Title: FPGA-based low-cost autonomous vehicle platform for mechatronics education

Authors: Sean Manley, James Wong, Kean C. Aw, Karl Stol

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Auckland, 20, Symonds Street, New Zealand. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Auckland, 20, Symonds Street, New Zealand. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Auckland, 20, Symonds Street, New Zealand. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Auckland, 20, Symonds Street, New Zealand

Abstract: Low-cost Autonomous Ground Vehicles (AGVs) can make effective tools for mechatronics education. By using a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) as the controller and central processor, students have a wide degree of flexibility in what sensors and algorithms are implemented. A vehicle has been developed at The University of Auckland, New Zealand, for this purpose using a toy car chassis and custom electronics, with an Altera FPGA development board. The completed platform cost approximately NZ$1000 and is capable of navigating a pre-defined path with errors of less than 2 m, using a low-end GPS and magnetic compass.

Keywords: autonomous vehicles; mechatronics education; FPGA; field programmable gate arrays; AGVs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMMS.2009.024356

International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems, 2009 Vol.2 No.1/2, pp.200 - 214

Published online: 01 Apr 2009 *

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