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COLONY Introduction September 10, 2010. Outline. Motivation Brief Introduction to the Robots Recent Colony Work Current Research Administrative Things. Motivation. Create a colony of robots that does cool stuff Interesting research platform Emergent behaviors Robotic cooperation - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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COLONYIntroduction
September 10, 2010
2
Outline
1. Motivation
2. Brief Introduction to the Robots
3. Recent Colony Work
4. Current Research
5. Administrative Things
3
Motivation
Create a colony of robots that does cool stuff
Interesting research platform– Emergent behaviors– Robotic cooperation– Multi-agent interaction– Distributed algorithms– Simultaneous Localization
and Mapping (SLAM)– …
4
Why Colonies?
Many successful organisms organize themselves into groups
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Why a Colony of Robots?
Robustness– Single robot + single failure = game over– Colony of robots + single failure = one robot down
Distributed intelligence and sensing– One robot cannot be everywhere at once– Colonies can collect and communicate data across distant
points within an environment Collective behavior
– Cooperation between robots to accomplish complex tasks Robots are awesome
– More robots are more awesome
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Goals
Many low-cost robots
Open, usable platform– Capable hardware– Robust open-source code base
Research– Multi-robot applications– Distributed algorithms– Emergent behaviors
Fun Stuff
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Brief Colony History
Project started in 2003 by Steve Shamlian Robots
– Firefly I, II– Dragonfly– Scout
BOM, BOM 1.5 Many research grants
– URO - Over 11 Small Undergraduate Research Grants– Ford Motor Company– Robotics Institute
2 Papers / Conferences– NCUR – National Conferences on Undergraduate Research– AAAI – Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
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Active Members
Project Leaders– John Sexton– Ben Wasserman– Alex Zirbel
Current Members– Chris Mar– Dan Shope– Megan Dority– Evan Mullinix– Abe Levkoy– Nico Paris– Ben Poole– Hanzhang Hu
Distinguished Alumni– Austin Buchan– Bradford Neuman– David Schultz– Emily Hart
– James Carroll– Joseph Lee– Daniel Jacobs– Vinay Vemuri– Devendra Gurjar
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Robots
1010
Dragonfly
1111
Dragonfly – Front View
Front IR Rangefinders
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Dragonfly – Back View
Side IR Rangefinders
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Communication
Bearing and Orientation Module (BOM)– Localization sensor– IR emitter/detector array– Relative angle
measurements to other robots
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Communication
XBee wireless module– 30m indoor range / 100m outdoor range– IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee)– 2.4 GHz– Low-cost, low-power– Open industry standard
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Recent Colony Work
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Behaviors
Individual and multiple robot behaviors Simple local interactions can yield complex
global actions– Emergent behavior
Use sensor data to control actions
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Behaviors
Past Projects:– Obstacle Avoidance– Cooperative Maze Solving– “Follow the Leader”– “Marching Band” 1.0
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Autonomous Recharging
Battery charge is limited
Recharging batteries is a pain
Let the robots charge themselves!
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Mapping
Autonomous wall following
Obstacle detection using rangefinders
Position estimation using encoders
Wireless data collection
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Simulator
Test robot behaviors quickly
Develop behaviors independently of hardware problems
Develop code even when robots are out of reach
Simulating 100 robots is a lot cheaper than having 100 robots
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Diagnostic Station
Inconsistent sensors are consequence of inexpensive colony
Calibrate and characterize sensors for every robot
Automate colony maintenance
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Formation Control
Make robots form and maintain a spatial relationship
Stay in formation while moving as a group
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Current + Future Work
Dynamic Traffic Navigation (SURG Grant)– Make robots drive around on roads autonomously
while communicating with each other to simulate and improve traffic systems.
– Applications Self driving cars Warehouse robots Automated driving systems
<Your Idea Here>
Colony Scout: System Overview
• 4WD all-terrain platform– High speed, high torque motors (200rpm, 45oz-in)
– Integrated quadrature encoders (~3mm linear accuracy)
• Enhanced Sensor Package– Sonar rangefinders– Digital cliff sensors– Side proximity sensors– Front bumper switches– Yaw rate gyroscope– 3 axis accelerometer (optional)
• Integrated charging contacts & homing
Colony Scout: What can you do?
Prototype and test Gumstix board design Compile OpenEmbedded Linux using bitbake and gcc Develop AVRARM9 interface Autonomous Charging Station
– Power distribution design, homing beacons Accessories
– Have a cool idea? Make it a reality!
For more information and videos:
www.ColonyScout.com
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FAQ
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FAQ
Why should I join Colony?– Experience with robots– Learn about all phases of research
Proposals (i.e. SURG) Robotics (design, programming) Presentation
– Awesome long-term project Experience with motivated, talented team Exposure to embedded systems, sensors, wireless
communication, mobile robotics
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FAQ Cont’d
Do I need to know (skill) ?– No! – But you are expected to take an active role in
learning– Club members will provide assistance
How much time will this take?– Expect at least 3-10 solid hours per week– The more you put in, the more you get out of it
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FAQ
How do I get started?– Make sure we can contact you
Get added to the email list:[email protected]
Email [email protected] to get added– Attend work meetings
First five weeks of meetings will be geared towards getting you up to speed
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AdministrativeThings
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Meetings
Project Meetings– Fridays, 4:30pm. NSH 1109
Cookies!– Everyone. Every time.– Status updates, administrative matters
Work Meetings– Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday,
6:30pm – 8:30pm in the Club Room
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Work Meetings
First few weeks are special!– Hands-on labs to bring you up to speed
Labs will be released online– Can work independently if unable to make work
meetings– Members will be in the Club during work meeting
hours Bring your laptops!
– Available computers are limited
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Colony Introduction Schedule
Lab0 - Dance Competition– [Release date: 9/10/10] [Demo date: 9/24/10]
Lab1 - Dead Reckoning– [Release date: 9/24/10] [Demo date: 10/8/10]
Lab2 - Hunter-Prey– [Release date: 10/8/10] [Checkpoint date: 10/14/10]
[Demo date: 10/22/10]
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Things You Should Look At
C Programming Tutorial– http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/cclass/notes/top.html– Chapters 1 – 3– Don’t worry about compiling; we’ll show you that
WinAVR– Compiler, linker, loader package for programming our robots
Programmer’s Notepad– Code (text) editor bundled with WinAVR for convenient programming
SVN – Subversion– Source control
Redmine– Wiki– Task management system
36
Advisor
George Kantor– RI Project Scientist– Teaches several RI classes– Controls, sensor networks, …– Knows a thing or two about robots– Busy guy
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Important Emails/Web
Colony list– [email protected] – new people
Project Leaders:– [email protected]– [email protected]– [email protected]
Web:– www.robotcolony.org
