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Robothon 2003
Call For Papers
Information on Submission
Abstracts
Dan Stormont - A Design For A Modular Emergent
Behavior Mini-Sumo Robot
For at least 50 years, researchers in robotics, neuroscience, psychology, and biology have been
interested in emergent behaviors. Emergent behaviors are behaviors that weren't explicitly
designed in by the robot designer, but emerge as the robot interacts with its environment.
Emergent behaviors are interesting because they are frequently unexpected and because they
often occur in nature. For example, many sociable insects, such as ants, exhibit behaviors
that appear to be very sophisticated but are actually just the result of simple rules being
applied to the environment and to interactions with other ants. I have been interested in
determining methods that can be used to design robots that take advantage of emergent behaviors
by anticipating these behaviors in the robot design process for specific operating environments.
One step in the development of this methodology has been the development of a modular mini-sumo
robot that uses simple behaviors to create a competent fighting robot.
Specifically, this paper describes some of the history of emergent behaviors in robot design,
the power of emergent behavior in biologically inspired and reactive robots, the design of
modular robots to create some of the simpler Braitenberg vehicles, and finally, the design
of a modular mini-sumo robot that will be used to compete in the mini-sumo competition at Robothon 2003.
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Christopher M. Wagers - Combining Locomotion Systems in Robotic Platforms for
Optimal Mobility
The locomotion component of any Robot typically determines how well, or poorly, that Robot
is able to navigate in its environment. A single locomotion component can be used to navigate
relatively well in a predetermined environment, such as using wheels for flat and smooth
surfaces or tracks for uneven and broken surfaces. What is lacking is that while each system
has strengths, it also has inherent weaknesses that can limit its effectiveness in changing terrain.
This paper deals with using more than one style of locomotion in a single platform, thereby
increasing the functionality and adaptability of that platform. Increasing the available
options for a Robot to interact with the environment increases its functionality.
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Doug Kelley - Robot Behavior Simulation Using Neural
Networks
A software-based simulator to study robot behavior, where the
robots are controlled using simple neural networks, is
presented. The neural network uses with three layers of neurons, four
in the first and second layer, and two in the last layer.
Using genetic algorithm techniques to come up with the neuron
weights and then to test a population of 200 simulated robots,
competitive robot behavior is evolved. Observations on this software-based
study are provided, as well as a discussion on the emergent behavior seen.
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Monty Reed - Research and Development Update on LIFE
SUIT
NSRG (North Seattle Robotics Group) has been working on a two-legged, automated robotic
exoskeleton designed to be worn by a person. E H P A (Exoskeleton for Human Performance
Augmentation) is the label given it by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)
however; we call it LIFE SUIT 6 (LS6). The name comes from the belief that this Suit gives
and protects life.
LS6 will be used by disabled persons to walk again and US Military Special Operations
Soldiers in an enhanced mode as a tank built for one.
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Jim Wright - Pushing bits through the air
One of the most modern conveniences that programmers have today is the debugger.
This allows programmers to stop the execution of code and examine the behaviors
of the program. Although many companies sell debuggers for embedded applications,
robot builders do not have the luxury of stopping the processor and looking at memory
while the motors are moving. This paper will discuss methods available to the robot
builder to find out what the robot is doing, seeing, and thinking.
We will focus on three areas of Windows programming that will allow us to build
information-gathering programs. We will discus opening a serial port on the PC,
sending the contents of that port through a wireless Ethernet link to a CE device.
This paper will also discuss storing data into a SQL database.
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Tom Dickens - Random Number Generator for
Microcontrollers
The use of random numbers in small microcontrollers can be very useful and fun in robotic
programming to yield different behaviors from the same robotic-control program. Due to limited
memory, the lack of floating-point math capabilities, and the limited size of integers in some
microcontrollers, the practical implementation of a software-based random number generator
for a microcontroller is difficult. This paper looks at the generation of random numbers, and
compares a variety of implementations on the 68HC11 microcontroller. A good implementation
is chosen and the 68HC11 source code is provided that implements it.
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