Telling a robot how to behaveCOS 116: 2/9/2006Sanjeev AroraPlease sit close to the central “pit”; many demosSurvey results! Class break-down" Freshmen: 10" Sophomore: 18" Juniors: 8" Seniors: 8! Majors" Economics: 9" Sociology: 3" English: 3" Philosophy: 2" Math: 2" History: 2" 1 each of Religion, Psychology, Classics, Geosciences, Politics" 8 Undecided or unlisted! Own a:" PC: 25" Mac: 13" Game console: 15" Palm: 5" iPod: 23! Have a web page:Yes:7 No: 26! Ever posted on blog: Yes: 10; No: 22! Programming: None: 27 ; Some: 6! Highest math course:" None or pre-calc: 16" Calculus: 5" Multivariable / linear algebra: 7" Higher math: 7 (214 or higher)Today: Understanding a simple robotWhy?•Bigger goal: trying to work towards an answer to “What is Computation?”•Acquire insight into a technology that will become pervasive within the next decade.Robots in cultureReal robotsDefinition of “Robot”:! A machine that can be programmed to interact with the physical environment in a desired way! Keyword: programmed" As opposed to cars, televisions, which are operated by peopleComponents of a robot! Conceptually, each robot has 3 groups of components:Sensors/Inputs: light, sound, motion, etc.Computing HardwareOutputs/Actions: motor control, lights, speakers, etc.Our robot: ScribblerLight outputsSpeakerLight sensorsObstacle sensor detectorObstacle sensor emitterStall sensorLine sensor (underneath)Motor/wheelsInputs OutputsbuttonFormal specification of actions! Fact of life in computing: hardware is “dumb”! Forces us to make nebulous concepts precise" What is language? Music? Intelligence?! Is it possible to have more “intelligent” hardware? A radically different computer?Always remember (esp. for Scribbler labs):" Microprocessor can do only one thing at a time" It is very fast--20 million operations per second!" Sequence of instructions within { … } form a “compound instruction”Why programmable?! Benefits of a programmable device:" Flexible" Multi-use" Universal! Main difference between computers and other technologiesExample 1: As a burglar alarmIf beam interrupted…Beep!Example 2: As an artisteInteresting fact: Scribbler is even more “dumb” than you might thinkGOTO MainSenseObs:FREQOUT ObsTxLeft, 1, 38500IF (ObsRx = 0) THEN object_left = 1 ELSE object_left = 0LOW ObsTxLeftFREQOUT ObsTxRight, 1, 38500IF (ObsRx = 0) THEN object_right = 1 ELSE object_right = 0LOW ObsTxRightRETURNSenseLine:HIGH LineEnableline_right = LineRightline_left = LineLeftLOW LineEnableDo forever{Move Forward for 1sMove back for 1s}END=3 pages of stuff like“Translator” written byRajesh Poddar ‘08Where are things going?! “Small cleaning agents” – BrooksWhere are things going?! 2005 DARPA Challenge ($2 M prize):" 132 mile race in the desert" No human control!" 5 teams, Stanford won in ~7 hoursThe Princeton EntryUndergraduate Project; reached the finalsWhere are we going?! Automated highways! Being actively researched (From Minority Report)What is going inside us?! Robot surgery:“Da Vinci” Robotic surgery system! More precise, though often still controlled by
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