Colour tracking technique by using pixy CMUcam5 for wheelchair luggage follower

Abstract

Wheelchair user will face various challenges during travelling from one destination to another. Their hands will be required to maneuver the wheelchair around. It is difficult for a wheelchair user to identify the appropriate location to place their luggage within the wheelchair itself. Therefore, luggage carrying following cart is an initiative that could lighten the burden for wheelchair users. The method used is via colour tracking system using Pixy CMUcam5 sensor, Arduino MEGA microcontroller, ultrasonic sensors, servo motor, motor driver and transaxle motor. Pixy CMUcam5 sensor is used to perform colour tracking on target of interest. Arduino MEGA is the main microcontroller that controls all the input and output data based on the program. Servo motor is used to steer the direction of the front wheel while ultrasonic sensors are used to perform obstacles avoidance task. The movement control of transaxle motor is performed through motor driver. Colour tracking technique is based on surface area of the target of interest and brightness from the background. The field of view (FOV) of Pixy CMUcam5 sensor is 73.98° when the distance between the sensor and the target is at 1.50m. In addition, the ultrasonic sensors and servo motor are also discussed to identify the performance and its sensitivity respectively. The maximum error on the ultrasonic sensors is 2.00%. The percentage error for the servo motor without a load is 1.58% while with a load is 15.74%. Lastly, an effective target tracking system is successfully designed for this project.