Introduction

Search-n-Fetch locates and fetches balls of a given color. The robot is designed generically to fetch any ball since it has no ball-specific fetching mechanism. It uses a camera to detect the environment and Atmel MAVRIC-IIB microcontroller for the behaviors. It uses IR and bump switches to avoid obstacles. In a game of tennis, or cricket, fetching a ball can interrupt play for considerable lengths. The autonomous robot Search-n-Fetch can locate and fetch balls there by letting the players concentrate on their game.

Model

The diagram below shows the overall structure of the robot. I am still contemplating whether to keep a door in the front or not (to prevent collected balls from falling away from the robot).