Self driving robot

[gschneider]

We are completing the self driving robot and just can't seem to get it to follow the line. It seems like one wheel is stopping when it sees the black line, not just slowing down. I've taken the wheel off and made sure it's not catching on something, too. I don't know where to go from here

[bfinio]

Hi gschneider,

We have two different versions of a line-following robot now. Since you said "self driving" I'm guessing that means you're doing this one:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p023.shtml

but we also have this one:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p021.shtml

If you let me know which one you're doing I might be able to give you a more details, but the answer is generally the same for both. There are a LOT of factors that can affect how well these robots steer, including the spacing between the sensors, their distance from the ground, and even the surface the robot is driving on (the tires might stick or slip better on some surfaces than others). In my testing experience, even if one wheel stops completely, the other wheel should be powerful enough to keep pushing the robot and forcing it to turn.

A couple other questions:

- Are you using a 3xAA or 4xAA battery pack?
- What surface are you using for the white background, and what are you using to make the black line?
- Have you tried just getting the robot to follow a straight or very gently curved line, before trying more ambitious turns and sharp curves?

Thanks,

Ben