LAB 9

MOBILE ROBOT CONTROL

1.

LAB OBJECTIVE

The objective of this lab is to design and implement a motion control system for a mobile robot.
The developed controller has to ensure that the robot can follow a designed trajectory while
avoiding obstacles.
2.

BACKGROUND

The National Instruments (NI) Robotics Starter Kit 1.0 is a mobile robot platform that comes
equipped with sensors, motors, and a NI Single-Board RIO for embedded control. NI LabVIEW
graphical programming and the LabVIEW Robotics module can be used for programming the
mobile robot.

Figure 1: NI Robotics Starter Kit

2.1

Robot Components

The NI Robotics Starter Kit uses a NI Single-Board RIO 9631 embedded control platform and an
ultrasonic range finder. The Single-Board RIO controller integrates a real-time processor,
reconfigurable field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and analog and digital input/output (I/O)
on a single board. It is powered by both NI LabVIEW Real-Time and FPGA technologies. The
built-in analog and digital I/O can be expanded using C Series modules.
The robot has two DC servomotors and 4 wheels. The DC motors are positioned between the
front and rear wheels on each side and connected via a 2-1 gear train to both wheels. Each motor
has a 400-tick encoder. Thus, the motor for each side (left or right) can be controlled
independently. The steering method for this wheel configuration is called skid-steer.

Figure 2: Robot Components

The robot is equipped with a Parallax PING))) ultrasonic sensor that detects objects by emitting a
short ultrasonic burst and then listening for the echo. Under the control of a host microcontroller,
the sonar sensor emits a short 40 kHz (ultrasonic) burst. This burst travels through the air at
about 1130 feet per second, hits an object, and then bounces back to the sensor. The PING)))
sensor provides an output pulse to the host that terminates when the echo is detected; hence, the
width of this pulse corresponds to the distance to the target. This sensor can sense obstacles in a
range from 2 cm to 3 m. Moreover, the ultrasonic sensor is installed on a stepper motor. Thus,
the ultrasonic sensor can rotate from
to
degrees. (By rotating the ultrasonic sensor,
objects around the robot can be detected.)
The coordinate system of the robot is defined by Figure 3.

Figure 3: Coordinate System of the Robot

2.2

National Instruments Single Board RIO

The NI sbRIO-9631 embedded control and acquisition device (see Figure 4) integrates a realtime processor, a user-reconfigurable field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and I/O on a single
printed circuit board (PCB). It features a 266 MHz industrial processor, a 1M gate Xilinx Spartan
FPGA, 110 3.3 V (5 V tolerant/TTL compatible) digital I/O lines, 32 single-ended/16 differential
16-bit analog input channels at 250 kS/s, and four 16-bit analog output channels at 100 kS/s. It
also has three connectors for expansion I/O using board-level NI C Series I/O modules. The
sbRIO-9631 offers a -20 to 55 C operating temperature range along with a 19 to 30 VDC power
supply input range. It provides 64 MB of DRAM for embedded operation and 128 MB of
nonvolatile memory for storing programs and data logging.
This device features a built-in 10/100 Mbits/s Ethernet port that can be used to conduct
programmatic communication over the network and host built-in Web (HTTP) and file (FTP)
servers. The RS232 serial port can be used to control peripheral devices.

Figure 4: sbRIO-9631
2.3

Robot Control

The NI sbRIO-9631, single board RIO, is programmed by using NI LabVIEW software. Using a
LabVIEW program developed for this lab, the robot can be programmed with high-level
programming. Using the program provided, the robot and the controller transmit control signals
and data at a frequency of 100 Hz.

Figure 5: Robot Connection

For simplification, the two drive motors of the robot are programmed to operate at the same
speed in either the same or opposite direction. Accordingly, the two possible motion modes of
the robot are translation and rotation. The translation mode is controlled by sending the
translate command (
). This command makes the robot left wheels and right wheels

rotate at the designated speed in rad/s ( ), forward (

) or backward (
). The
rotation mode is controlled by sending the rotate command (
). This makes the robot
left wheels and right wheels rotate in different directions at the designated speed in rad/s ( ),
counter clockwise (
) or clockwise (
). Lastly, the stop command (
) is
used to stop the robot motors. These commands have to be sent to the sbRIO-9631 during realtime control of the robot. The program to communicate with the robot processor is discussed in
section 3.
Table 1: Robot Commands
Command
Name
Stop

Translate

Rotate

Description
Stop motors (irrespective of specified speed,
)
Rotate left and right wheels in same direction at specified speed,
, in rad/s
Forward:
Backward:
Rotate left and right wheels in different directions at specified speed,
, in rad/s
Counter Clockwise:
Clockwise:

Note: When the robot is in the translation or rotation mode, the robot should be stopped before
switching to another mode. If the robot is switched between these modes while the wheels are
still in motion, an error in robot motion can occur.
2.4

System Model

The System Model with default parameters is as follows:

Figure 6: Block Diagram of Robot Motor

Figure 6 shows an open loop diagram of the motor. Raw encoder data of the wheels angular
positions are used to approximately compute the robot position. The position error increases as
the robot translates or rotates because of wheel slip. However, we can rely on these position
estimates if the robot moves within a short range (less than 6-8 meters). An approximation of the
robot velocity can be obtained by differentiating the encoder data. Thus, it is possible to estimate
both robot velocity and position. This estimation has been done for you, and these variables are
made available when controlling the robot motion.

3.

ROBOT PROGRAMMING

3.1

Overview of LabVIEW Block Diagram

In this lab, you will program the National Instrument, sbIO-9631, a microcomputer, to control
the robot. The sbRIO-9631 is programmed using LabVIEW 2012. LabVIEW uses block
diagrams to implement a real-time program. Two basic programs have been provided to manage
the transfer of both commands and data to and from the robot. The first program, Robot Manual Control allows the robot motion to be controlled manually via user inputs on the
keyboard. The second program, Robot - Formula Node Control, relies on a formula node block
to control what commands are sent to the robot. The formula node allows you to perform
complicated mathematical operations and control using the C programming language. You are
encouraged to scan the help section for this block (see Appendix 10.A.2) and carefully program
the controller. (Tip: If the C code has errors, the Run button used to start the program will change
from
to )
When you first open any LabVIEW program, you will see two windows, the front panel window
and a block diagram window. The front panel window allows you to monitor output variables
and set input parameters. The block diagram window displays the actual program written by
graphical programming and contains the code for controlling the robot.

Figure 7: Front Panel Window

This front panel window shows all the information obtained from the robot.

Plots:
o
o
o
Data:
o

Sonar Plots: Time series sonar range measurements (filtered and unfiltered)
Position Plots: Time series , , and data
Trajectory Plot: Time series robot position and current heading
Position: , , and

with reference to starting location

o
o
o
o

Velocity: Robot translational/rotational velocity and individual wheel velocities

Encoder: Left/right encoder reading and calculated feedback translation/rotation
Sonar: Sonar orientation and range measurements (filtered and unfiltered)
Control: Commands currently being sent to the robot

Figure 8: Block Diagram Window

Figure 9: Block Diagram Primary Control Loop

Figure 8 shows the block diagram corresponding to the front panel provided in Figure 7. This
contains all code that is used for controlling the robot. The code is composed of several blocks
diagrams and sub-block diagrams (sub-vis). The primary control of the robot is contained
within the main timed while loop shown in Figure 9. Each sub-block diagram has its own sub
front panel and sub block diagram windows. These blocks are already prepared and their
programs do not have to be changed by you. However, you should make yourself familiar with
their inputs and outputs to understand how the block diagram works. Table A3 in the appendix
presents the description of the sub-block diagrams.

3.2

LabVIEW Formula Node

The most important element in the block diagram for this lab is the formula node block. An
example formula node block used to program the robot to track a reference sine wave input can
be seen in Figure 10.

Figure 10: Formula Node Block

The variables in blue and orange rectangles on the left side of the formula node are input
variables to the formula node. They have already been declared in the Labview program and can
be used directly. Similarly, the variables on the right side are pre-defined output variables. These
variables are what you will use to send the desired commands to the robot. Table 2 provides a
summary of all variables that have already been pre-defined in the program for you to use in the
formula node block. In addition to these variables, you may declare any new variable you want
using standard C syntax. For instance, in the example formula node provided in Figure 10 the
variables f and t needed to create the reference sine wave have been declared as temporary
float variables within the formula node.

Table 2 Pre-defined Formula Node Variables

Variable
X

Data Type
Double

Description
Robot X Position (in)

Y
Th
In2Cnt
Deg2Cnt

Double
Double
Double
Double

FT

Double

Robot Y Position (in)

Robot Th Position (in)
Encoder counts per inch of robot translation
Encoder counts per degree of robot rotation
Feedback translation (counts): feedback signal for translation

FR

Double

sonar
count
delay
Ts
state
reset

Double
Int
Int
Double
Int
Int

Filtered sonar reading (in)

Current iteration (cycles)
Initial delay time (cycles)
Sampling period (s)
State (case) of the state machine program
Command to reset encoder (0 = do not reset, 1 = reset)

cmd
sonarAngle
vel
error
previous_error
error_integral

Int
Double
Double
Double
Double
Double

Robot command (0 = stop, 1 = translation, 2 = rotation)

Sonar angle (deg)
Commanded velocity (rad/s)
Current error
Error from previous loop
Error integral

error_derivative
iR

Double
Int

Error derivative
Rotation counter

Feedback rotation (counts): feedback signal for rotation

All formula node output variables are fed back into the formula node as inputs using shift
registers,
. In LabVIEW, this directs the program to store the variable so that it can be
used during the next loop iteration. Any variable declared in the formula node that is not wired in
this way will be removed from memory after finishing each cycle of the loop. New shift
registers can be added by right-clicking on either the left or right wall of the while loop.
Similarly, new input or output variables can be added by right-clicking on the wall of the
formula node.

3.3

LabVIEW Program Sequence Overview

1. Select the robot

2. Establish a connection and initialize the selected robot
3. Control the robot
a. Gather sensor data
i. Read the robot encoders
ii. Measure and filter the robot sonar range
b. Select the robot command and compute the desired velocity based on the encoder and
sonar data in the Formula Node block
c. Send the commands to the robot
i. Command the desired robot velocity
ii. Command the desired sonar angle
d. Reset the encoders if necessary
e. Reset the robot position if RESET button is pressed
f. Update the robot position (and plots)
4. Repeat Step 3 until the STOP ROBOT button is pressed
5. Stop the robot and close its connection to the computer
6. Save the robot position data
4.

PRE-LAB REPORTS

Exercise 1:
The state machine provided in Figure 11 below makes the robot move to the target position
while avoiding any obstacles in its path. If an obstacle is encountered, the
robot will turn counter-clockwise and proceed to move around the edge of the obstacle. We have
made the assumption that each obstacle encountered is a fixed size and that they are spaced
sufficiently far apart to avoid simultaneiously encountering more than one obstacle. The
defintion for each state and the necessary variables are provided in Table 3 and Table 4. *NOTE:
This allows the robot to travel a shorter distance on the front/back of th obstacle than it does
along the side of the obstacle.
The value of the variable used to count rotations, , will need to be incremented/decremented as
directed after each rotation state is completed.

Figure 11: Obstacle Avoidance State Machine

Table 3: Obstacle Avoidance State Machine Definitions
State

Definition

End Condition(s)

Translate until

Rotate robot

increment

Translate

| |

Rotate robot

and decrement

End

| |

or object detected
by 1

&&

&&

&&

&&

by 1

*NOTE: This allows the robot to travel a shorter distance on the

front/back of the obstacle than it does along the side of the obstacle.
Table 4: Obstacle Avoidance State Machine Variables
Variable
X Position Error (in):

Definition

Feedback Translation Error (in)*:

Feedback Rotation Error (in)*:
Sonar Distance (in):

*NOTE: The feedback translation ( ) and rotation (

are reset to zero after each state is completed (by setting

)
).

Using this state machine and the map provided below, determine the series of states the robot
will progress through as it moves from its initial position
to its final
position
. Additionally, note what the value of should be after each state is
completed. Assume the robot starts from
, the initial value of the rotation counter is
, and that the sonar sensor angle is fixed at zero. Draw the expected trajectory of the
robot.

Figure 12: Obstacle Map

Exercise 2:
Using proper LabVIEW formula node syntax, write a program to move the robot a specified
distance in inches. The robot should stop if the error between the current and desired position is
less than 0.04 inches or if the sonar detects an object closer than 10 inches. This scenario is
depicted by the following state machine diagram.

Figure 13: Translation State Machine

Use the following controller to set the robots velocity.

Similar to what was done in previous labs, the gains for our controller have been selected by
using the Ziegler-Nichols tuning method. After finding the critical gain,
, at which the output
oscillates with a constant amplitude, the critical gain,
, and the oscillation period,
, are
used with the type of controller desired to select the controller gains:

Exercise 3:
Using proper LabVIEW formula node syntax, write a program to rotate the robot by 90 degrees
counter-clockwise. The robot should stop if the error between the current and desired heading is
less than 0.25 degrees. This scenario is depicted by the following state machine diagram. Use the
same controller gains defined in Exercise 2.

Figure 14: Rotation State Machine

5.

LAB PROCEDURE

Exercise 1: Calibration of Position Measurement

The available information from the robot is left encoder, right encoder, left velocity, and right
velocity. Using the encoder data, it is straightforward to calculate the feedback translation and
feedback rotation. This information can be used to approximate the robot position and heading.
However, the robot position or heading may be not accurate because of slippage in the wheels
and due to some constant factors not being correct in the expected environment. Therefore, you
need to find a relationship between the encoder readings and distance and between the encoder
readings and robot heading.
1. Use the keyboard to move the robot a series of specified distances. Stop the robot at each
set distance and record the encoder measurement data in the table provided. NOTE: Do
not reset the encoders after each position.
Table 5: Feedback Translation Calibration
Distance
(in)

Left Encoder
(counts)

Right Encoder
(counts)

Feedback Translation
(counts)

Feedback Rotation
(counts)

24.0
48.0
72.0

2. Use the keyboard to move the robot a series of specified robot headings (i.e. angles). Stop
the robot at each set heading and record the encoder measurement data in the table
provided. NOTE: Do not reset the encoders after each position.
Table 6: Feedback Rotation Calibration
Angle
(deg)

Left Encoder
(counts)

Right Encoder
(counts)

Feedback Translation
(counts)

Feedback Rotation
(counts)

90
180
270

Use the data in these two tables to find the calibration constants between FT and distance in
inches and between FR and angle in degrees.
Exercise 2: Translate Robot
Implement your program from Prelab Exercise 2 to move the robot forward 48 inches. Test the
program both with and without an obstacle placed 36 inches ahead of the robot.
The program automatically stores a graph of the x-axis trajectory, X [Link], and places
it in your project directory. Make a copy of this graph for both conditions for your postlab.

Exercise 3: Rotate Robot

Implement your program from Prelab Exercise 3 to rotate the robot by 90 degrees counterclockwise.
The program automatically stores a graph of the robot heading, Th [Link], and places it
in your project directory. Make a copy of this graph for your postlab.
Exercise 4: Moving to Desired Position with Simple Obstacle Avoidance Algorithm
Using the code developed from the previous two exercises, write a program to move the robot to
the target position
while avoiding any obstacles in its path. To accomplish
this, you will need to develop and implement the code corresponding to the state machine
defined in Prelab Exercise 1.
The program automatically stores a graph of the robot trajectory, [Link], and places it
in your project directory. Make a copy of this graph for your postlab.

6.

POSTLAB AND LAB REPORTS

Exercise 1:
Using the left and right encoder data from Exercise 1, determine the relationship between
encoder counts and robot position.
a) Plot the feedback translation against the actual distances moved by the robot from the
first test (include the origin).
b) Using this graph, find the relationship between the encoder counts and robot distance (in
inches).
c) Plot the feedback rotation against the actual distances moved by the robot (include the
origin) from the second test.
d) Using this graph, find the relationship between the encoder counts and robot heading (in
degrees).
e) When calibrating the robots feedback translation, what was the expected feedback
rotation? Similarly, what was the expected feedback translation when testing feedback
rotation? Compare these expectations to your experimental results and explain any
discrepancies.
Exercise 2:
a) Provide a graph of the robots x-axis translation both with and without the robots path
obstructed by an obstacle.
b) Provide a printout of your working formula node code.
Exercise 3:
a) Provide a graph of the robots heading.
b) Provide a printout of your working formula node code.
Exercise 4:
a) Provide a graph of the robots trajectory.
b) On the graph, indicate which state corresponds to each segment of the robots trajectory
c) Provide a printout of your working formula node code.

APPENDIX
A.1 LABVIEW PROGRAM START-UP AND EXECUTION
1) Download the program archive (Lab [Link]) from the course website
2) Using 7 zip, extract the entire archive to the computers hard drive
a) Double-click the zipped archive
b) Press 7 to open the file in 7-zip
c) Press Extract and select the folder D:\USERS\
d) Click OK and close 7-zip
3) Launch LabVIEW 2012
a) Start All Programs Local ni
National_Instruments_LabVIEW_2012_SP1_32-bit_
4) Open the top-level project file
a) Select Open Existing
b) Locate and select the file Lab [Link] in the Lab 10 folder you just extracted
The top-level project file contains a directory of all the hardware and programs associated
with a given project. A view of the project directory we are working with for this lab can be
seen in Figure A1 below.

Figure A1: LabVIEW Project Structure

As shown, the project can be broken up into two main sections: (1) code that is compiled
and executed on the computer and (2) code that is compiled and executed directly on the
robot. The FPGA code on the robot has been pre-compiled and will not need to be
modified. Accordingly, we will only be working with programs compiled and executed
on the computer.
5) Open the main program to control the robot
a) Choose Robot - Formula Node Control to control the robot using logic defined in a
formula node or Robot - Manual Control to control the robot manually.
i) Exercise 1: Robot - Manual Control
ii) Exercise 2, 3, and 4: Robot - Formula Node Control
b) Run the program by clicking the Run button.
The program top level commands in LabVIEW are provided in the top left corner of
every program window. These can be seen in Figure A2 below.

Figure A2: LabVIEW Program Execution Controls

In addition to starting the program, these buttons can be used to pause or abort a program
during operation. However, when possible use the specific control buttons available
within the LabVIEW program provided. These internally programmed buttons allow you
to properly close connections to the robot hardware.
6) Connect the robot
a) Using a LAN cable provided, connect the robot to the nearest wall Ethernet port.
b) Turn the robot MASTER and MOTORS switches from OFF to ON (see Figure A3)

Figure A3: Robot Controls, Connection, and Identification

With the MASTER switch off, the computer cannot connect to the robot. This switch
removes power from the entire robot. The MOTORS switch only removes power from
the robots motors. If due to an error in programming the robot moves uncontrollable or
is about to crash, the MOTORS switch can be turned off as a failsafe to stop motion.
c) Use the drop down menu provided to select the robot number
d) To confirm you selected the correct robot, type the 5-digit serial number found on the
bottom of your robot and hit <ENTER> on your keyboard
NOTE: The robot takes a minute to establish a proper connection through the buildings
network. If you try to connect through LabVIEW before this start-up time, your
connection attempt may fail.
7) Control the robot
a) If running the program Robot - Manual Control, use the keys defined in Figure A4
below to command the desired robot motion.

Figure A4: Manual Robot Commands

b) If running the program Robot - Formula Node Control, all control commands must be
programmed in the formula node provided in the LabVIEW block diagram (Refer to
Appendix 10.A.2 for properly defining a LabVIEW formula node)
c) In both MAIN programs, the robot position estimate can be reset to zero at any time by
pressing the RESET button.
d) Stop the robot and complete the program by pressing the STOP ROBOT button at any
time.

A.2 FORMULA NODE

The formula node is used to evaluate mathematical formulas and expressions similar to C on the
block diagram. The following built-in functions are allowed in the formula node: abs, acos,
acosh, asin, asinh, atan, atan2, atanh, ceil, cos, cosh, cot, csc, exp, expm1, floor, getexp, getman,
int, intrz, ln, lnp1, log, log2, max, min, mod, pow, rand, rem, sec, sign, sin, sinc, sinh,
sizeOfDim, sqrt, tan, tanh.

Figure A5: Formula Node

It is very important to realize that every variable declared inside the formula node will be deleted
after completing each iteration of the tasks inside the formula node.
Therefore, if you want a stored variable, you need to send the stored variable out of the while
loop and send the stored variable back to the while loop as a new input.
The equivalent of a state machine is accomplished by using switch statements within the
formula node.
switch(state){
case 0:
// Insert logic for state 0
break;
case 1:
// Insert logic for state 1
break;
case n:
// Insert logic for state n
break;
}
Here, the variable state is used to select the desired case to use for this iteration through the
switch statement. Note that each defined case must be terminated with a break statement.

A.3 BASIC LABVIEW PROGRAMMING ELEMENTS

Table A1: Color Code Definitions
Color Line

Control

Indicator

Data Type
Single, Double, or Extended floating-point
Fixed Point
8, 16, 32, 64 bit signed integer
8, 16, 32, 64 bit unsigned integer
Boolean
String
Reference
Error

Table A2: While Loop Definitions

Element

Definition

While-loop

Loop period
Loop iteration
Conditional terminal: Stop loop if True
Shift Register: Feedback variables for next loop iteration

Table A3: Sub-VI Block Diagrams

Sub-Vi Block
Select
Robot

Inputs
Robot Number
Confirmation Code

Initialize
Robot

Purpose
Select the desired robot and
enter its unique 5 digit
confirmation code (serial
number)
Establish a connection to the
robot with LabVIEW

Stop
Robot

Stop the robot and close its

connection with LabVIEW

FPGA VI Reference
Error

Read
Encoders

Read the encoder data from

the robot

FPGA VI Reference
Error
Initial Left Encoder (counts)
Initial Right Encoder (counts)
Reset Encoders

Robot Number

Outputs
Robot Number
Status
Robot Selected?
Robot Selection Confirmed?
FPGA VI Reference
Error
Initial Left Encoder (counts)
Initial Right Encoder (counts)

FPGA VI Reference
Error
Initial Left Encoder (counts)
Initial Right Encoder (counts)
Left Encoder (counts)
Right Encoder (counts)
Feedback Translation (counts)

Feedback Rotation (counts)

Left CCW Velocity (rad/s)
Right CCW Velocity (rad/s)
FPGA VI Reference
Error
Sonar Distance (in)

Read
Sonar

Read the sonar data from the

robot

FPGA VI Reference
Error

Filter
Sonar

Filter the sonar data with a

second order low pass filter

Sonar Distance (in)

Sonar Distance Filtered (in)

Filter
Velocity

Filter the robot velocity

estimate with a second order
low pass filter

Left CCW Velocity (rad/s)

Right CCW Velocity (rad/s)
Command

Rotational Velocity (rad/s)

Translational Velocity (in/s)

Robot
Motor
Command

Generate commands to
control the robot motors

FPGA VI Reference
Error

Sonar
Motor
Command

Generate a command to
control the sonar motor

FPGA VI Reference
Error
Command
Velocity (rad/s)
FPGA VI Reference
Error
Sonar Angle (deg)

Update
Robot
Position

Estimate the robots current

position based on the current
encoder data and previous
position estimate

Feedback Translation (counts)

Feedback Rotation (counts)
Initial X Position (in)
Initial Y Position (in)
Initial Th Position (deg)
Reset Encoders
Reset Position
Counts per Inch
Counts per Degree

X Position (in)
Y Position (in)
Th Position (deg)

Create
Map

Generate a known map of the

robot environment

Plot
Robot
Position

Create a plot of the robots

position data

Plot
Sonar

Create a plot of the original

and filtered sonar data

FPGA VI Reference
Error

Map

X Position (in)
Y Position (in)
Th Position (deg)
Sonar Distance (in)
Sonar Angle (deg)
Map
Iteration
Maximum Plot Size
Reset Position
Sonar Distance (in)
Sonar Distance Filtered (in)
Iteration
Maximum Plot Size
Reset Position

X Position (in) Plot

Y Position (in) Plot
Th Position (deg) Plot
Trajectory (in,in,deg) Plot

Sonar Distance (in) Plot

Sonar Distance Filtered (in) Plot