Be A Robot

You should work in groups of at least 4 persons.

The goal of today's activity is to learn about the parts of a robotic system and how they work together. The parts we'll study are:

• Controller (the "head")

  This part of the robot understands the task that needs to be performed and instructs the others how to do it. In a real robotic system, this is a program that runs on a computer either carried on the robot or connected to it by wires or radio.

• Sensors (the "eyes")

  This part of the robot system can find out something about the current state of the world. It can return low-level information (like pixels) but does not understand what the information means. Real robotic systems have many different kinds of sensors, including cameras, touch sensors, distance sensors (such as radar ranging) and odometers.

• Manipulators (the "hands")

  This part of the robot system can cause changes in the world, such as picking things up or moving the robot around. Robot hands range from very simple suction-cup designs to hands that look almost human. Other kinds of manipulators are legs and wheels.

Today, we will divide into teams of four to five people who will together as a "robot" build specific objects out of blocks (please do not write on the blocks!).

Each team will consist of:

• One "head": The head will be the only member of the team that knows what the robot is suppose to build. She/he will be blindfolded and out of reach of the blocks.

• One (pair of) "eyes": The "eyes" will be the only member of the team that is not blindfolded. She/he will not be allowed to touch the blocks, and is not allowed to speak except for answering direct questions asked by the "head".

• Two "hands": Each hand (designated left or right) will be allowed to manipulate the blocks (but only using his/her appropriate hand). They will be blindfolded and will not be allowed to speak. They must obey all commands given by the "head".

The Prof/TA for your team will have descriptions of the objects that should be built out of your block. She/he will show the "head" the objects one at a time. Once an object is shown to the head, your team should try to build it as quickly as possible, according to the above job descriptions. After completing an object, switch roles and try to build another object.

NOTE: Your blocks should be the same shape as the picture you see, but may be a different color.

Classwork 1 (10 pts)

Discuss the following with your group and writeup answers. Be sure to list all the names of your group and turn in just one sheet at the end of class.

1. Which of the four parts was the hardest to play and why? Which was the easiest and why?
2. What type of block combinations were hardest or easiest to build with your four person robot?

Assignment 2 (10 pts)

Individual Writeup for your CompSci 18S Web page

This part is due when your CompSci 18S web page is due, Sept. 11, 2006.

For the following problem you should discuss it in the group, then each of you will write it up individually and put it on your CompSci 18S web page.

• Write up a one page general description of how you would "program" a robot to "walk" into this classroom and find the box of soft blocks. Assume your robot is the height of a person, can see and recognize shapes, and can "walk" forward and backwards and can turn in implements of 45 degrees. Also assume the room is full of tables, chairs and people walking around. The bag may be anywhere in the room. What type of information do you need to tell your robot?