Obstacle and Cliff Detection for Robotics Applications Using Miniturized Sonar and IR Distance Triangulation: Environment Observation Module For The Deci Zebro

This is a bachelor thesis about the design and development of an observation and sensing module for the Deci Zebro robot that is being developed at the EEMCS faculty of Delft University of Technology.This part of the thesis is about the development of a cliff- and obstacle detection system, as well as the designanddevelopmentofafittingplasticenclosureforthemoduleandthedesignofaPCBthatintegrates the module’s electronics.The report explores and compares different types of distance sensors and concludes that the best option is to use two infrared-based distance sensors on the left and the right of the robot for cliff detection, and a rotating ultrasonic transceiver on a servo motor to detect obstacles. For easy debugging and to allow communication with nearby humans, a LED ring was also fitted to the top of the module. The design process and the implementation of these components is described in detail.The module’s enclosure is designed using SolidWorks software and afterwards printed using a 3D-printer. The PCB is designed using the opensource KiCad software.Zebro Projec