Floor Cleaning Robot

Project implemented by members of IEEE-SPS, VIT

Every time a person cleans the floor, he/she dreams of such a tool that would help them in cleaning in a much more efficient way and in much less time.

So here we present you the Arduino-controlled floor cleaning robot which one can make by using his technical and creative skills.

Here, we are going to make an Automatic Home cleaning Robot that only costs a small fraction of the ones in the market. This Robot can detect the obstacles & objects in front of it and can continue moving, avoiding the obstacles, until the whole room is cleaned. It has a small brush attached to it to clean the floor.

COMPONENTS REQUIRED:-

1. Arduino UNO R3.
2. Ultrasonic Sensor.
3. Arduino Motor Driver shield.
4. Wheel Drive Robot Chassis.
5. Computer to Program the Arduino.
6. Battery for the Motors.
7. A Power Bank To Power The Arduino
8. A Shoe Brush.
9. A Scotch Brite Scrub Pad.

HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor:

An ultrasonic sensor is an electronic device that measures the distance of a target object by emitting ultrasonic sound waves and converting the reflected sound into an electrical signal. Ultrasonic waves travel faster than the speed of audible sound (i.e. the sound that humans can hear). Ultrasonic sensors have two main components: the transmitter (which emits the sound using piezoelectric crystals) and the receiver (which encounters the sound after it has traveled to and from the target).

HCSR04 module generates a sound vibration in ultrasonic range when we make the ‘Trigger’ pin high for about 10us which will send an 8 cycle sonic burst at the speed of sound and after striking the object, it will be received by the Echo pin. Depending on the time taken by sound vibration to get back, it provides appropriate pulse output. If the object is far away then it takes more time for ECHO to be heard and the output pulse width will be big. And if the obstacle is near, then the ECHO will be heard faster and the output pulse width will be smaller.

Assembly of Floor Cleaner Robot:

Mount the Arduino on the chassis. Make sure you don’t short circuit anything in case your chassis is made of metal. It is a good idea to get a box for the Arduino and the motor controller shield. Secure the motors with the wheels and chassis using screws. Your chassis should have options to do this from the factory, but if it doesn’t, you can improvise a different solution. Epoxy isn’t a bad idea. Mount the shoe brush on the front of the chassis. We used a combination of M-Seal epoxy and drilled screws for this, though you can use any other solution that might be easier for you. Mount the Scotch Brite scrub pad behind the brush. We used a shaft going across the chassis that holds it in play, though this can be improvised as well. A spring-loaded shaft can be used to accompany it. Mount the batteries (or cables on the back of the chassis). Epoxy or a battery holder are good ways to do this. Hot glue isn’t bad either.

Front view of the floor-cleaning robot

Rearview of the floor-cleaning robot

Side view of the floor-cleaning robot

Circuit diagram of the robot (Courtesy: Circuit Digest)

This project was done by Upanshu Srivastava