Photoelectric Navigation for a Ward Inspection Robot

A ward inspection robot is capable of dealing with part of the medical staff’s duties on a hospital ward. It reduced their labour intensity, as well as the overall risk of infection. The robot designed in this study is driven by two direct current (DC) motors and deflected by differential motion. Cost-effective, reliable, photoelectric rulers are designed, and they play an important role in navigation. Analysis of the relationships of velocity and angular velocity with the velocities of its driving motors shows that a fuzzy control method is applicable to navigation assisted by the photoelectric rulers mounted on both the front and back of the robot. Test results suggest that the navigation method is cheap, simple, easy to operate, reliable, and is fit for purpose.