The 2013-14 Mechatronics Senior Project team designed and built an electronically controlled, differentially driven, two-wheel drive vehicle. An additional goal for the project was that it should be developed as a platform to be presented to schools for future academic collaboration.The project for EGM 484/485 is an investigation into electronically controlling a mechatronic system. For the year 2013-14, the senior class built a small vehicle driven by an electric system consisting of several sensors, a microprocessor, and two motors and controllers. The vehicle was configured with hardware to allow for two configurations. The first configuration consists of one solid axle with both wheels rotating in unison. The second configuration consists of two independent axles, each with a motor being controlled to provide differential operation. Appropriate control schemes were implemented via a feedback loop through the microprocessor. The tests used to gauge the change in performance between the modes were adapted from some of the standard tests applied in the automotive industry. For these tests, the first configuration is the baseline in determining if an enhancement in performance exists between the two.
