Practice of Mechanical Engineering - Wind Power Driven Line-Tracking Car

The purpose of the course is to create a line-tracing car that applied wind power as driving force. Its functions include obstacle avoidance, front car following, and speed control. It integrated the knowledge learned in the mechanical engineering department over the past three years, from mechanism design, wind flow field analysis, and automatic control. In the course, I learned to cooperate with team members specialize in different fields. Everyone used their expertise to contribute to the final project and complete the task.

• Applied automatic control theory practically to control car steering and speed

I was in charge of constructing and integrating all functions into the car system for the task. I implemented a PID controller for steering which helped the car run smoothly while performing line-tracking. It eliminated the vibration caused by continually turning left and right to increase stability. Besides, set up a function for the PWM output of the Arduino board, I was able to control the car speed by adjusting the fan speed.

• Design experiments to explore the difference between theory and reality

We designed experiments to test the theoretical wind power, the thrust required for the car body from standstill to start, and the relationship between the fan speed and the actual car speed under constant input current. We figured out the most suitable fan size and current input for the brushless motor to make the car run smoothly on the track.

• Learned to communicate and collaborate with group members who specialize in different fields to achieve goals

We met once a week to discuss the current progress and goals that should be achieved before the next meeting. At the same time, if there is a need for functional integration between different fields, a consensus can also be proposed and reached so that the cooperation and division of work can continue efficiently.