Multipurpose Robot

Date:26/12/2009 URL: http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/26/stories/2009122657750200.htm Back Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore Students design multi-purpose robot Staff Reporter – Photo: K.Ananthan. Full of potential: The multi-purpose unmanned vehicle chasing a car at a demonstration at Government College of Technology in the city on Thursday. Coimbatore: Three Computer Science and Engineering students of Government College of Technology have designed a multi-purpose unmanned robotic vehicle. C. Sri Ranganathan, S.R. Anantha Krishnan and S. Rajesh Kannan designed the robot. Principal of the College R. Sundarrajan, Head of Computer Science and Engineering Department V. Lakshmi Prabha and Faculty Advisor K. Baskaran were present at a demonstration of its functioning. A single web camera fitted in front of the vehicle captures an image of the path ahead. Control signals are taken from the computer’s parallel port. Each frame captured during the motion of the vehicle is then processed using the concept of digital image processing. Unlike the existing system which uses electronic sensors for finding obstacles on their path, this robot uses processed images for taking decisions. It would be less expensive and more effective than the existing system. As it is possible to control it from a distance using a wireless transmitter and it has number plate and colour recognition system, it could be used to follow and intercept vehicles. This could be useful for the police department. The robot could also be used for identifying vehicles violating road rules as it could inform the control room and also warn the driver of the vehicle. It could also find use as a guide for people as a route map of a facility could be stored in its database. It also has voice and face recognition features. The robot could also read a book and turn it into editable text. This would be of great benefit to the visually impaired. It was completed on a shoe-string budget of Rs. 8,000 using basic equipment. The performance could be improved further, the students said. © Copyright 2000 - 2009 The hindu Source: http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/26/stories/2009122657750200.htm