abstract

The Smart Car project is designed to fulfill the requirement of Bachelor of Engineering degree.   

In recent years, new and very high-tech safety and driver-assisting equipment have become standard on vehicles for the masses. The Smart Car is a very practical device that is able to assist the driver in the daily driving routine. Through the combined use of a micro controller and several sonar arrays, the driver of a vehicle is able to better estimate the distances between his or her vehicle’s front and rear end to other objects near the car, seen or unseen. The Smart Car consists of ultrasonic sensor layout, micro controller coding circuitry and motor movement amplifications.   

The primary goal of Smart Car project is to design an auto cruise mobile robot that is capable of measure approximately distance from bumper to bumper and able to provide auto speed adjustment based on the distance measured of the manual car in front. The micro controller would be able to stop the car automatically if another car or an object is detected to be too close to the Smart Car or speed up if the car in front very far.

 Project overview

Smart Car is a project that has the potential for everyday-life applications. The basis of this project is to program several routine into the micro controller and to build a sonar array that can be mounted on the front bumper of an automobile that would be able to send inputs to a micro controller. The micro controller would be able to follow the preprogram routine stop the car automatically if another car or an object is detected to be too close to the Smart Car or speed up if the car in front very far. Figure 1.11 below show how the project works.

 Figure 1.11: Project overview

 As well, the sonar array would be able to inform the driver (she or he) how close to an object in front of the car. An extension of this project is to use the micro controller to entirely control the speed and reaction of the Smart Car based on numerous sonar proximity inputs. On a real-life scale, this would take place at highway cruising speeds.

 Another extension of the sonar and display idea is its application in the parallel parking of a vehicle: If there are sonar sensors mounted in the middle and on the corners of both front and back bumpers, a driver could precisely determine the distance between his car to an adjacent car. Bumping, paint scratching, dents, and the resulting headaches due to guessing distances when parallel parking could be avoided.

 Over here I would take place at much slower speeds. Let say when there has nothing in front. Smart Car will move at 80km/h forward. The velocity 80km/h represent to 160rpm. Suddenly there has an object (car) detected in front, Smart Car will automatic slow down the speed. Let say the distance is 40 meters in real life. For safety reason, these 40 meters is to avoid emergency brake. However the scale being take is 1 meter:1cm. Afterward Smart Car will continuously measure the distance with the car in front. If the car become closer and closer Smart Car will automatic slow down until stop. The velocity scale over here is 1km/h:2 rpm. The complete distance measured and output speed as table 1.1.  

 Table 1.1: Distance measurement and output speed

 The distance between cars are taken from JPJ Negeri Pulau Pinang (Figure 1.12 in appendices a). Figure 1.13 in appendices a show the graph motor speed versus distance between Smart Car and no autonomous car.

email: chongweichoong@hotmail.com