Professor: Marek A. Perkowski, Electrical Engineering.

Humanoid Robotics.



This lecture is based on a book by Thomas Braunl, "EMBEDDED ROBOTICS. Mobile Robot Design and Applications with Embedded Systems".

The "chapters" here stricty follow book chapters. This year some material will be skipped and some will be added.

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.

SECTION 1.1. Mobile Robots.

SECTION 1.2. Embedded Controllers.

SECTION 1.3. Interfaces.

SECTION 1.4. AUXILIARY READING MATERIAL.





CHAPTER 2. PROGRAMMING TOOLS.


SECTION 2.1. System Installation.

SECTION 2.2. Compiler for C and C++.

SECTION 2.3. Assembler.

SECTION 2.4. Debugging.

SECTION 2.5. Download and Upload.

SECTION 2.6. AUXILIARY READING MATERIAL.

CHAPTER 3. ROBIOS OPERATING SYSTEM.

SECTION 3.1. ROBIOS structure.

SECTION 3.2. Monitor Program.

SECTION 3.3. System Function and Device Driver Libary.

SECTION 3.4. Hardware Description Table.

SECTION 3.5. Boot Procedure.

SECTION 3.6. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 4. MULTITASKING.


SECTION 4.1. Cooperative Multitasking.

SECTION 4.2. Preemptive Multitasking.

SECTION 4.3. Synchronization.

SECTION 4.4. Scheduling.

SECTION 4.5. Interrupts and Timer-Activated Tasks.

SECTION 4.6. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 5. SENSORS.


SECTION 5.1. Sensor Categories.

SECTION 5.2. Binary Sensors.

SECTION 5.3. Analog versus Digital Sensors.

SECTION 5.4. Shaft Encoder.

SECTION 5.5. Analog/Digital Converters.

SECTION 5.6. Position Sensitive Devides.

SECTION 5.7. Compass.

SECTION 5.8. Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Inclinometer.

SECTION 5.9. Digital Camera.

SECTION 5.10. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.


CHAPTER 6. ACTUATORS.



SECTION 6.1. DC Motors.

SECTION 6.2. H-Bridge.

SECTION 6.3. Pulse-width Modulation..

SECTION 6.4. Stepper Motors.

SECTION 6.5. Servos.

SECTION 6.6. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 7. CONTROL.



SECTION 7.1. On-Off Control.

SECTION 7.2. PID Control.

SECTION 7.3. Velocity Control and Position Control.

SECTION 7.4. Multiple Motors - Driving Straight.

SECTION 7.5. V-Omega Interface.

SECTION 7.6. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 8. REAL-TIME IMAGE PROCESSING.


SECTION 8.1. Camera Interface

SECTION 8.2. Auto-Brightness

SECTION 8.3. Edge Detection.

SECTION 8.4. Motion Detection.

SECTION 8.5. Color Space.

SECTION 8.6. Color Object Detection.

SECTION 8.7. Image Segmentation.

SECTION 8.8. Image Coordinates versus World Coordinates.

SECTION 8.9. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.

  1. List of lectures on Robot Vision before 2005.


CHAPTER 9. WIRELESS COMMUNICATION.


SECTION 9.1. Communication Model.

SECTION 9.2. Messages.

SECTION 9.3. Fault-Tolerant Self-Configuration.

SECTION 9.4. User Interface and Remote Control.

SECTION 9.5. Sample Application Program.

SECTION 9.6. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 10. DRIVING ROBOTS.


SECTION 10.1. Single Wheel Drive.

SECTION 10.2. Differential Drive.

SECTION 10.3. Tracked Robots.

SECTION 10.4. Synchro-Drive.

SECTION 10.5. Ackermann Steering.

SECTION 10.6. Model Cars as Robots.

SECTION 10.7. Localization.

SECTION 10.8. Navigation.

SECTION 10.9. Software Architecture.

SECTION 10.10. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 11. OMNI-DIRECTIONAL ROBOTS.


SECTION 11.1. Mecanum Wheels.

SECTION 11.2. Omni-Directional Kinematics.

SECTION 11.3. Omni-Directional Robot Design.

SECTION 11.4. Driving Program.

SECTION 11.5. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 12. BALANCING ROBOTS.


SECTION 12.1. Simulation.

SECTION 12.2. Inverted Pendulum Robot.

SECTION 12.3. Double Inverted Pendulum.

SECTION 12.4. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 13. WALKING ROBOTS.


SECTION 13.1. Six-Legged Robot Design.

SECTION 13.2. Biped Robot Design.

SECTION 13.3. Sensors for Walking Robots.

SECTION 13.4. Static Balance.

SECTION 13.5. Dynamic Balance.

SECTION 13.6. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 14. AUTONOMOUS PLANES.


SECTION 14.1. Application.

SECTION 14.2. Control System and Sensors.

SECTION 14.3. Flight Program.

SECTION 14.4. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 15. EYESIM SIMULATOR.


SECTION 15.1. Mobile Robot Simulators.

SECTION 15.2. EyeSim User Interface.

SECTION 15.3. Sensor-Actuator Modeling.

SECTION 15.4. Multiple Robot Simulation.

SECTION 15.5. Sample Application.

SECTION 15.6. Environment Representations.

SECTION 15.7. Parameter Files.

SECTION 15.8. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 16. MAZE EXPLORATION.


SECTION 16.1. Micro Mouse Contest.

SECTION 16.2. Maze Exploration Algorithms.

SECTION 16.3. Simulated versus Real Maze Program.

SECTION 16.4. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 17. MAP GENERATION.


SECTION 17.1. Mapping Algorithm.

SECTION 17.2. Data Representation.

SECTION 17.3. Boundary-Following Algorithm.

SECTION 17.4. Algorithm Execution.

SECTION 17.5. Simulation Experiments.

SECTION 17.6. Physical Experiments.

SECTION 17.7. Results.

SECTION 17.8. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 18. ROBOT SOCCER.


SECTION 18.1. RoboCup and FIRA Competitions.

SECTION 18.2. Team Structure.

SECTION 18.3. Mechanics and Actuators.

SECTION 18.4. Sensing.

SECTION 18.5. Image Processing.

SECTION 18.6. Trajectory Planning.

SECTION 18.7. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 19. NEURAL NETWORKS.


SECTION 19.1. Neural Network Principles.

SECTION 19.2. Feed-Forward Networks.

SECTION 19.3. Learning.

SECTION 19.4. Neural Controller.

SECTION 19.5. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 20. GENETIC ALGORITHMS.


SECTION 20.1. Genetic Algorithm Principles.

SECTION 20.2. Genetic Operators.

SECTION 20.3. Application to Robot Control.

SECTION 20.4. Example Evolution.

SECTION 20.5. Implementation of Genetic Algorithms.

SECTION 19.5. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.

  1. List of lectures and materials before year 2005.


CHAPTER 21. GENETIC PROGRAMMING.


SECTION 21.1. Concepts and Applications.

SECTION 21.2. LISP.

SECTION 21.3. Genetic Operators.

SECTION 21.4. Evolution.

SECTION 21.5. Tracking Problem.

SECTION 21.6. Evolution of Tracking Behavior.

SECTION 21.7. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 22. BEHAVIOR-BASED SYSTEMS.


SECTION 22.1. Behavior-Based Robotics.

SECTION 22.2. Behavior Framework.

SECTION 22.3. Adaptive Controller.

SECTION 22.4. Tracking Problem.

SECTION 22.5. Neural Network Controller.

SECTION 22.6. Experiments.

SECTION 22.7. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.

  1. List of materials before year 2005.


CHAPTER 23. EVOLUTION OF WALKING GAITS.


SECTION 23.1. Splines.

SECTION 23.2. Control Algorithm.

SECTION 23.3. Incorporating Feedback.

SECTION 23.4. Controller Evolution.

SECTION 23.5. Controller Assessment.

SECTION 23.6. Evolved Gaits.

SECTION 23.7. AUXILIARY READING AND MATERIALS.



CHAPTER 24. AUXILIARY IDEAS AND ROBOTS.


SECTION 24.1. ROBOTS THAT WE USED OR WILL USE.



  1. Part 2. Overview of robots Robots for Exploration. Outdoor mobile robots. Servicing or Assistive robots. Underwater robots. Intervention robots.

  2. Part 3. Overview of robots Robots for the military and police. JPL planetary surface robot. Robot requirements. Outdoor big Walking Robots. LEMUR robot from JPL. Multi-Robot Control Architecture. Other robots for planetary exploration. Microrovers. Autonomous cars and vehicles. Driver's assistance. Autonomous helicopters. Agriculture and Field Robots. Agricultural Vehicle Automation. Climbing robots. Applications to medicine. Surgery robots. Training. ROBODOC. Prostheses.

  3. Part 4. Overview of robots Micro-robots. Social behaviors of micro-robots. Multi-Purpose Humanoid Robots. Honda Robot. Science Fiction Humanoid robots. COG from MIT. Robot dogs from Japan. Entertainment robots. Toys. "Spiritul robots"of Kurzweil.




CHAPTER 25. DISCUSSING PROJECTS AND ASIGNMENTS.




Discussion of projects and examinations.
Much time is spend to discuss student progress on projects.
Programming in Lisp and Prolog, understanding of recent research papers assigned to read and present.
Demonstrations of software, hardware and videotapes with previous projects from PSU, MIT Robotics Labs, Wright Laboratories, and other. This material is changed every year. Look to other robotics links on my robotics webpages, homework assignments and project assignments for each years.



CONTACTS TO STUDENTS.

  1. Alex Perez