Currently our robot has 1 inertial sensor, but the skills auton is not at all consistent. I have read that using 2 rotational sensors and 1 inertial sensor can make life a bit easier. I am reading about PID control and I understand that getting the right constants Kp KI and KD might be a bit of a hassle, but other than that am I on the right track?
What you’ve probably heard online is about Odometry, which utilizes 2 wheels on the bottom of the robot, rubber-banded to the ground, that are connected to rotation sensors. Then, you can combine the rotation sensors and inertial sensor to create a positioning system.
Odometry is pretty complicated, but there are tutorials online, and libraries available that have already implemented it.
For now, I would suggest continuing to tune your PID. One example of a PID tuning method is available here: 4 - PID Tuning - LemLib documentation, but there are many methods out there.
You seem to be on the right track to making a more consistent and speedy auton!
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Thanks for the information. Are you suggesting I initially stick with the 1 inertial sensor and try to make the PID work for it?
Yes. I would suggest starting with PID and using the inertial sensor for turn movements, and moving to odometry once you’re confident that you understand it.
Read more about PID and odometry here:
PID Controller | Purdue SIGBots Wiki
Odometry | Purdue SIGBots Wiki
These articles are very good for understanding the concepts.
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