Summary
In this chapter, we saw how to incorporate wheel encoder sensors into our robot and used them to determine how far each wheel has turned. We saw how to use this to get the robot onto a straighter path using a reduced PID controller and then used this to drive a specific distance. We then took the calculations further to calculate turning a corner in terms of wheel movements and driving the robot in a square.
A PID controller can be used in many situations where you need to apply a difference between a measurement and expectation, and you have seen how to combine this with sensors. You could use the same system to control a heating element connected to a thermal sensor. You could also use encoders to move robots with some precision, where the restricted range of motion used in servo motors does not make sense.
In the next couple of chapters, we will explore giving our robot even more interactive and intelligent behaviors, with chapters on visual processing using a Raspberry...
