I haven’t used accelerometers before. Sounds like you can use them on drive bases instead of encoders. Is this the case? would an accelerometer be more accurate?
From what I’ve heard, the accelerometers are not the most accurate, and are also harder to use. They can be helpful, but I wouldn’t completely replace encoders with them.
They measure completely different things and have different sources of error.
I’m assuming you want to measure distance traveled by the bot? In this case, the encoders are more reliable given there’s no wheel slip.
If you want to maintain the balance of a tall bot, then the accelerometer is a better bet.
Terry
so how would you use an accelerometer to maintain balance? I’ve never used one so really don’t know how to apply it.
It measures acceleration. Because gravity is seen as an acceleration, the accelerometer can measure a change in the gravitational vector with respect to your robot, provided your robot is not moving or jerking around much when you make the measurement.
In other words, an accelerometer can detect a shift in the direction gravity appears to be aiming. Or, in other other words, it can tell if the part of the robot to which it is attached appears to be tilting with respect to the earth’s horizon.
Problem is, the accelerometer can also detect other motions, jerks, bumps, etc. so you need to be careful what you’re actually measuring.
If you’re trying to measure distance, I would stick with encoders.