Page 92 - Toucpad robotics C11

Purpose
Flowcharts make algorithms easier to understand, analyse, and communicate, especially for complex processes. They
provide a visual overview of the program’s logic.
Common Symbols

Oval/Terminal: Represents the start or end of a program.
u
Rectangle/Process: Represents a specific action or process (e.g., “Move Forward,” “Read Sensor”).
u
Diamond/Decision: Represents a point where a decision is made (a question with “Yes/No” or “True/False” answers).
u
Parallelogram/Input/Output: Represents data input or output operations.
u
Arrows/Flowlines: Show the direction of the process flow.
u
Example

Start

Task assigned to the Self-localisation
Robot

NI Board process and Position Refinement
Controller signal
Communication and
Evaluation

Sensors Yes
Signal? Problem Identification

No
No

Continue Searching

Task
Completed?

Yes

End

Application in Robotics
Before writing actual code, robotic engineers often draw flowcharts to design the robot’s behaviour logic.

Example Flowchart Segment (for the line-follower)
(Start - Oval) ->
u
(Read Sensors - Parallelogram) ->
u
u (Left Sensor ON AND Right Sensor ON? - Diamond) ->
∑ If Yes -> (Move Forward - Rectangle) -> Loop back to “Read Sensors”
∑ If No -> (Left Sensor ON AND Right Sensor OFF? - Diamond) ->
If Yes -> (Turn Left - Rectangle) -> Loop back to “Read Sensors”
§
If No -> ... and so on.
§
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Touchpad Robotics - XI