine where to cut the rectangular holes for them
to fit in. Make the hole as small as possible because this snug fit makes up for not using any
other adhesives or connectors. Now cut another small rectangular hole on the bottom triangle of
the mount to allow for jumper cables to be passed through. Once the jumper cables are plugged
in, the sensors should stay in place. If they don't, you will need to fasten them with some hot glue
or pins.

When you are done with the mount, attach it to the servo.

Step 2: Wire Everything!

Now all you need to do is connect everything! I used Fritzing to create a circuit diagram. I have
also provided some pictures of the final product.

The code provided uses digital pins 9 through 13. Pin 9 is the data pin for the servo. Pins 10 and
11 are the echo and trig pins, respectively, of the left sensor. Pins 12 and 13 are the echo and trig
pins, respectively, of the right sensor. I connected the 5v and gnd pins from the Arduino to the
breadboard and then used jumpers to connect the servo and sensors.

Step 3: Code
The code that I provided allows for the changing of the distance threshold. So in other words,
how far the sensors can see. I will be uploading a new instructable soon to show how you can
make the sensors even more accurate using a temperature sensor. Finally, my friend showed me
a cool way of debugging really quick. All you do is use a boolean and some if statements. If the
boolean is true, then serial communication will be on and communicating. If the boolean is false,
then the program will run much faster but not communicate.

I will attach the .ino file, otherwise you can copy it from here:

/*****************************************************************************
********************
******************************************************************************
********************

Motion Follow Created by Calvin Kielas-Jensen

Using an Arduino UNO, check Instructables.com for the circuit diagram.

This script allows two ultrasonic range sensors to follow movement while mounted on the top of
a servo. The distance threshold can be changed but should not be set too far as the sensors will
begin to fail.

Anyone is welcome to use and modify this code as long as I am given credit. Thank you for
respecting the open source movement!
******************************************************************************
********************
******************************************************************************
*******************/

#include

Servo myservo;

const int Lin = 10, Rin = 12, Lout = 11, Rout = 13, serv = 9; //setting sensor pins and servo pin

// establish variables for duration // and the distance result in inches long Rduration, Lduration,
Rinches, Linches;

int threshold = 10; //Sensor threshold in inches

int angle = 80; //Initial angle

boolean debug = false; //Serial communication for debuging. Set to true for serial
communication.

void setup() { // initialize serial communication: if (debug) { Serial.begin(9600); }

myservo.attach(9); //attach servo to pin 9 }

void loop() { //Most of the sensor code has been taken from David Mellis's PING sensor code //I
modified it for a 4 pin sensor as oppsed to the 3 pin sensor // Give a short LOW pulse beforehand
to ensure a clean HIGH pulse: pinMode(Rout, OUTPUT); digitalWrite(Rout, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(2); digitalWrite(Rout, HIGH); delayMicroseconds(5); digitalWrite(Rout,
LOW);

Rduration = pulseIn(Rin, HIGH); pinMode(Lout, OUTPUT); digitalWrite(Lout, LOW);

delayMicroseconds(2); digitalWrite(Lout, HIGH); delayMicroseconds(5); digitalWrite(Lout,
LOW);

Lduration = pulseIn(Lin, HIGH);

// convert the time into a distance Rinches = microsecondsToInches(Rduration); Linches =

microsecondsToInches(Lduration); if (debug) { Serial.print("Left: "); Serial.print(Linches);
Serial.println(" in"); Serial.print("Right: "); Serial.print(Rinches); Serial.println(" in"); } follow();
}

long microsecondsToInches(long microseconds) {

// According to Parallax's datasheet for the PING))), there are

// 73.746 microseconds per inch (i.e. sound travels at 1130 feet per
// second). This gives the distance travelled by the ping, outbound

// and return, so we divide by 2 to get the distance of the obstacle.

// See: http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/acc/28015-PI...

return microseconds / 74 / 2; }

void follow() { if (Linches <= threshold || Rinches <= threshold) { if (Linches + 2 < Rinches) {
angle = angle - 2; } if (Rinches + 2 < Linches) { angle = angle + 2; } } if (angle > 160) { angle =
160; } if (angle < 0) { angle = 0; } myservo.write(angle); }

 Motion_Follow.ino

Step 4: Conclusion

Once the code has been loaded, plug in the 9v battery and watch it start following anything that
comes within the threshold range!

Troubleshooting:

 If the sensors keep turning the wrong way, try switching the cables in pins 10 and 11 with
the cables in pins 12 and 13.
  If the sensors don't move at all, or just a little bit, check the wiring. It is really easy to
accidentally move the jumper cables over one spot on the breadboard.
 If the sensors are moving really slowly, go back to the code and make sure that the debug
is false. The serial communications can really slow down the reaction time of the robot.
 If you are still having issues, first make sure that the Arduino is on and that all jumper
cables are in the correct spots. Switch the debug to true and check to see if the range
sensors are working. You might also want to test the servo to make sure that it is also in
working condition.

Some improvements I am planning on for the future:

 Improving the accuracy of the sensors with the use of a temperature sensor
 3d printing the sensor mount and servo mount
 Adding another servo and sensor to allow for vertical movement
 Switching out the servos with stepper motors to allow for 360 degree following

I had a great time writing this instructable and hope to create many more! Please let me know
how I did and how I can improve my future instructables.

Comments

BatL12017-07-17

What is the range of it? and how small of things can it detect?

onaroll2017-04-29

Hi there,

This was really fun to build and it works just great. Is there a way to add two blinking led's that
activate when the servo turns?

Cheers

deepanker92017-03-24
want to add wheels to this so it can follow the direction. Can you provide sketch and wire
diagram please..

nigel.trewartha2017-02-18

19.2.2017

May I suggest puting the source + construction info in GIT?

BD

kimosubby2016-12-29

It is very easy to just copy and paste the code BUT doing that also copys spaces and unseen asci
code as well. You need to go through the sketch and backspace any spaces and then re-introduce
them with the space or tab key.
Also before that move all curly brackets to new lines using the return key and that way you can
see the code packets and not delete tham in error.I know, been there and got the T shirt.

dasari122016-12-27

hi i connected in a correct way....but not getting result....any one help me

MagicByCalvin2016-12-27

We need to see a picture of how you connected it. Could you tell us what the problem is? Is it not
compiling, not uploading, not moving, moving erratically?

dasari122016-12-28

the motor is not moving..

dasari122016-12-27

i used the code which was attached to the article

MagicByCalvin2016-12-27

Ok, but what is wrong? What doesn't work? Your Arduino could be dead, you might not be
uploading correctly, the motor may not be hooked up correctly, or a large number of other
factors could be causing an issue. I need to know what your problems are and I need to see
pictures of what you have hooked up in order to help you.

finlaye2016-04-01

how could i change the threshhold so that i can add a camera

MagicByCalvin2016-11-02

Were you hoping to have a camera mounted on the motion tracker or did you want to replace the
ultrasonic sensors with a camera?

I would recommend replacing the sensors with a camera if you can send a live feed of the camera
to a computer. You would then use computer vision in order to detect and track motion. A
comment I left above regarding following a laser pointer might be helpful to you.

OlivD2016-11-02

Hi, your project is really nice. I would like to get the same result but with sensor that follow a
laser dot, so I can point where I want the sensor to "look". Do you know if it's a matter of
programmation of the sensor or if i'll need to use other sensors.

MagicByCalvin2016-11-02
Thank you!

You would need a sensor that can pick up the laser dot. In a very low light situation, you might
be able to use photoresistors. But realistically, unless you were using a flashlight, a laser even in
low light probably wouldn't work with a few discrete light sensors. I would recommend using
OpenCV. OpenCV is a computer vision package that is built for both C++ and Python (as far as I
know). You will need a computer to do the processing since an Arduino does not have sufficient
power to process images. You will also need a camera. The camera doesn't need to be super
fancy, in fact it could probably work with a cheap $20 webcam. The most important aspect of the
camera would be its ability to differentiate the laser signal from the noise of the image. You
would want to use OpenCV (or your own image processing algorithm of course, since this
should be among the simpler tasks) to determine where in the image the laser dot was. Using that
information, you could then drive the motor to, for example, always keep the laser dot in the
middle of the image. For better results, you could pulse the laser at a specific frequency and use a
filter to make sure that it is your laser and not a different laser or other sources of light that your
algorithm picks up. Finally, I would recommend looking into control theory (if you have the
time, desire, and ability) in order to better control the motor. A very basic, yet incredibly
effective control system is a PID controller. I hope this helps!

HckmstrRahul2015-08-12

can i try it with single Ultrasonic sensor? right now i have only one of them. if so, then suggest
changes in the code that shd be done to achieve this. thanks fr the projct.

MagicByCalvin2015-08-12

It would be possible with one ultrasonic sensor, but you would have to use a different approach
to following whatever is in front of the sensor. The way I wrote the code looks at which sensor is
closer to the object. If the object is closer to the right sensor, it moves right, if it is closer to the
left, it moves left.
I am sure that there are other ways to do it, but I would have the sensor be wiggling left and right
a couple degrees. If the sensor sees the object when it wiggles to the left, then it should turn
further left, the same for the right. Let me know if that makes sense! If you are still interested I
could write up a new Instructable sometime in the next two weeks.

Moo%27L2016-09-19
Really nice work! im in the same situation, i got one sensor and a servo, but im not good in
coding at all. I try to implement your code in other (firmata) tying to use this behaviour with the
max connection kit in ableton live.

beatniksailor2016-08-25

I was working on something like this to get back at my cat for jumping on my head when I was
sleeping(LOL). I H-glued the sensors on an old dvr that didn't burn right. The height of the servo
left enough room to place a arduino Nano underneath. Good size to put on a $5 RC car.

shwami2016-03-17

could you talk about why you chose to angle the sensors outwards away from each other? would
angling them inwards (inside of a /\ instead of outside of the /\) make a difference? In stereo
imagery, we angle the camera sensors inwards focusing on a point lying on an axis at equal
distance from the sensors. Would that work better here as well?

MagicByCalvin2016-03-28

That is a great question. I did not apply any special analysis, I chose the angle based on the cone
of sound produced by the sensors. I figured that angling the sensors so that the cones just touched
would produce the best result. Upon reflecting on my design, I should have probably done some
analysis and testing to produce the ideal angle. I am not familiar with the physics of stereo
imagery but my thoughts are that I would not want to apply that for this design. I wanted the
design to be able to pick up objects within the widest range in front of the sensors. My thoughts
are that angling the sensors inwards would produce better detection of an object in front of them
but would not detect objects as well that are further off center. I would love to hear your thoughts
on it though!

afridave2016-07-28

and...of course the more sensors you add the better it will detect...why not sensors all the way
around?....just a thought.

shwami2016-03-28

Indeed! now that I also had some more time to think about this, angling the sensors inwards
would make the detection range focused right in the front, not exactly the requirement in this
case. Having said that, I would go for a larger overlap of the cones to avoid interference with
return sound waves. I am assuming that sounds picked up at the edges of the cone will lead to
noisy readings as compared to the center of the cone. Sensitivity to the sounds at the edge of the
cone may also get affected due to returning waves (after bouncing off nearby walls, perhaps?).
By listening closer to the center of the cone, even with a tighter combined cone, you might get
more accurate decisions.

niq_ro2016-04-22

I tested partial project, but is ok.. congratulations !

BrentR102016-03-28

Any chance anyone has done any tinkering with pneumatic motion tacking? Or even high torque
DC Gear Motor motion tracking? I'm trying to get a pneumatic character to follow people as they
draw near, but not sure how to efficiently do it. I was thinking position feedback cylinders, but a
significantly cheaper alternative would be preferred. reversable DC Gear motors would also be a
option

MagicByCalvin2016-03-28

While I am not familiar with pneumatics, I do think you could create a simple feedback system
with DC motors. All you would need it to use a gear on the motor shaft to turn a potentiometer.
The potentiometer would then create a voltage divider and the voltage can be measured. That
voltage can then be mapped to angular position (and velocity and acceleration too if you add one
or two differentiators to the control system). Depending on the system you are building, you will
want to look into some control theory if you haven't already. For heavier and more powerful
systems, if you have an unstable system, you could destroy your project or even bring harm to
yourself or others.

Botyard2016-03-17

If anybody wants to 3D print the parts I added my design at Thingiverse:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1419631

chriscolon232016-03-02

In the case of make this project but with a ultrasonic sensor of 3-pin, what I need to change in the
code. I'm a beginner.
MagicByCalvin2016-03-02

You'll have to look for the 3 pin code. I believe that I referred to it in my code. Essentially,
instead of using two different pins, you use one pin as both of them by changing pins from
output (make the ultrasonic sound) to input (receive the ultrasonic sound).

chriscolon232016-03-03

Ok! I didnt see the reference. Thanks!

MagicByCalvin2016-03-02

You'll have to look for the 3 pin code. I believe that I referred to it in my code. Essentially,
instead of using two different pins, you use one pin as both of them by changing pins from
output (make the ultrasonic sound) to input (receive the ultrasonic sound).

AnirudhT12016-01-29

Hi. I made the robot correctly and I wired everything correctly. But when I try to upload the
code, I get this message:

exit status 1
a function-definition is not allowed here before '{' token

Any help?

MagicByCalvin2016-01-29

Hey there!
Could you please post your code so that I can check it for the bug?

AnirudhT12016-01-29

Hi. This is the code. I copied it from here and pasted it as it is. And I included the Servo library
too.

#include <Servo.h>

Servo myservo;
const int Lin = 10, Rin = 12, Lout = 11, Rout = 13, servo = 9; //setting sensor pins and servo pin

// establish variables for duration // and the distance result in inches long Rduration, Lduration,
Rinches, Linches;

int threshold = 10; //Sensor threshold in inches

int angle = 80; //Initial angle

boolean debug = false; //Serial communication for debuging. Set to true for serial
communication.

void setup() { // initialize serial communication: if (debug) { Serial.begin(9600); }

myservo.attach(9); //attach servo to pin 9 }

void loop() { //Most of the sensor code has been taken from David Mellis's PING sensor code //I
modified it for a 4 pin sensor as oppsed to the 3 pin sensor // Give a short LOW pulse beforehand
to ensure a clean HIGH pulse: pinMode(Rout, OUTPUT); digitalWrite(Rout, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(2); digitalWrite(Rout, HIGH); delayMicroseconds(5); digitalWrite(Rout,
LOW);

Rduration = pulseIn(Rin, HIGH); pinMode(Lout, OUTPUT); digitalWrite(Lout, LOW);

delayMicroseconds(2); digitalWrite(Lout, HIGH); delayMicroseconds(5); digitalWrite(Lout,
LOW);

Lduration = pulseIn(Lin, HIGH);

// convert the time into a distance Rinches = microsecondsToInches(Rduration); Linches =

microsecondsToInches(Lduration); if (debug) { Serial.print("Left: "); Serial.print(Linches);
Serial.println(" in"); Serial.print("Right: "); Serial.print(Rinches); Serial.println(" in"); } follow();
}

long microsecondsToInches(long microseconds) {

// According to Parallax's datasheet for the PING))), there are

// 73.746 microseconds per inch (i.e. sound travels at 1130 feet per

// second). This gives the distance travelled by the ping, outbound

// and return, so we divide by 2 to get the distance of the obstacle.

// See: http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/acc/28015-PI...

return microseconds / 74 / 2; }
void follow() { if (Linches <= threshold || Rinches <= threshold) { if (Linches + 2 < Rinches) {
angle = angle - 2; } if (Rinches + 2 < Linches) { angle = angle + 2; } } if (angle > 160) { angle =
160; } if (angle < 0) { angle = 0; } myservo.write(angle); }

AnirudhT12016-01-29

And also, my ultrasonic sensor is a 4 pin one.

AnirudhT12016-01-29

And in the code, some syntaxes are mixed in comments, so I removed the comment part from it,
but still it is not working..

MagicByCalvin2016-02-02

I took a look at it and it looks like certain things have been commented out that shouldn't be. For
example, some of the curly braces, '{', '}', have been commented out. Make sure that there is no
code in the comments. It might be helpful to download the code instead of copy and paste it if
you haven't done so already.

dodosox2016-01-19

hi thx for project but my servo will not move at all. can you help me with that?

MagicByCalvin2016-01-19

How is your motor connected? Did you use the code I provided? Is the motor powered?

dodosox2016-01-21

yes I am using your code how should I power the mototor. the arduino boad does not power.

MagicByCalvin2016-01-21

Can you show me some pictures of how you have it set up?

dodosox2016-01-22
here it is

MagicByCalvin2016-01-29

Your photos make it a little difficult to understand what is going on. But I believe that you are
not connecting everything properly. It appears like your breadboard only has one rail on each
side. The picture I posted of how to set it up uses a breadboard that has two rails per side. Look
closely at the circuit diagram that I made and observe where connections are made. Once you are
able to see exactly where each wire should connect to on the Arduino, connect them. If
connected properly, it should work just fine for you!
Also just a tip, you might want to angle your ultrasonic range sensors out a little bit so that they
aren't looking at the same thing.

MagicByCalvin2016-01-29

Your photos make it a little difficult to understand what is going on. But I believe that you are
not connecting everything properly. It appears like your breadboard only has one rail on each
side. The picture I posted of how to set it up uses a breadboard that has two rails per side. Look
closely at the circuit diagram that I made and observe where connections are made. Once you are
able to see exactly where each wire should connect to on the Arduino, connect them. If
connected properly, it should work just fine for you!
Also just a tip, you might want to angle your ultrasonic range sensors out a little bit so that they
aren't looking at the same thing.

FadiJ2015-11-01

Done it. Thanks

bukiadeniji2015-09-08

Thanks for sharing! The instructions were straightforward and easy to follow. I completed the
setup without any issues at all!

DrippDroppz2015-08-30

This is awesome! i just built one but am having some real trouble with coding...I am just a
beginner with arduino. I have two, 4 pins ultrasound sensor. I KEEP GETTING ERRORS Could
someone please help me get the finished code without adjusting it myself?
MagicByCalvin2015-08-30

What seems to be your issue? Could you attach the code and the errors that you are getting? The
code in my Instructable should work just fine for four pin sensors.

DrippDroppz2015-09-05

I have also tried downloading your .ino file and deleting all the text from arduino application on
my Mac and placing yours in there. Still errors. Do I have to set anything up from your code?

DrippDroppz2015-08-31

Hey Calvin thanks for your help, I copied the setup code into setup section as well as the loop
section. Here are the error codes as well as a picture.

The sketch name had to be modified. Sketch names can only consist

of ASCII characters and numbers (but cannot start with a number).

They should also be less than 64 characters long.

motion_follow.ino: In function 'void setup()':

motion_follow:3: error: 'debug' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:7: error: 'myservo' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow.ino: In function 'void loop()':

motion_follow:15: error: 'Rout' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:22: error: 'Rduration' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:22: error: 'Rin' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:24: error: 'Lout' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:31: error: 'Lduration' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:31: error: 'Lin' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:34: error: 'Rinches' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:35: error: 'Linches' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:37: error: 'debug' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow.ino: In function 'void follow()':

motion_follow:62: error: 'Linches' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:62: error: 'threshold' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:62: error: 'Rinches' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:66: error: 'angle' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:70: error: 'angle' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:73: error: 'angle' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:77: error: 'angle' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:81: error: 'myservo' was not declared in this scope

motion_follow:81: error: 'angle' was not declared in this scope

'debug' was not declared in this scope

MagicByCalvin2015-08-31

Try adding this at the very top of your code:

/*****************************************************************************
********************
******************************************************************************
********************

Motion Follow Created by Calvin Kielas-Jensen

Using an Arduino UNO, check Instructables.com for the circuit diagram.

This script allows two ultrasonic range sensors to follow movement while mounted on the top of
a servo. The distance threshold can be changed but should not be set too far as the sensors will
begin to fail.
Anyone is welcome to use and modify this code as long as I am given credit. Thank you for
respecting the open source movement!

******************************************************************************
********************
******************************************************************************
*******************/

#include Servo myservo;

const int Lin = 10, Rin = 12, Lout = 11, Rout = 13, serv = 9; //setting sensor pins and servo pin

// establish variables for duration // and the distance result in inches

long Rduration, Lduration, Rinches, Linches;

int threshold = 10; //Sensor threshold in inches

int angle = 80; //Initial angle

boolean debug = false; //Serial communication for debuging. Set to true for serial
communication.

About This Instructable

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MagicByCalvin53
Bio: I am currently a student in South Dakota. All my life I have been interested in tinkering
with electronic amd mechanical gizmos, however after working ... More »

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