Abstract:

One of the basic problems that mobile robotics solves is navigation. There are currently several navigation principles, but not all of them are widespread in practice. Many are too expensive for normal use or have poor accuracy. It is similar in the field of education. Many are too demanding for practical implementation and implementation in computer science classes, others may be simple, but require expensive equipment or have only indicative accuracy. At present, we can see a significant use of elements of robotics in our daily lives and in many ways a preference for affordable, low-cost solutions. In our paper, we will focus on the implementation of such a navigation system on the optical principle, which is designed for the indoor environment, and in addition to the Arduino platform, we can only use commonly used tools. Of course, with regard to sufficient accuracy and the possibility of real implementation in computer science classes. Optical navigation systems are slower to implement in practice due to the complexity and frequent changes of the environment, but their potential is the same as other navigation systems. In order to test and simulate navigation, we used the iRobot Roomba, but it is possible to install the proposed navigation on other mobile devices - e.g. and Lego EV3 robots. Another advantage is the support of interdisciplinary relationships, especially mathematics, as the final determination of the position within the local coordinate system is realized by triangulation or trilateration, but also by physics, optics or technical education.

Keywords:

Optical navigation systems, education, teaching computer science, robotics, navigation.