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MicroBot Line Follower

MicroBot is my latest generation of small, fast line followers. I am trying to push the boundaries of size and speed with MicroBot.  I implemented PID to control the motors and Microbot is able to follow a line at more than 3 feet per second!

 

The Design
The design is extremely simple. It was built around a Atmel Tiny13 but I upgraded to the Tiny45 when I implemented PID (needed more program space). The Tiny45 is an 8-pin microcontroller that has 3 inputs and 2 outputs. The outputs are configured as PWM channels to control the motors using locked anti-phase. The motors are Solarbotics GM15 gear pager motors that are controlled by a FAN8200 dual h-bridge IC. 

The inputs can be either ADC or digital inputs. To maximize speed, I am using digital inputs.

Schematic - Click Image for Larger View