CS504: AT in Neurobotics, Behav.Rob. & Exoskel., Fall 2008


CS504	Advanced Topics in Neurobotics, Behavioral Robotics, and Exoskeletons	Fall 2008

Exam/Homework/Laboratory/Reading Assignments:

HW 01 Introduction to Microsoft Robotics Studio (MSRS) (posted on 09.02.2008)
HW 02 MSRS - Motion simulation (posted 09.05.2008)
HW 03 MSRS & iRobot - controlling robot movements and accessing robot inputs (posted on 09.22.2008)
- Solution pdf (will be posted after the deadline)
Suite of laboratory assignments with robots & tactile interfaces (posted on 10.08.2008)
- Each team should complete one HW04 & HW05 exercise within one week. Each week teams should pass along the equipment in the same shape and condition as they were originally given to. Due dates below are given for Team 1. The other teams will similarly alternate equipment week to week.
  - HW04 assignments will go from Oct.09-Nov.06. The weeks allocated for HW04 assignments are: Week1 (Oct.09-16), Week2 (Oct.16-23), Week3 (Oct.23-30), Week4 (Oct.30-Nov.06)
  - HW05 assignments will go from Nov.06-Dec.04 The weeks allocated for HW05 assignments are: Week1 (Nov.06-13), Week2 (Nov.13-20), Week3 (Nov.20-27), Week4 (Nov.27-Dec.04)

HW04 Viper1 - Microbrick Viper (Team1: Oct.09-16)

Viper1.1 Make yourself familiar with the Software and Hardware of Viper

Viper1.2 Assemble and build a Bumper Robot
Viper1.3 Add Line Tracker to your Bump Robot

HW04 Lego1 - NXT Tribot (Team1: Oct.16-23)
- Lego1.1 LEGO Mindstorms NXT software and connecting to the robot
- Lego1.2 Establishing a Bluetooth connection with the LEGO Mindstorms NXT robot
- Lego1.3 Get familiar with programming of the LEGO NXT robot
HW04 BoeBot1 - Paralax Boe-Bot (Team1: Oct.23-30)
- BoeBot1.1 Getting yourself familiar with the Boe-Bot
- BoeBot1.2 Boe-Bot's actuators: Simple movement
- BoeBot1.3 Boe-Bot's sensor testing: whiskers and IR
HW04 Falcon1- Novint Falcon (Team1: Oct.30-Nov06)
- Falcon1.1 Installing Novint Falcon Drivers and Applications
- Falcon1.2 Geting familiar with the capabilities of Novint Falcon
- Falcon1.3 Installing the SDK & setup your C++ environment to work with Novint Falcon
- Falcon1.4 Running the demo application
- Falcon1.5 Modifying simple parameters

HW05 Viper2 - Microbrick Viper (Team1: Nov.06-13)
- Viper1.4 Combine Bumper and Line Tracker together
- Viper1.5 Extra Credit: Implement a control mechanism that will prevent the viper from getting stuck in corners
- Viper1.6 Extra Credit: Improve the robot by adding a four-wheel drive

HW05 Lego2 - NXT Tribot (Team1: Nov.13-20)
- Lego1.4 Implement a “robot – wonderer” controlled by the sound
- Lego1.5 Extra Credit: Experiment with connecting of the LEGO NXT to the Microsoft Robotic Studio (MSRS).
HW05 BoeBot2 - Paralax Boe-Bot (Team1: Nov.20-27)
- BoeBot1.4 Boe-Bot's sensors: Obstacle detection
- BoeBot1.5 Boe-Bot's actuators: Simple movement
- BoeBot1.6 Extra Credit: Boe-Bot & MSRS
HW05 Falcon2 - Novint Falcon (Team1: Nov.27-Dec.04)
- Falcon1.6 Implementing a rough surface
- Falcon1.7 Implementing a force feedback for a sphere
- Falcon1.8 Implementing bumpy texture on the sphere

HW 06 Tactile Maneuvering - Using Falcon for controlling Lego NXT Rover (posted on 11.07.2008)
Preparatory examples fo final exam (posted on 12.11.2008)
Final Exam (posted on 12.13.2008, due Monday, Dec. 15, 2008, noon mst)

Robotics laboratory equipment for this class:

Microbric Viper Programmable Robot Kit

Technical Specifications: http://www.electronickits.com/robot/MicrobricVIPERRobotKit.htm?gclid=CNDTvYrL_5MCFSQdagod8SZAXA
Contains:
- VIPER-KIT - Microbric Viper Programmable Robot Kit
- VIPER-LINE - Microbric Viper Line Tracker Expansion Pack
- VIPER-WHEEL - Microbric Wheel Expansion Pack
Viper Characteristics:
- Microcontroller:
  - Basic Atom – based on a PIC 16F876 processor chip
  - Approximately 14KB of flash program ROM (for storing programs and constants)
  - Between 256 and 300 B of available RAM for calculations and variable storage
  - 256B of EEPROM available for constants, user data, etc.
- Actuators:
  - Two servo motors with circuitry to drive forward and backward
  - Two more servo motors included in the extension pack
  - Speaker capable of producing tones of defined tone and length
  - Two LED modules emitting light
- Sensors:
  - Slide Switch module for permanently setting an input to high or low
  - Button modul setting the input to hight while being pressed
  - One omnidirectional IR Receiver capable of communication with a remote control
  - Two mechanical bumper sensors – detecting contact with an obstacle.
  - Line Tracker module (Expansion Pack) – contains LED emitting red light and a photo resistor receiver detecting the amount of light being reflected back from the surface (3mm – 12mm working range). Enables manual calibration to given conditions.
- Batteries:
  - 6 x AAA in the Viper robot + 2 x AAA in the remote control
- Connections:
  - Motherboard contains 9 pin female D serial connector

Falcon Novit

Technical Specifications: http://home.novint.com/products/technical_specs.php

Mindstorms NXT Alpha Rex

Technical Specifications: http://mindstorms.lego.com/Overview/MTR_AlphaRex.aspx

iRobot Create® Premium Development Package (w/o remote)

Technical Specifications: http://store.irobot.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2591511
External sensors:
- Two wheel encoders for measure odometry
- Two bump sensors to detecting a left or right collision. The bumper is one solid unit, but two
  sensors are contained within.
- An infra red detector located on the top front of the robot.
- Three buttons capable of responding to user input.
- Wheel drop sensors on the two drive wheels and the front castor.
- Four IR cliff sensors located under the rim of the bumper.
There are many internal sensors as well. The complete list totals 32
sensors:
- External sensors (12):
  - Caster Wheel Drop
    Left Wheel Drop
    Right Wheel Drop
    Left Bumper
    Right Bumper
    Wall
    Left Cliff
    Front Left Cliff
    Front Right Cliff
    Right Cliff
    Stasis
    Omnidirectional IR Receiver
- Internal Sensors (12):
  - Left Wheel Overcurrent
    Right Wheel Overcurrent
    Low-Side Driver 0 Overcurrent
    Low-Side Driver 1 Overcurrent
    Low-Side Driver 2 Overcurrent
    Left Wheel Encoder
    Right Wheel Encoder
    Battery Voltage
    Battery Current
    Battery Temperature
    Internal Charger Presence
    Dock Presence
- User definable sensors (6):
  - Digital Input 0
    Digital Input 1
    Digital Input 2
    Digital Input 3
    Analog Input
    Baud Rate Change Pin
- Buttons (2):
  - Advance Button
    Play Button

Boe-Bot Kit for Microsoft Robotics Studio

Technical Specifications: http://www.parallax.com/Store/Robots/RollingRobots/tabid/128/CategoryID/3/List/0/SortField/0/Level/a/ProductID/390/Default.aspx
Also:
- Sensor Sampler Kit http://www.parallax.com/Store/Sensors/AccelerationTilt/tabid/172/CategoryID/47/List/0/Level/a/ProductID/468/Default.aspx?SortField=ProductName%2cProductName containing:
  - Memsic 2125 Accelerometer
  - Sensirion Temperature and Humidity Sensor
  - Flexiforce Demo Kit
  - PING))) Ultrasonic Sensor
  - PIR Sensor
  - Hitachi HM55B Compass Module
  - Hitachi H48C Tri-Axis Accelerometer Module
  - Piezo Film Vibra Tab Mass
  - QTI Sensor
- BoeBot Characteristics
  - Microcontroller:
    - Equipped with Basic Stamp 2 module
    - Processor Speed: 20Mhz (approx. 4000 instr. / sec.)
    - Ram Size: 32B (6 I/O, 32 Variable)
    - 2KB EEPROM (approx. 500 instructions)
    - 16 input / output pins
  - Actuators:
    - 2 Continuous Rotation Servos (avg. speed 60 rpm, manual adjustment port)
    - 2 LED emitting light
    - 1 Piezo Speaker
  - Sensors:
    - 2 Whiskers, detecting mechanical contact with an obstacle
    - 2 IR emitter and receiver for IR obstacle detection (distance detection)
    - 2 light sensitive photo resistors
    - PING – Ultrasonic Range Finder
    - PIR – Movement detection sensor
    - Sensirion Temperature / Humidity Sensor
    - Hitachi HM55B Compass Module
    - Hitachi H48C Tri-Axis Accelerometer
    - Memsic 2125 Two-Axis Accelerometer
    - Flexiforce Sensor Demo Kit
    - QTI reflexivity sensor
  - Batteries:
    - 4 x AA batteries
  - Connections:
    - BoeBot has an RS232 female connector (the package includes USB to Serial Adapter)
    - EmbeddedBlue Transceiver APPMode Eb500-SER providing standard connectivity via Bluetooth interface with open field range up to 300 feet.

Before you send me an email, please check the FAQs (your answer might already be there).

Class paper:

Paper topic: Neurobotics is known by their inherent ability to deal with wide range of problems. You may want to do a preliminary literature search first.

Type of paper: Required paper can have more of a research (theoretical) or more of a project (applicative) flavor.

Format: Formatting should be according to an IEEE conference guidelines. It should be composed of title, abstract, introduction, problem definition, proposed solution, experimental/testing, conclusion, and future directions.
Some examples are:
- IEEE Computer Soc. Publishing Forms page (see Formatting Instructions);
- IEEE Author Tools page with Template for IEEE Transactions with template in MS Word or pdf format and WIN and MAC Bibilography file.

Submission: Please follow these rules when submitting your paper:
- Please compile all your results into a single file!
- In email, use the proper subject line and signature as stated in course web page.
- Include the same signature on every page of your assignment.
- Use the following convention for naming the file: " HWnn_Family_name.xxx ", nn being the homework number.

General tip: After you choose a problem, give a problem definition on a general level first. Then decompose it to feasible components and tackle one after another. In other words, put some boundaries on a problem and keep it reasonably difficult for a given deadline.

Teaming up: If you are a member of a team, first select a project manager for your team. He or she will be submitting paper drafts and questions for all of you. He or she will also be cc-ing to all of the members of your team. Hence, when I reply I will be replying to all. Paper title page will contain all the team members names, as well as the detailed description of division of work in team (who is doing what).

Outreach students: Outreach students are encouraged to team up with other outreach students or students taking the course live/cv. Though EO students can assume deadlines 10 days longer than the ones posted below, I would encourage to use the same final submission date. This way, your teammates can present your papers during the last session of the course.

First draft due: Sep. 18, 2008.
- Deliverable: brief outline, up to one page long. It should include:
  - working title,
  - author(s) contact info
  - short abstract, and
  - problem description (problem statement). It is very important to provide as precise as possible problem statement. I would encourage providing both narrative and mathematical problem description.
- Formatting: at this point, your deliverable should look like an abstract you would submit to an IEEE conference (please refer to format specifications from above).
- Content: Initial proposal should be limited to a problem description. At this stage, a problem statement is a main task. You may describe a set of related problems instead of a single problem. At this point in the course, you should have a good feel for problems where neural networks will be a superior solution. However, an elaborate discussion on possible neural algorithms should be left for the second draft. I will also be assisting you in identifying neural network based solution(s) that would be a good fit for your problem.
- Topics: Any application related to learning, adaptive control, classification, pattern recognition, and many others would be a good choice (see some ideas listed below). I am hesitant to force you into a list of topics – I would rather see you coming up with something along the line of your current project problems, thesis or dissertation, or something you would be simply interested in working on. I will be happy to discuss topics with you - feel free to contact me anytime.

Second draft due: Oct. 16, 2008.
- Deliverable: in addition to the content from the first draft, detailed literature (background) review should be performed for this phase.
- Formatting: you are planning on publishing your paper at IEEE conference, so the formatting applies accordingly.
- Based on literature review that you have done, you should elaborate on other comparative approaches to the same problem. This is important because: 1) it documents that you understand the current state of the art of your particular problem; 2) helps you identify deficiencies with current solution approaches. These deficiencies you will be attempting to alleviate.
- This draft should contain updated problem description. The survey of existing solutions needs to be referenced. You may start elaborating on steps you are planning on taking with regards to your problem solution.
- This will be a more elaborate paper, but not more than 2-4 pages long. At this point, you will have the following components of your paper:
  - title (revised, if necessary)
  - author(s) contact info
  - abstract
  - I. Introduction and background (literature review)
  - II. Problem statement (updated)
  - V. References
- At this point a solution proposal does not need to be presented.
- Division of work in team: please clearly state the division of work within a team (the work performed by each team member).

Third draft due: Nov. 06, 2008.
- Deliverable: in addition to previous draft, it should contain a technique (or selection of techniques), you are planning on using to solve the selected problem (III. Solution proposal section). The solution(s) will entail specific learning algorithms, architectures, discussion on advantages and disadvantages of each, etc.
- Formatting: IEEE conference formatting.
- This will be a more elaborate paper, but not more than 5-6 pages long. At this point, you will have the following components of your paper:
  - title (revised, if necessary)
  - author(s) contact info
  - abstract
  - I. Introduction and background (literature review)
  - II. Problem statement (refined, in necessary)
  - III. Solution proposal
  - V. References
- At this point a final solution and experiments do not need to be present.
- Division of work in team: please clearly state the division of work within a team (the work performed by each team member).

Final submission: Dec. 04, 2008.
- Deliverables:

Presentations: last week of the course (week of Dec. 09, 2008).

Each of you will present your project and we will all discuss it. You should use this discussion to finalize your project paper and hopefully publish it at some conference.
Presentation: please limit your presentation to 10min+5min for discussion. Along with final version you should email me your slides so I can post them on our course web page. This way others will be able to read about your project and prepare questions. Please print out all project papers & presentations before coming to the final session.

Paper topic - some ideas:

These are some examples of the applications that can be targeted.

Autonomous robots
- Fuzzy inference systems, neural network control, evolutionary algorithms, pattern (road/obstacle recognition) recognition, localization, navigation, and mapping, • Self-organization, self-repair • Haptic device control, grasp control, force-feedback device control • Control of multiple-robot systems, swarm and cellular robotics, formation control, heterogeneous robot teams
Wireless networks & network security
- Robotics based location sensing using wireless networks • Wireless sensor networks for motion tracking • Wireless sensor networks for gesture and posture recognition
Human-robot cognitive and physical interaction
- physiology of brain activity, biomimetic control

Final Information:

Course web sites will be closed:
- Husky class site will be closed after the semester is officially over. I will be granting temporary permissions upon the request.