SIGCSE Workshop 3/9/07

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Emerging Robotics Resources for Undergraduate CS
Doug Blank
Zach Dodds
Bryn Mawr College
Harvey Mudd College
SIGCSE Workshop 3/9/07
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First part the landscape
Components, Curriculum, and Community
AI Magazine 27(1)
The IRPE and the Myro Scribbler (Institute for
Personal Robots in Education)
Used in CS 1 this term
break before 830
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Second part hands-on experimentation
Myro IPRE's robotics kit
Python-based interaction
iRobot's Create platform
computationally
we have several others as well
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
Considerations for undergraduate CS robotics
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
Wow!
ePuck
Lego NXT
Surveyor
Scribbler
Create
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
computation
price
t
reliability
learning curve
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
computation
simulators
Webots
200 per seat
Stage/Gazebo
Microsoft's Robotics Studio
Competition Simulators
price
3
reliability
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
computation
"research" robots
AIBO
Khepera
Pioneer
3
3000
reliability
and many others
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
computation
Hemisson
Lego RCX
"traditional" microcontroller-based platforms
Handy Board
BOEbot
price
300
reliability
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
computation
?
simulators
research robots
traditional microcontroller-based platforms
price
3
300
3000
reliability
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
computation
"peripheral" platforms
simulators
research robots
traditional microcontroller-based platforms
price
3
300
3000
reliability
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
computation
"peripheral" platforms
375 (Surveyor)
250 NXT
700 (ePuck)
150 Create
70 Scribbler
price
3
300
3000
reliability
Scribbler
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
computation
peripheral to what?
Qwerk board, 300
PC, 0?
Evolution ER1, 300 (discontinued)
BlackFin Handy Board, 800
BrainStem, 100
price
3
300
3000
reliability
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Peripherals' plusses
Low-cost no custom processing
Pedagogical scalability
Flexible, extendable
Focus on computation
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And minuses
Aesthetics "But it's so bulky"
Emerging smaller support community
Off-the-shelf but not out-of-the-box
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Roomba Create
Jan. '06 - Serial Interface to iRobot's Roomba
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Roomba Create
Actuation/Outputs
Serial
LEDs (5-7, color) Piezospeaker Drive wheels (L
R) Cleaning motors (3) Built-in behaviors
Clean Spot clean Dock
USB
Sensors/Inputs
Bluetooth
Wheel encoders (2) Bump sensors (2) IR Wall
sensor (1) Cliff sensors (7) Temperature Electrica
l (5) Buttons (3-4) Dirt-detection (1-2) IR
receiver (0-255) Virtual wall Remote Control
Interfaces
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Roomba Create
CS 1 and CS 2
Chatham College '06
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Roomba Create
Jan. '07 - iRobot releases Create
Replaces the roomba's API
"Software independent"
Scale human vs. desktop
iRobot's teasers
Supports open-ended projects well
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
Reinforcing computational themes
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
Weeks 1-3
Getting moving
Built-in sensors
Building motion models
Weeks 4-6
Vision and sensing
Landmarks for ranging
GPS, tactile, and sonar
Weeks 7-8
Monte Carlo Localization
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
Weeks 1-3
Getting moving
Built-in sensors
Building motion models
Weeks 4-6
Vision and sensing
Landmarks for ranging
GPS, tactile, and sonar
Weeks 7-8
Monte Carlo Localization
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
Finding the molding and its slope
Leading the way
Weeks 4-6
Vision and sensing
The game of Set
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
Lather (move around randomly) Rinse (cull poor
matches) Repeat
Weeks 7-8
Monte Carlo Localization
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Components, Curriculum and Community
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Components, Curriculum and Community
MCL _at_ home
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
Weeks 10-15 Final Projects
Competition Preparation
Reactive task control
Deliberative AI
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
Exhibitions and Competitions
Robocup's many leagues
Beyond Botball
SIGCSE
AAAI
, Michigan's, Trinity, Darpa GC, Mini GC, and
many others
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
AAAI exhibition Vancouver, July 22-26, 2007
Benefits
Proceedings abstract
Poster session
Robot Workshop
Publication
Travel funding
AAAI experience
Mostly-smiling Mudd students at AAAI '05
Consider getting involved this year
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
AAAI exhibition Vancouver, July 22-26, 2007
MCL at the robot exhibition, AAAI 2006
Benefits
Publication - Travel - Experience
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
time-multiplexing
Joining with ongoing work in robotics
ICRA, April 2007, Rome
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
Modeled odometry plus raw data
Best indoor map
Blue built-in odometry
Red multiplexed control
ICRA, April 2007, Rome
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
Peripheral Robots

• A compelling price/performance balance for HW.

• Enable/enhance a computational robotic focus

• Can support both introductory projects, and they
  scale to support competitions/exhibitions in the
  field

• Becoming the standard resources and software
  are available now and continually developing

HMC Links
MCL Curriculum
www.cs.hmc.edu/courses/2007/spring/cs154/
Python for iRobot Create
www.cs.hmc.edu/dodds/sigcse07
AI Magazine 27(1)
www.cs.hmc.edu/roboteducation
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from __future__ import
Ubiquity computing vs. networking
Toys and tools, together
Robosapiens at Robocup
Apple's Motion Sensor
seen in the lab
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from __future__ import
Barbie Jeep
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Arduino Motor Controller GPS Laptop
LinAct
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100
70
0
100
Autonomous Outdoor Vehicle
where the laptop, not the robot, is the
peripheral !
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Summary of pointers to resources
MCL Curriculum
www.cs.hmc.edu/courses/2005/spring/cs154/
_at_ HMC
Python for ER1, BrainStem, Roomba
www.cs.hmc.edu/dodds
AI Magazine 27(1) links
www.cs.hmc.edu/roboteducation
Simulators
Webots
Stage/Gazebo
playerstage.sourceforge.net
www.cyberbotics.com
Pyrobot
pyrorobotics.org
Research Robots
Competition Sims
sserver.sourceforge.net
Main Site
Peripheral Robots
in CS
Other platforms
mindstorms.lego.com/ www.csc.villanova.edu/klassn
er/
Competitions
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Test Slide
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readSensors() setLED( ledNumber, state ) drive(
mm_sec, radius_mm ) playNote( midiNumber,
duration ) playSong( songNumber, songData )
powerOff() setMainBrush( state ) setSideBrush(
state ) setVacuum( state ) buttonPress(
buttonName )
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with python support
Escaping from CS 1
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Components, Curriculum, and Community

• Peripheral robot platforms strike a compelling
  price/performance balance

• Enable / enhance a computational focus

• Wide variety of resources - both now and near

TeRK
Tom Lauwers, Illah Nourbakhsh
tlauwers_at_andrew.cmu.edu
interested?
XBC
David Miller, Jerry Weinberg
www.kipr.org
contact
Roomba
Z Dodds, et al.
dodds_at_cs.hmc.edu
"ER2"
was already trademarked
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Robot Peripherals
Positives
Low-cost no custom processing
Pedagogical scalability
Modular, easily extendible
Learning curve and flexibility
Focus on computation
Negatives
Aesthetics "But it's so bulky"
Emerging smaller support community
Off-the-shelf but not out-of-the-box
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
Mindstorms NXT Fall '06, 250
4 inputs 3 outputs w/encoders sonar, mic, touch
sensors, single-pixel color camera
32-bit processor
Handy Board 2 Fall '06, 600
256 MB of memory
many more ports, H-bridges
laptop-level computation
old Handy Board 2 prototype
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
computation
Hemisson
Lego NXT
"traditional" microcontroller-based platforms
Handy Board 2
kits
BOEbot
price
t
200
reliability
learning curve
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
computation
"peripheral" platforms
roomba (150)
XBC (550)
PPRK (325)
ER1 (gone)
price
2
200
2000
reliability
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
computation
"peripheral" platforms
simulators
research robots
traditional microcontroller-based platforms
price
2
200
2000
reliability
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rMCL
hide and seek
FastSLAM
not all projects work!
MCC
bridging with research
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On which to build
will work as a base for any device speaking
serial.
Handy Board 2
600
The TeRK robot controller
Acroname's BrainStem
www.acroname.com
developing at CMU under Illah Nourbakhsh,Tom
Lauwers et al.
80
250
try them in python
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Components, Curriculum, and Community
Weeks 10-15 Final Projects
Reactive task control
Competition Preparation
Algorithm exploration