DEVELOPMENT OF A MOBILE ROBOT FOR REMOTE MONITORING FOR MULTIMEDIA AND DATA ACQUISITION

Abstract

This research is based on the development of a mobile robot for remote monitoring and data acquisition. The project aims at improving the problem found in the available data acquisition systems. The available systems are stationary systems that make use of data loggers to store the acquired data and they also require human personnel to move the system from one place to another while some systems require that the user pay for an internet connection for storing the acquired data on the Internet. To eliminate these problems there is a need for a robot with the ability to move from one place to another, a robotic arm for taking readings from specific points and a direct RF connection for data acquisition. The robot makes use of four wheels for movement, three servos to achieve three degrees of freedom with a Wi-Fi camera and DHT11 sensor for real-time data acquisition. Data acquired from the sensor is been transferred wirelessly to the OLED display on the remote controller by the HC-11 RF transceiver module. From the results obtained, the robot has an average speed of 0.14m/s when carrying a payload of 1Kg and the accuracy of the robotic is ±2º. The power consumed in the busy mode is quite remarkable with a difference of 650mW as compared to the idle mode. Therefore, the system developed in this work will therefore reduce the risk posed to field agents since it does not require a supervisor on the monitored site. Also by replacing an online server for data logging by a wireless remote control interface with display, the cost of implementing the system was reduced.