Project requirements
The car needed to follow a black line from start to finish, attempt to find the line after losing it, and display elapsed travel time on a 16×2 LCD. The controller had to be an 8051 programmed in assembly.
System architecture
Our team used a modular design: a microcontroller and power-supply board, a line-detection and conditioning board, an H-bridge motor-driver board, and the LCD module. Rather than purchasing fabricated PCBs, we etched our own boards to work within the available budget and schedule.
Constraints and outcome
We had fewer than three months to learn the PCB CAD software, design and build the boards, and finish the project alongside other classes. The team completed the course successfully.
Looking back
This was an early design, and I would approach it differently today: cleaner routing, fewer right-angle trace corners, and more compact surface-mount components. It remains a useful example of learning embedded hardware by building a complete system.
Original project photos
Click any photograph to view the full-resolution original.
