15-494 Cognitive Robotics 2008 Final Project

Sheep Herding

Christopher Solidum

Goals Boundary Detection Manipulation Results Future Work

Problem:

Given an arbitrary convex boundary, manipulate easter eggs such that one color is on the outside and one is in the inside.

Goals:

• Create a complex but convex boundary using pink tape.
• The robot must keep all the blue easter eggs inside the boundary and all the orange eggs outside. Eggs on the wrong side of the boundary must be pushed to the other side.
• Tricky issue: determining which is the "inside" of the boundary, especially when you're standing on top of it. This is the heart of the project.
• Robot patrols the boundary and surrounding area looking for stray sheep that must be herded back to where they belong.
• Human can move eggs around; robot must notice and respond.