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Vol. 5 No. 8SERVOMAGAZINEGUARDIAN 5•RFID•BIPED EXPERIMENTS•IR REMOTE CONTROL•CANAugust 2007 Cover.qxd 7/12/2007 7:15 PM Page 84 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ CoverInside.qxd 7/11/2007 2:15 PM Page 2 Full Page.qxd 7/11/2007 2:19 PM Page 3 4 SERVO 08.2007 35 The Day That Robots Took Over the Park by Camp Peavy Crowds gathered in San Francisco, CA to watch the 2007 RoboMagellan contest portion of RoboGames. 38 RFID Localization by Bryan Bergeron Learn a simple, inexpensive, and powerful localization approach based on RFID technology. 42 Beginner’s Guide to Programming by Michael Simpson Lesson 2: For/Next and If/Then Commands. 46 Biped Experiments by Mark Miller Watch the evolution of feet by “Android Man.” 50 A CAN Networking Introduction by Fred Eady Say hello to a differential mode-based network. 55 Use the Magic of Infrared Remote Control on Your Bot by David Ward Remote controls aren’t just for switching TV channels anymore . 60 Developing the Guardian 5 Robot by Fernando Ramirez This robot and carrier system can bring added safety to security personnel and law enforcement. Features & Projects SERVO Magazine (ISSN 1546-0592/CDN Pub Agree #40702530) is published monthly for $24.95 per year by T & L Publications, Inc., 430 Princeland Court, Corona, CA 92879. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT CORONA, CA AND AT ADDITIONAL ENTRY MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to SERVO Magazine, P.O. Box 15277, North Hollywood, CA 91615 or Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor ON N9A 6J5; cpcreturns@ servomagazine.com PAGE 67 PAGE 46 TOC Aug07.qxd 7/12/2007 4:10 PM Page 4 08.2007 VOL. 5 NO. 8 SERVO 08.2007 5 ENTER WITH CAUTION! 22 The Combat Zone Introducing SERVE’ SERVO Magazine’s Spokesbot Columns 08 Robytes by Jeff Eckert Stimulating Robot Tidbits 10 GeerHead by David Geer TeRK 14 Ask Mr. Roboto by Pete Miles Your Problems Solved Here 67 Lessons From The Lab by James Isom RoboGames 2007: Student LEGO Events 70 Robotics Resources by Gordon McComb Applying the Invention of the Wheel to Your Robot 74 Appetizer by Vern Graner Recovering Our Technical Literacy 79 Then and Now by Tom Carroll Robot Arms Departments 06 Mind/Iron 18 Events Calendar 19 New Products 20 Robotics Showcase 64 Menagerie 66 Robo-Links 76 SERVO Bookstore 82 Advertiser’s Index TOC Aug07.qxd 7/12/2007 4:10 PM Page 5 Published Monthly By T & L Publications, Inc. 430 Princeland Court Corona, CA 92879-1300 (951) 371-8497 FAX (951) 371-3052 Product Order Line 1-800-783-4624 www.servomagazine.com Subscriptions Inside US 1-877-525-2539 Outside US 1-818-487-4545 P.O. Box 15277 North Hollywood, CA 91615 PUBLISHER Larry Lemieux publisher@servomagazine.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ VP OF SALES/MARKETING Robin Lemieux display@servomagazine.com EDITOR Bryan Bergeron techedit-servo@yahoo.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jeff Eckert Tom Carroll Gordon McComb David Geer Pete Miles R. Steven Rainwater Michael Simpson Kevin Berry Fred Eady Mark Miller Camp Peavy Fernando Ramirez David Ward Vern Graner Brian Benson Jay Johnson Ray Billings Paul Ventimiglia Colleen Shaver Alan Young James Isom CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Tracy Kerley subscribe@servomagazine.com MARKETING COORDINATOR Brian Kirkpatrick WEB CONTENT/STORE Michael Kaudze sales@servomagazine.com PRODUCTION/GRAPHICS Shannon Lemieux ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Debbie Stauffacher Copyright 2007 by T & L Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved All advertising is subject to publisher’s approval. We are not responsible for mistakes, misprints, or typographical errors. SERVO Magazine assumes no responsibility for the availability or condition of advertised items or for the honesty of the advertiser.The publisher makes no claims for the legality of any item advertised in SERVO. This is the sole responsibility of the advertiser. Advertisers and their agencies agree to indemnify and protect the publisher from any and all claims, action, or expense arising from advertising placed in SERVO. Please send all editorial correspondence, UPS, overnight mail, and artwork to: 430 Princeland Court, Corona, CA 92879. Ubiquitous Robotics If — like me — you follow the RSS feeds from engadget, medgadget, newlaunches, and similar websites, it’s easy to get the false impression that robots are freely running around Japan, Korea, and much of Europe, leaving the commercial US robotics industry in the dust. Granted, academicians in Asia and Europe frequently announce impressive anthropomorphic robot prototypes, but few have become commercially viable. However, as with the Terminator, iRobot, and Star Wars movies, these announcements are influential in raising the public’s expectation of what robotics is and what real robots can and should do. Unfortunately, one side- effect of this phenomenon is the tendency to ignore the contribution of robotics to everyday life in the US. Consider the modern elevator as one example of ubiquitous robotics. The average person that presses a call button on the first floor of a high rise serviced by a bank of elevators doesn’t think about the embedded systems or the computer network that determine which elevator to move to the ground floor and which ones to direct elsewhere. Similarly, most people don’t give much thought to the sensors that detect an excessive load or that sense someone or something is blocking the elevator doors, or the safety brake system that prevents catastrophic falls should the cable fail. Not too long ago, elevators were controlled manually by a dedicated elevator operator. Today, even the greeting and floor announcement have been replaced with a speech synthesizer keyed to the door-opening sequence and floor. Robotics technology has also become an indispensable, ubiquitous component of healthcare . Although US healthcare lags behind that of many other developed countries, robotics have been embraced by clinicians, nurses, and administrators because of increased time pressure on clinicians, a focus on error reduction, and a national nursing labor shortage. Nurses are too busy and in short supply to waste their time babysitting IV drips, and instead rely on robotic infusion pumps to deliver precise quantities of fluid and drugs to patients. Similarly, time-strapped patients no longer travel to clinics to have their blood pressure or blood glucose measured, but they rely instead on readily available and affordable automatic sphygmomanometers and glucometers. In the case of automatic sphygmomanometers, medical technicians and nurses have been replaced by microcontroller- directed pneumatics and digital signal processing algorithms based solidly on robotic principles. Aside from the obvious application of robotics in military weapons systems, robotics is also integral to the operation of virtually every modern vehicle, from motorcycles and automobiles to ships and planes. There are high- Mind / Iron by Bryan Bergeron, Editor Mind/Iron Continued 6 SERVO 08.2007 Mind-FeedAug07.qxd 7/12/2007 4:13 PM Page 6 profile examples of robotics in the consumer automobile industry, such as the self-parking Lexus LS 460L. However, even a lowly utility vehicle with a fuel injection engine, anti-lock brakes, and air bag is dependent on robotic technology. Even the personal trainers in my health club are being replaced by KoKo robotic weight training equipment (www.kokofitness.com), which are outfitted with motors, sensors, and touch screens. The system dynamically adapts to my strengths and weaknesses, and keeps a personal log of my progress on a removable USB Flash memory stick. Back in my office, a Logitech Orbit web camera automatically tracks my face with robotic pan and tilt so that I’m never out of frame during a video teleconferencing session. Once you realize the extent of our immersion in robotics technology, it’s tempting to proclaim that all of the good inventions have been made, and that there’s no room for innovation. Rubbish! Every time I see a stewardess push a beverage or waste cart down the isle of an airplane, I wonder why someone hasn’t converted the carts to autonomous robots that tirelessly service passengers. I suspect that the answer lies in human behavior, and not with technological limitations or lack of innovation on the part of US roboticists. As the auto workers demonstrated in the 1980s, the prospect of being replaced by a robot — even for a dull task such as collecting waste at the end of a flight — isn’t regarded highly by the likely operators of such a robotic system. Perhaps one day soon semiautonomous carts, controlled wirelessly by highly-skilled workers in India who are versed in airline safety, will deliver soft drinks and remove trash from the economy class section, leaving the human touch to the price-insensitive first class cabin. Take a look around. Aside from your projects, where does robotics interface with your life? More importantly, where could you apply your knowledge of robotics to address a challenge just begging for a solution? SV SERVO 08.2007 7 Mind-FeedAug07.qxd 7/12/2007 4:14 PM Page 7 8 SERVO 08.2007 Bot Mates and Remates with Satellite Late in June, Boeing (www.boe ing.com) posted an announcement that its Orbital Express system had performed its first fully autonomous “fly-around and capture” of a NextSat client spacecraft in a five-hour test, thus achieving a milestone in performance and vaguely following the plot of an erotic film. According to Boeing, the Autonomous Space Transport Robotic Operations (ASTRO) service craft “used onboard cameras and a video guidance system to separate from, circle, and remate with the Ball Aerospace NextSat client spacecraft.” After completing the fly-around, ASTRO maintained its relative position with NextSat at 120m for 17 min, then “maneuvered above NextSat to perform a corridor approach to within centimeters of the client spacecraft. The capture mechanism grappled NextSat and performed a soft berth, drawing NextSat and ASTRO together.” Presumably, they then had a cigarette. AUV to Track Whales Closer to home and somewhat less romantic, the Canadian Department of National Defense recently announced that it will be testing an aquatic robot for locating and protecting whales. In operation, the 1.5m Slocum Glider AUV will maneuver about listening for whale calls and relay avoidance information to Canadian warships and other large water craft. An early test in the Bahamas proved that the Glider can pick up the sounds produced by beaked whales, which is difficult both because of their high frequencies and the shy nature of the animals. The Glider — a $50,000 product of Webb Research (www.webbresearch.com) — seems perfect for the job, as it is very quiet and unintrusive and does not use a propeller to generate movement. Rather, it moves up and down in the water by changing buoyancy, and its wings provide steerable gliding, there- by achieving horizontal propulsion. Powered by alkaline batteries, it can be deployed for up to 30 days, at depths to 200m, and over a range of up to 1,500 km. There is also a thermally powered version that can be deployed for up to five years with a range of 40,000 km. In case you’re curious, it’s named after Joshua Slocum, who became the first man to sail solo around the world in 1895-1898. Robotic Pickers Under Development Since 2003, the California Citrus Research Board (CRB, www.citrus research.com) and Vision Robotics Corp. (VR, www.visionrobotics. com) have been collaborating in the development of a robotic citrus harvester. It’s not even in the prototype stage as of this writing, but VR was issued a patent for a new angled-axis machine vision system earlier this year; the company demon- strated a robotic grape vine pruning system at this year’s World Ag Expo, and it had a tree fruit harvester display of sorts at an apple and pear trade show in the Netherlands. Apparently, things are moving along. The harvesting process will actually involve two multi-armed robots. The first — called the Scout — will use arrays of stereo vision, scanning heads to create a virtual 3D image of a tree. Using that information, it will devise a picking strategy and relay it to the Picker robot, which is towed behind it. According to estimates by the Orbital Express ASTRO and NextSat autonomously perform operations while mated. The Slocum Glider autonomous underwater vehicle will be used by the Canadians to locate and protect whales. Photo courtesy of Webb Research. Artist’s conception of the VR robotic orange picker. by Jeff Eckert Robytes Robytes.qxd 7/11/2007 8:00 AM Page 8 CRB, the picker will be more economi- cal than its human counterparts, even at today’s wages. For example, a system costing $350,000, working 39 weeks, six days per week, and 12 hours per day could perform its job for $17 per bin — $1 less than it costs now. The system should work equally well for things like apples, pears, and even cherries. This could put a whole new wrinkle into the immigration debate. Six-Axis Arm Added The Negotiator Tactical Surveillance Robot, from Robotic FX (www.roboticfx.com) is already used by various law enforcement agencies for search and rescue, SWAT duty, HAZMAT handling, and other applications, but the company recently announced that it is now available with a six-axis robotic arm. The arm extends its capabilities by allowing it to perform tasks such as opening doors; lifting, carrying, and delivering small objects; undertaking explosive ordnance disposal; and performing detailed inspections. According to company president and chief designer Jameel Ahed, the new arm was inspired by the da Vinci surgical system, which mimics the human hand. “As a result, we have developed a system that allows the operator to focus on the dangerous task at hand rather than worrying about flipping the wrong switch or pushing the wrong button,” he said. According to Ahed, the Negotiator costs only about one third as much as its nearest competitor. Even if you aren’t in the market for one, check out the website. The videos and Hollywood-style sound effects are entertaining. Tot Bot for Man-Machine Interaction Study Every cute little robot deserves a cute name, hence KASPAR, for Kinesics And Synchronisation in Personal Assistant Robotics. KASPAR has eight degrees of freedom (DOF) in his head and neck and six in his arms and hands, two DOF eyes fitted with video cameras, and a mouth that can open, close, and smile. Developed by the Adaptive Systems Research Group at the University of Hertfordshire (adapsys. feis.herts.ac.uk), he was formerly used in the Aurora project, which looked into using robots as therapeutic and educational tools to help autistic children, and is currently part of the IROMEC project, a pan-European study looking to provide playmates for children with disabilities. The news is that he has now been adopted by the European RobotCub project (www.robotcub.org) to study human-robot interaction. The project is a five-year undertaking aimed at developing an open-source robot platform for cognitive develop- ment research. Its version — the iCub — will be able to crawl on all fours and sit up; its head and eyes will be fully articulated; and it will have visual, vestibular, auditory, and haptic sensory capabilities. Now if they can just program it to whine and climb the curtains, it could replace the real thing. SV Robytes The Negotiator tactical surveillance robot now can be fitted with a six-axis arm. Photo courtesy of Robotic FX, Inc. Artist’s conception of iCub. Photo courtesy of RobotCub. KASPAR is a child-size humanoid being used to study human-robot interaction. Photo courtesy of the University of Hertfordshire. SERVO 08.2007 9 Robytes.qxd 7/11/2007 8:01 AM Page 9 10 SERVO 08.2007 More Than an Expansion on the Personal Rover Project Until recently, the Personal Rover Project (PRP, 2001-2005) was a means by which Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU) brought robotics education to children and the world. Now, the Telepresence Robot Kit (TeRK) is the curriculum’s tool to enable robotic learning and construction at all levels — grade school to college and informal settings like the Smithsonian. Hundreds of thousands have used and learned from the two projects. The CMU Community Robotics, Education, and Technology Empowerment (CREATE) Lab engineered TeRK to keep robotics fun and interesting while maintaining an educational bent. TeRK robot projects are also relatively cheap (in the hundreds of dollars instead of the thousands), while offering very capable robots as results. TeRK is available to the general public and educational institutions and environments. What’s New With TeRK? With TeRK, students and enthusi- asts can more easily learn robotics and build and control their own robots. By using “recipes” instead of instructions and a framework for robot building that is much more user friendly than the previous program, teachers can get kids and adults into robotics faster, piquing their interest with the ease that robot building can possess. TeRK — actually a series of robots and robot recipes — is easy enough for anyone to build with readily available parts. At the same time, new roboti- cists can use these advanced robots as tools for many lessons at all levels. Perhaps one of the most interest- ing factors, roboticists can control these robots via wireless technology from anywhere using an Internet computer. TeRK robot types include a fun, flower piece and a tri-wheeled moving robot with a camera eye. The Key to TeRK In addition to the recipes — which are very thorough and user-friendly — there is a single piece of hardware (the Qwerk controller board) that simplifies much of the process. TeRK is a more compact kit as it comes only with the key elements that are necessary for each robot recipe. Each kit comes with a Qwerk con- troller, which works with a computer and software to do command and Contact the author at geercom@alltel.net by David Geer TeRK Carnegie-Mellon Telepresence Robot Kit (TeRK) Helps Students CREATE Their Own Robots! This Qwerkbot, shown with Emily Hamner, a senior research associate in the CREATE Lab, is a tri-wheeled mobile bot with a camera eye and Internet link. This robot can be built with parts from one of the recipes and a TeRK kit. Grad student Tom Lauwers, together with Hamner, adds some finishing touches to his Qwerkbot. Geerhead.qxd 7/11/2007 7:56 AM Page 10 . publisher@servomagazine.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ VP OF SALES/MARKETING Robin Lemieux display@servomagazine.com EDITOR Bryan Bergeron techedit -servo@ yahoo.com. ROBOTS WITHOUT SERVOS! Order at (888) 929-5055 Geerhead.qxd 7/11/2007 7:57 AM Page 12 SERVO 08.2007 13 Full Page.qxd 7/11/2007 2:23 PM Page 13 14 SERVO 08.2007