Intelligent Vehicle “Dark Horse”

Intelligent Vehicle

This research aims to study, design, and construct the intelligent car that moves as programmed, avoids obstacles, and follows traffic rules without a driver to participate in the Thailand Intelligent Vehicle Challenge.

Problem: Today, many people are driving in dangerous conditions such as physical exhaustion, being sleepy, blurred vision, or being drunk which are the main causes of traffic accidents. Thus, an intelligent vehicle that operates independently, without a human driver, is developed with a precise decision support system to reduce the problems and losses caused by such risks.

Method: The vehicle used in the project is a car whose engine is modified from an engine of a motorcycle, Rear Wheel Drive Automatic Transmission. There are many types of sensors used in the vehicle, Encoder for measuring distances and steering angles, Gyro and Accelerometer to measure the acceleration and angular velocity of the car, Ultrasonic to detect obstacles, GPS to determine the precise position of the car on the earth, and cameras to detect obstacles, traffic lights, and traffic signs. An intelligent vehicle can operate independently through the Teaching – Playback technique, which is a way to create an automatic car navigation system. The system is designed to control the throttle and steering angle and tell the routes. The data from the sensors are analyzed to estimate the position of the car at each time to determine the routes for the car to move automatically. While the vehicle is moving, the data from various sensors are used to monitor that the vehicle is always on the right path. Thailand Intelligent Vehicle Challenge was organized by the Thai Robotics Association in collaboration with the Department of Mechatronic, Asian Institute of Technology and with the support from Seagate Technology (Thailand) Company Limited.

2007: FIBO built an intelligent vehicle and sent the “Dark Horse” team to participate in the competition for the first time. The team used a go-kart as the structure of the car and a DC motor as the main driver. It was able to cross the finish line, claimed third place, and won the best technique award.