Solar Powered Autonomous Vehicle for Green Campus Drive

Abstract

In major cities, the pollution level is so high due to vehicle emission which contains the carbon monoxide responsible for the global warming as well as the diseases. This leads to a situation that the humans cannot live in those places. In major institutions with huge sprawling lands and buildings with various departments people frequently uses vehicle for their movements which in turn increase the pollution. To overcome these issues, this work is aimed to design a solar powered autonomous vehicle which navigates in the presence of obstacles. Obstacle identification and evasion plays a vital role in the presentation of an independent vehicle. The vehicle is programmed to run on continuous scheduled trips and on demand trips. A mobile app has been developed to schedule on demand. The vehicle navigates itself by predefined routes and follows the path. IR and ultrasonic tracking and obstacle detection technology makes the vehicle to stay on their path and avoiding collision. The sensor in the vehicle detects the presence of an obstacle. Aluminum is preferred for the main body of the vehicle. This paper presents the design and fabrication of the vehicle which comprises of both mechanical and electrical components. The entire unit consists of a microcontroller, sensors, motors solar panels, batteries, power supply and wheels. The overall outcome of this work will be reduction in pollution and easy navigation for all the stakeholders. This pilot project shall increase the use of autonomous solar vehicle for institutions, hospitals and industries where the predefined movements of human and goods are largely encouraged. The designed vehicle is capable to navigate on the basis of decisions taken autonomously.