Memorandum
| From: |
Project Manager |
| To: |
Intern Engineers |
| Subject: |
Adding autonomous capability
to the robot |
We need the robot to be able to operate semi-autonomously and collect
some data on its own. This will be the focus of your work over
the next week and a half.
Before you do too much, I suggest a tutorial on Electrical Engineering.
Review series and parallel electric circuits at
http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/CLass/circuits/u9l4b.html
Please do the exercises.
Sensors will be used to provide your robot
with information about its environment. When considering sensors,
your first step is to identify what you want your robot to sense
and how quickly and reliably you want to acquire that information.
While "I want to know
everything, right now, without error" sounds like a good specification,
it probably isn't achievable and it definitely wouldn't be affordable!
Please
see the requirements for a laboratory exercise, in which you
will be measuring the response of a light sensor (a photocell.or photoresistor).
These photocells work like variable resistors, where the resistance
of the photocell is dependent on the amount of light it detects,
or senses. We will be using the voltage divider method
to incorporate the photocell into the Qwerkbot.
You will get to
use your computer science skills as well – and
will need to do some programming in JAVA. Computer
Science and JAVA Programming Basics (doc) provides
a good review or intro for your team and the basic components to
a JAVA program in order to enable semi-autonomous operation of
your robot.
Then do another laboratory session on sensors and programming, which
will help you to enable your Qwerkbot to sense different levels
of light and to respond by “speaking” a sound file corresponding
to the various light levels it senses. I’d like
to see your team report on the sensors and programming work you do. Please
see the Requirements for the format for your report, as well as
the lab sessions.
One last thing – the computer control interface of your robot. How
will you make the robot perform the way you would like through
control, motors, programming? Experiment with motors/servos,
sensors, and programming in order to decide what modifications and
revisions to your initial design capabilities are needed. Use
sensors, motors/servos, or programming to add necessary capabilities
to your robots.
I know this is challenging work. Good luck!
A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm [Zeroth Law].
(Isaac Asimov)
