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Medium⏱ time2.5 hr$ cost24

Wall-Following Robot

One side sensor keeps a robot a fixed distance from a wall as it cruises a corridor.

Start building ↓
fig — working model Result first

The build

Step 01

Mount a side sensor

Point one distance sensor at the wall.

Step 02

Set a target gap

Choose the distance to hold.

Step 03

Steer to correct

Turn toward or away to keep the gap.

Step 04

Cruise

It follows the wall around corners.

Working Principle

The robot continuously measures its distance to the wall and steers to keep that distance constant, hugging the wall as it drives.

The science behind it

A closer look

Holding a setpoint with feedback is proportional control; too strong a correction makes it weave.

Take it further

Variables to test

  • 1 Tune the correction strength — stop the weaving.
  • 2 Add a front sensor for inside corners.

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