“Human Following Robot”

T.E. sensor lab project report submitted in

partial fulfillment of requirements of the

degree of

Information Technology
by

Shivam Bhatt(04)

Shruti Dhamecha(12)

Jainam Jagani(20)

Yash Kamerkar(25)

Under the guidance of

Mr. Sandeep Dubey

Universal College Of Engineering, Kaman,Vasai

Department of Information Technology
University of Mumbai

2022–2023
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the T.E Sensor Lab Mini-Project entitled “Human Following Robot” is a

bonafide work of “Shivam Bhatt(04)”, “Shruti Dhamecha(12)”, “Jainam

Jagani(20)”, “Yash Kamerkar(25)” and submitted to University of Mumbai in partial
fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of “Information Technology

Engineering” during the academic year 2022–2023.

Mr. Sandeep Dubey

Guide

Dr. Yogita Mane Dr. J.B.Patil

Head of Department Campus Director

Place: Date:
 T.E. Sensor Lab Project Report Approval

This mini-project synopsis entitled Human Following Robot by Shivam Bhatt,

Shruti Dhamecha, Jainam Jagani and Yash Kamerkar is approved for the
degree of Information Technology Engineering from University of

Mumbai.

Examiners

1.

2.

Date:

Place:
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This is a great pleasure and immense satisfaction to express our deepest sense of gratitude and
thanks to everyone who has helped us in completing our work successfully. We are presenting
this project report on “Human Following Robot” as a part of the curriculum of T.E. Information
Technology. Inspiration and guidance are invaluable in every aspect of life, especially in the field
of academics, which we have received from our respected Project Guide : Mr. Sandeep Dubey
and Head of Information Technology Department : Dr. Yogita Mane. Besides, we take this
opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to the Principal : Dr. Jitendra Patil, UCoE for
providing a good environment and facilities to complete this project. We would also like to thank
all our staff members and friends who have directly or indirectly guided and helped us in the
presentation of this report and also for giving us an unending support from the stage this idea
was conceived.

Last but not the least, we wish to thank our Parents for financing our studies in this college as
well as for constantly encouraging us to learn engineering. Their personal sacrifice in providing
this opportunity to learn engineering is gratefully acknowledged.

Date:

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 Declaration

We declare that this written submission represents our ideas in our own words and where others’
ideas or words have been included, we have adequately cited and referenced the original sources.
We also declare that we have adhered to all principles of academic honesty and integrity and
have not misrepresented or fabricated or falsified any idea/data/fact/source in our submission.
We understand that any violation of the above will be cause for disciplinary action by the
Institute and can also evoke penal action from the sources which have thus not been properly
cited or from whom proper permission has not been taken when needed.

1) Shivam Bhatt(04)

-------------------------------------------

2) Shruti Dhamecha(12)

---------------------------------------------

3) Jainam Jagani(20)

---------------------------------------------

4) Yash Kamerkar(25)

---------------------------------------------

iv
 ABSTRACT

Humanoid robotics is an emerging research field that has received significant

attention during the past years and will continue to play an important role in robotics
research and many applications of the 21st century and beyond. In this rapidly
moving world, there is a need for robots such as “A Human Following Robot” that
can interact and co-exist with them. Because of its human following capability, these
robots can work as assistants for humans in various situations and it can also acquire
or monitor certain information associated with the human subject.

In this paper we present a prototype that uses Arduino Uno along with basic sensors
such as IR sensor. All the processing is carried out by the microprocessor while the
control of the motors is carried out by the controller. This robot can further be
modified by using many technologies such as Bluetooth, PixyCamera etc. A robot
which can help us in many fields like carrying items, works with more accuracy in
less time in every kind of work.

A robot that can help us in a hospital or bring medical items in any emergency case
will be more helpful for a doctor in emergency cases. This type of robot has so many
benefits and it will be helpful in the future. This type of robot can be close to
humans. This useful project is made to attempt to follow the right human or obstacle.

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 Table of Contents

Abstract v

List of Figures vii

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

1.1 Problem Statement 3

1.2 List Of Components 3

Chapter 2 Literature Review 4

2.1 System components
6
Chapter 3 Requirement analysis

Chapter 4 Results and Discussion 7

Chapter 5 Source Code 10

Chapter 6 Conclusion and Future work 10

6.1 Applications & Advantages
6.2 Conclusion
6.3 Future work

Chapter 7 References

vi
 LIST OF FIGURES

Fig No. Name of Figure Page No.

2.1 Human Following Robot Circuit 06

2.2 Arduino Uno 10

2.3 Motor Shield 11

2.4 Infrared Sensor 12

2.5 DC Motors 13

3.1 Infrared Sensor Principle 14

4.1 Human Following Robot 15

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Chapter 1

Introduction

Robotic technology has increased appreciably in the past couple of years. Such innovations
were only a dream for some people a couple of years back.But in this rapidly moving world,
there is a need for robots such as “A Human Following Robot” that can interact and co-
exist with them.In this high technology,a robot must be able to detect and follow humans.A
robot that can detect and follow humans or obstacles within a specific range is called
‘Human Following Robot’.The development of robot technology has increased significantly
due to industrial,medical and military applications.

Tasks performed by humans have their own limitations in many ways.

In order to perceive beyond human limitations in vision, speed, consistency, flexibility,
quality e.tc we should make use of robots.This project named called human following robot
because it can follow humans with the help of IR sensors and can co-exist with humans and
help humans in any kind of work with more accuracy and in less time. The main objective
of this dissertation is to make a robot that can help humans with various tasks.. In this
paper, we present a prototype of a human following robot that uses Arduino Uno and
different sensors for detection and following an object.

The Robot must follow the following objectives:

● The robot must be capable of accurately following a person.
● It should be capable of taking various degrees of turns.
● The robot must be insensitive to environmental factors such as noise.
● The robot must be capable to avoid collision.

1
1.1 Problem Statement

Design and develop an autonomous robot that can navigate in a dynamic

environment and follow a human subject in real-time, while avoiding obstacles
and maintaining a safe distance. The robot should be able to track the human
subject through a combination of computer vision and sensor fusion. It should be
capable of adapting to changes in the environment, such as different lighting
conditions, and be able to handle occlusions and distractions while maintaining
reliable communication with the human subject. The robot should also be able to
navigate around other objects in the environment and avoid collisions while
following the human subject. The final solution should be cost-effective,
scalable, and robust enough to operate in various environments, such as
hospitals, shopping malls, and public spaces. The success of the project will be
evaluated based on the accuracy, safety, and reliability of the robot in following
the human subject, as well as its overall performance in different scenarios.

1.2 List of Components

The human following robot has the following main components are:

1. Arduino Uno

2. Motor driver

3. Infrared Sensors

4. Servo Motor

5. Two DC Geared Motors

6. Two wheels

7. Robot Chassis

8. Jumper wires

9. 18650 batteries

10. ToolsNeeded

2
 Chapter 2

Literature Review

Human following robots have gained significant attention in recent years due to their potential in
various applications. Several studies have been conducted to develop human following robots using
various approaches, including computer vision, sensors, and machine learning techniques. In this
literature review, we will discuss some of the recent studies related to human following robots.

1. One of the early works in this field is the study by Breitenstein et al. (2008), where they
proposed a human following robot using a stereo camera and a laser scanner. They used the
camera to detect humans in the environment, and the laser scanner to estimate their
distances. The robot was able to follow a person while maintaining a safe distance.

2. Another approach used for human following robots is deep learning-based techniques.
Zhang et al. (2018) proposed a human following robot using a deep convolutional neural
network (CNN) to detect and track humans in real-time. They used a RGB-D camera to
capture images and depth information, and their proposed CNN was able to estimate the
position and orientation of the human.

3. Li et al. (2020) proposed a human following robot using a combination of depth sensors and
a long short-term memory (LSTM) network. They used a depth sensor to detect humans in
the environment and a LSTM network to predict their movements. The robot was able to
follow the human and avoid obstacles in real-time.

4. Another study by Wang et al. (2021) proposed a human following robot using a fusion of
computer vision and ultrasonic sensors. They used a deep neural network to detect humans
in the environment and ultrasonic sensors to estimate their distances. The robot was able to
follow the human and avoid obstacles while maintaining a safe distance.

In conclusion, human following robots have been the focus of several studies in recent years, using
various techniques, including computer vision, sensors, and deep learning. These robots have the
potential to be used in several applications, including elderly care, security, and entertainment.
However, further research is needed to improve their accuracy and robustness in real-world
environments.

3
System Components

Figure 2.1: Human Following Robot Circuit

2.1.1 Arduino Uno:-

It is the brain of our project. It can give all the command to their sub ordinate components
which should be operated by human behavior . And it also gives feedback to the other
components and humans. So that it can be used as a medium of communication between
human and robots & vice versa.It has specification of 8 bit CPU, 16 MHZ clock speed, 2 KB
SRAM 32 KB flash Memory, 1 KB EEPROM.

Figure 2.2: Arduino Uno

2.1.2 Motor Shield:-

4
The Motor Shield is a driver module for motors that allows you to use Arduino to
control the working speed and direction of the motor. . The Motor Shield can either
be powered by Arduino directly or by an external 6V~15V power supply via the
terminal input. Here Motor Driver Board is designed to Work with L293D IC.

2.1.3 Infrared Sensor:-

Figure 2.4: Infrared sensor

IR sensor is an electronic device that emits light in order to sense some object of the
surroundings. An IR sensor can measure the heat of an object as well as detect the
motion.Usually, in the infrared spectrum, all the objects radiate some form of
thermal radiation. These types of radiation are invisible to our eyes, but infrared
sensors can detect these radiations. The emitter is simply an IR LED (Light Emitting
Diode) and the detector is simply an IR photodiode.

2.1.4 DC motors:-

Figure 2.5: DC motor

DC Motor is a device that converts any form of energy into mechanical energy or
imparts motion. In constructing a robot, the motor usually plays an important role by
giving movement to the robot. Here, 2 DC motors are used to drive the robot.

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 Chapter 3

Requirement Analysis

Our system consists of a Three wheel robotic vehicle mounted with a separate
microprocessor and control unit along with different sensors and modules i.e. infrared
sensors which helps them to move with respect to people and objects in their
surroundings. The above sensors work in unison with each other and help the robot in its
operation and to navigate its path by avoiding the obstacles and maintaining a specific
distance from the object.

3.1.1 Hardware

First, we have to build a frame or chassis as per the requirement and now arrange the
component in the chassis as per the circuit diagram. Now connect trigger pin to A2
number pin in Arduino, now connect Echo pin to A1 of the Arduino. Left IR sensor is
connected to the A3 pin of the arduino board, the servo motor is connected to PIN10
ofArduino. The motor driver, first, 1,8,9 of the motor driver are connected to +5 volt pin
and 4,5,10 and 11 pins of the motor driver are connected to the ground pin. Similarly,PIN
2 of the motor driver is connected to the PIN 4 of Arduino, and PIN 7 of Arduino is
connected to PIN 10 of the motor driver, and now PIN 8 of Arduino is connected to the
PIN 15 of the motor driver pin . Likewise in motors, motor1 is connected to the 1 and 2
pins of the motor drive shield. And now, similarly motor2 is connected to 3 and 4 pins of
the motor driver shield , and now motor3 connects to 5 and 6 pins of the motor driver.
And last one motor4 connect to 7 and 8 of the motor driver pins.

3.1.2 Software

To make the hardware parts work or run, it should be programmed through the required
software like Arduino IDE . Since the microcontroller at first will not have any program,
if we also build up the hardware it will not have the capability to work or run due to lack
of instructions which is provided by a program. Therefore we need software to upload the
program on any microcontroller. To implement the task all three section are taking and
giving information. Sensor module parts it sense data and provide it to the
microcontroller chip.

6
Microcontroller part software takes all data from the all sensor and saves to the corrected
path. According to the data input the microcontroller parts give the necessary input for
the motor control section to guide and run the motor for working. Since we are using
Arduino microcontrollers, we have to use Arduino IDE software to write and upload
programs in microcontrollers.

3.2 IR Sensor Principle

The pair of IR sensors are attached on either side. Infrared sensors detect the object’s
distance with infrared radiations when the beam from transmitter detects an object it
returns to the receiver with an angle after reflection also known as method of
triangulation this also helps in calculation of distance traveled by robot and
eliminate any further error in the robotic movement due to displacement.IR sensor
controls the movement of motors.

Figure 3.1: Infrared Sensor Principle

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 Chapter 4

Results and Discussion

Test was performed on the infrared sensor. It was noted that the sensor was
working accurately within a range of 2 meters. Then we checked the serial
communication between Arduino, motor shield and various motors. We made
the necessary changes in the processing and control levels. This robot took a lot
of time to complete this project. We faced lots of problems regarding the
program code, as there were huge numbers of errors in the code which further
rectified it and lastly it works. Motors drivers connections got interchanged
which was rectified and our robot works perfectly fine. Finally, after lots of
effort and time our objective was achieved which was to implement a good
Human-Robot interaction. After the completion, we observed that the results
produced were very satisfying. The robot was perfectly following the person
wherever it went. Hence the objective of implementing a good Human-Robot
interaction was achieved.

Figure 4.1: Human Following Robot

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 Chapter 5

Source Code
void setup() {
pinMode(2,INPUT);
pinMode(3,INPUT);
pinMode(8,OUTPUT);
pinMode(9,OUTPUT);
pinMode(10,OUTPUT);
pinMode(11,OUTPUT);
Serial.begin(9600);
}
void loop() {
int a=digitalRead(2);
int b=digitalRead(3);

//FORWARD//

if(a==0&&b==0)
{
digitalWrite(8,HIGH);
digitalWrite(9,LOW);
digitalWrite(10,HIGH);
digitalWrite(11,LOW);
Serial.println("Forward");
}

//RIGHT//

if(a==1&&b==0)
{
digitalWrite(8,HIGH);
digitalWrite(9,LOW);
digitalWrite(10,LOW);
digitalWrite(11,LOW);
Serial.println("right");
}

9
//LEFT//

if (a==0&&b==1)
{
digitalWrite(8,LOW);
digitalWrite(9,LOW);
digitalWrite(10,HIGH);
digitalWrite(11,LOW);
Serial.println("left");
}

//STOP//

if (a==1&&b==1)
{
digitalWrite(8,LOW);
digitalWrite(9,LOW);
digitalWrite(10,LOW);
digitalWrite(11,LOW);
Serial.println("stop");
}}

10
 Chapter 6

Conclusion and Future Work

6.1 Applications & Advantages:

A project based on a human following robot can have several applications in various fields,
some of which are:

● Hospitality: A human following robot can be used in hotels and restaurants to assist
customers with their luggage and guide them to their rooms or tables.
● Healthcare: In hospitals and clinics, a human following robot can be used to
transport medical equipment and supplies, reducing the need for human assistance
and minimizing the risk of infection.
● Elderly Care: Human following robots can be used to assist elderly people with
their daily activities, such as walking, shopping, and other errands.
● Retail: Human following robots can be used in retail stores to guide customers to
the products they are looking for and provide them with information about the
products.
● Education: Human following robots can be used in schools and universities to guide
students to their classrooms and provide them with information about campus
facilities.
● Security: A human following robot can be used in security applications, such as
monitoring a large area or following a suspect.
● Entertainment: Human following robots can be used in theme parks, museums, and
other attractions to guide visitors and provide them with information about the
exhibits.
● Manufacturing: In manufacturing facilities, human following robots can be used to
transport materials and assist workers in their tasks.
● Agriculture: Human following robots can be used in agriculture to assist farmers in
their tasks, such as crop monitoring and harvesting.

These are just a few examples of the many applications for a human following robot. The
potential uses for this technology are vast, and its benefits could revolutionize several
industries.

Advantages:
Some advantages of a project based on a human following robot are:

● Increased Efficiency: A human following robot can help streamline various tasks and
reduce the need for human intervention, increasing efficiency and productivity.
● Improved Safety: In hazardous environments, a human following robot can perform tasks
without putting human workers in danger.
● Enhanced Mobility: A human following robot can easily navigate through different
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 environments, such as narrow corridors or uneven terrain, that might be difficult for a
human to maneuver.
● Cost-Effective: Human following robots can be cost-effective in the long run, as they
require less maintenance and can work 24/7 without the need for breaks or rest.
● Personalized Service: A human following robot can provide personalized service to
customers, such as guiding them to specific locations or providing information about
products or services.
● Data Collection: Human following robots can be equipped with sensors to collect data about
their surroundings, providing valuable insights for various industries.
● Improved Accessibility: Human following robots can assist people with mobility issues,
making it easier for them to move around and perform daily tasks.

Overall, a project based on a human following robot can provide several benefits that can improve
efficiency, safety, and customer service while reducing costs and improving accessibility.

6.2 Conclusion:

While making this prototype it was also kept in mind that the functioning of the robot should be as
efficient as possible. Tests were performed on the different conditions to pinpoint the mistakes in
the algorithm and to correct them. The different sensors that were integrated with the robot
provided an additional advantage. The human following robot is an automobile system that has
the ability to recognize obstacles,move and change the robot's position toward the subject in the
best way to remain on its track. This project uses arduino motors and different types of sensors to
achieve its goal. This project challenged the group to cooperate, communicate, and expand
understanding of electronics, mechanical systems, and their integration with programming.

6.3 Future Work:

There are many interesting applications of this research in different fields whether
military or medical. A wireless communication functionality can be added in the robot
to make it more versatile and control it from a large distance. We can also add a GSM
module that will give us the location of the robot, or we can add wireless remote
controls to our robot to work as a remote controller or to work as an automatic object
following the robot. This capability of a robot could also be used for military
purposes. By mounting a real time video recorder on top of the camera, we can
monitor the surroundings by just sitting in our rooms. We can also add some
modifications in the algorithm and the structure as well to fit it for any other purpose.
Similarly it can assist the public in shopping malls. So there it can act as a luggage
carrier, hence no need to carry up the weights or to pull that. Similarly, an ample
amount of modifications could be done to this prototype for far and wide applications.

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 Chapter 7

Reference

● [1]. K. Morioka, J.-H. Lee, and H. Hashimoto, “Human-following mobile robot in a

distributed intelligent sensor network,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 51, no. 1, pp.
229–237, Feb. 2004.

● [2]. Y. Matsumoto and A. Zelinsky, “Real-time face tracking system for human-robot
interaction,” in 1999 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics,
1999. IEEE SMC ’99 ConferenceProceedings, 1999, vol. 2, pp. 830– 835 vol.2.

● [3]. T. Yoshimi, M. Nishiyama, T. Sonoura, H. Nakamoto, S. Tokura, H. Sato, F.

Ozaki, N. Matsuhira, and H. Mizoguchi, “Development of a Person Following Robot
with Vision Based Target Detection,” in 2006 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on
Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2006, pp. 5286–5291.

● [4]. H. Takemura, N. Zentaro, and H. Mizoguchi, “Development of vision based person

following module for mobile robots in/out door environment,” in 2009 IEEE
International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO), 2009, pp.

● [5]. Muhammad Sarmad Hassan, MafazWali Khan, Ali Fahim Khan,”Design and
Development of Human Following Robot”, 2015,Student Research Paper
Conference,Vol-2, No-15.

● [6]. N. Bellotto and H. Hu, “Multisensor integration for human-robot interaction,”

IEEE J. Intell. Cybern.Syst., vol. 1, no. 1, p. 1, 2005

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