Cognitive Robotics Final Project Ideas

Student: Mark Ritterhoff

Use the Lookout to track the ball (and modify the Lookout so it works on the Qwerk and Create robots as well as on the AIBO).
If the ball goes off screen, use its direction of travel to intelligently guess where to look for it.
If ball isn't where we expect, execute a visual search for it.
If visual search fails, go off and hunt for the ball, avoiding obstacles along the way. (Should be able to eventually find a ball hidden anywhere in the playpen.) Possible wall-following behavior.
Use audio signals to indicate when the ball is lost and reacquired.
When robot gets close to the ball, execute one of several behaviors: kick the ball, circle the ball, try to push the ball.
Possible extensions: multiple balls.

Student: Scott McCaffrey

Create a web site to teach people how to modify a Qwerkbot and use those modifications in Tekkotsu:

Adding a switch (double throw; single throw with pulldown resistor; bump switches)
Adding an LED (types of LEDs that will work; how to select a current limiting resistor)
Adding a pressure sensor
Adding an ultrasonic rangefinder
Adding a servo
Adding sound and light electronics from a child's toy raygun (computer controls the trigger)
Adding a laser pointer that can be aimed with a pan/tilt servo and controlled from Tekkotsu

Student: Chris Solidum

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.

Student: Jonathan Coens

Given a tentacle constructed from a chain of 6-8 servos, investigate algorithms for controlling it.
Place colored markers on the servos so you can see their positions relative to objects the tentacle is to grasp or avoid.
Use visual feedback to guide the tentacle.

Student: TBD

Decorate the playpen with distinctive markers.
Write code to allow the robot to determine its position by first visuall acquiring markers and then using Tekkotsu's particle filter to localize itself based on the marker positions.
Write code that allows the user to instruct the robot to travel to any desired location in the environment. Calculate a rough trajectory and use the particle filter to guide the robot's progress.

Student: Danielle Millett

Given a collection of plastic spoons and forks, sort them into two piles
First problem is to isolate one item from the collection. Then identify the item class. Then push it to the correct location.
Can use SIFT to distinguish spoons from forks: must train up spoon and fork models from examples.
Can mount the pieces on blocks of wood to make it easier to push them.

Dave Touretzky
Last modified: Tue Apr 8 03:55:17 EDT 2008