Innovative Academic Robotic Project Details- 02

 

Title: Atmega328 Based Human Following Smart Shopping Trolley 

Idea In Short:

This smart shopping trolley automatically tracks and follows a customer through store aisles using ultrasonic and infrared sensors, eliminating the need to manually push a cart.

System Description:

Traditional shopping trolleys require continuous manual effort to push and maneuver through crowded retail environments, which can be exhausting for shoppers and particularly challenging for elderly or mobility-impaired individuals. This project addresses the issue by introducing an automated, human-following smart trolley built on an Atmega328 microcontroller platform. The system combines a steel mesh basket chassis with a 4-wheel drive mechanism. Using a front-facing ultrasonic sensor, it maintains a dynamic, safe following distance behind the shopper, while bottom-mounted IR sensors provide line-following guidance along designated shopping lane tracks. By automating movement and lane navigation, the trolley delivers a seamless, hands-free shopping experience.

System Details:

• Hardware Inventory:

  • Atmega 328 Controller

  • IR Sensors

  • Ultrasonic Sensor

  • Motor Drivers

  • DC Motors

  • Robot Chassis

  • Regulatory Circuitry

  • PCB Board

  • Resistors

  • Capacitors

  • Transistors

  • Cables and Connectors

• Software Inventory:

  • Operating System: None

  • Programming Language: Embedded C / C++ (Arduino IDE)

• Working Blocks (System Process Flow):

  1. Ultrasonic Distance Sensor (Input): Continuously measures the real-time distance between the trolley and the customer walking ahead to signal movement or stopping.

  2. IR Sensors (Input): Detects floor line markings along retail aisles to keep the robotic trolley centered within the designated movement lanes.

  3. Regulatory Circuitry & PCB (Power & Distribution): Converts and regulates input power to supply steady operating voltage to the microcontroller, sensors, and motor driver modules.

  4. Atmega 328 Microcontroller (Processing Unit): Receives range and trajectory inputs from the ultrasonic and IR sensors, processes navigation algorithms, and outputs precise speed/direction control signals.

  5. Motor Drivers (Power Amplification): Accepts control signals from the microcontroller and amplifies them to drive the high-current DC motors safely.

  6. DC Motors & 4WD Robot Chassis (Locomotion/Actuation): Drives four motorized wheels to move the attached wire mesh shopping basket smoothly behind the customer.

System Application:

• Autonomous customer assistance in supermarkets, hypermarkets, and shopping malls.

• Hands-free shopping support for elderly individuals or shoppers with limited physical mobility.

• Automated material or inventory transport in warehouse aisles and retail fulfillment centers.

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