Train Chain

Project Goal

Control systems play a major role in autonomous vehicles & unmanned pickup & delivery bots. A good way of learning the implementation of control systems is learning from its actual application. The goal of the project here is to use PID controls based on the consideration of physical parameters of model trains to make a de-linked bogey follow its lead train without crashing into it.

How it works

Two model train blocks, not linked with each other are built with an on-board circuit consisting of Arduino UNO and Adafruit Trinket Pro for executing the fed in control system. The bogeys are powered with a power bank on each of them which simultaneously powers the motors and the micro-controllers. Proportional, Integral and Derivative controls are used to control the distance between the two trains.

Sensors

Hall Effect Sensors To keep a track of the motion of the bogeys, a Hall effect sensor is used, the data of which is used to generate plots showing the velocity and acceleration fluctuations of the wheels to test the effect of the P-I-D gains and alter them as needed.

Ultrasonic Ping Sensor An ultrasonic PING sensor is mounted behind the lead train. The PING sensor is used to detect the distance between the two trains so as to prevent them from crashing. The distance data from the PING sensor is used as input to trigger the PID gains in real time based on the current distance and the distance to be maintained.