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Mini Grand Challenge Contest for Robot Education

AAAI 2007 Robotics and Education March 27, 2007. Mini Grand Challenge Contest for Robot Education. Bob Avanzato Associate Professor of Engineering Penn State Abington 1600 Woodland Road Abington PA 19001 RLA5@psu.edu. Objectives.

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Mini Grand Challenge Contest for Robot Education

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  1. AAAI 2007 Robotics and Education March 27, 2007 Mini Grand Challenge Contest for Robot Education Bob Avanzato Associate Professor of Engineering Penn State Abington1600 Woodland RoadAbington PA 19001RLA5@psu.edu

  2. Objectives • Design autonomous outdoor robot contest “Mini Grand Challenge” (MGC) to promote interest in robotics and AI. • Partly inspired by DARPA Grand Challenge • Include vision and HRI component. • Contest should be accessible to advanced high school, lower-division undergrads (Engr, Cmpsci, IST) and beyond. • Availability of low-cost robot platform and development environment to improve accessibility to MGC contest.

  3. Penn State Abington Robot Contests Regional Trinity Firefighting Robo-Hoops • Robot Contests at Abington campus (Phila. PA area) • Over 40 robots participating in each contest • Over 120 students (K-12 to college and beyond) • Over 15 high schools/middle schools represented • Over 50 pizzas consumed! • Both contests offered annually since 1995. • What is next step?

  4. Impact on Curriculum & Outreach CSE 271/275 Digital Electronics Sophomore EE/CSE • Robotics supports wide range of educational and outreach goals EDG 100 Freshman Design Robotics Contests IST 402 (new!) Emerging Technologies ENGR 297 Robotics Special Topics Freshmen/Sophomores K -12 Outreach Comp Sci 201C Intro for Fresh/Soph Undergraduate Research (ACURA)

  5. PSU Abington Robot Platform

  6. Mini Grand Challenge (MGC) • Autonomous, outdoor, electric ground robot • Follow 8-ft wide (unmarked) paths on college campus • Reach 6 waypoints (GPS longitude, latitude) • Avoid human obstacles on path • Entertain human spectators • Take off-road detour across field (with obstacles) • Payload: 1 gallon of water • Robot Speed: 1.5 - 5mph • (6) Waypoints disclosed 24 hours prior to contest event.

  7. Campus Paths

  8. Campus Paths

  9. Campus Paths

  10. Campus Paths

  11. Campus Paths

  12. Campus Paths (Field)

  13. Campus Paths

  14. Campus Paths

  15. Sample Path/Waypoint Layout WP #4 … WP #3 WP #5 orange cones WP #6 Path width = ~8ft Waypoint (WP) diameter = 20ft

  16. Key Equipment List • PowerWheels™ platform $220 • GPS (with serial cable) $120 • Speaker/amp (15-30 watt) $60 • Inverter (DC to AC) $50 • Servo (steering) $50 • Speed controller $60 • USB camera (240 x 320) $50 • Camera stand $30 • Sonar and servo $50 • USB to serial converter $30 • Servo controller $50-$150 • Battery $50 • TOTAL…… $850 (approx.) • NOTE: Laptop, MATLAB costs not included in above list

  17. Sonar Steering Control USBCamera Pontech SV203 Controller Drive Motor Speed/Dir Control GPS (Garmin eTrex) Speaker (30-watt) Laptop Computer Windows XP OS MATLAB Robot Block Diagram

  18. PSU Abington Robot

  19. Key Software • MATLAB with Image Processing Toolbox • Grab image from USB camera • Edge detection • Read GPS text serial output (position, velocity) • Text-to-Speech • Send motor and steering commands to servo controller • Main control loop written in MATLAB • Drivers • MS Win32 Speech API (SAPI) (text to speech) • VFM (Video for Windows frame grabber) • Any Software/Hardware solution Allowed

  20. Pilot Study: Student Solution • Background: Sophomore-level EE student with no prior experience in vision • Student developed a heuristic, path-tracking algorithm in MATLAB (Image Processing ToolBox; Canny edge detection) within 4 hours (non-optimal). • MATLAB environment promotes rapid prototyping and facilitates testing.

  21. Big Design Questions • Can an outdoor robot platform (hardware and sensors) for MGC be constructed for under $1000? • Answer: Yes (almost) • Can an operational outdoor, autonomous,robot prototype (hardware & software) be completed (with minimal testing & performance) for MGC in 40 hours? • Answer: Yes (almost)

  22. Results • 2005 Mini Grand Challenge(April 2005) • 3 participants; no successful robots • Rain limited outdoor event (rescheduled in Dec.) • Robots on display indoors; same day as FF contest • Generated much interest for future events • 2006 Mini Grand Challenge(April 1, 2006) • 6 participants; one robot manages 50% of course • 2007 Mini Grand Challenge(March 31, 2007) • 8 robots registered • 1 high school team

  23. Mini Grand Challenge Event(PSU-Abington PA; April 3, 2005)

  24. MGC 2006

  25. MGC 2006 (PSU Abington robot)

  26. MGC 2006

  27. MGC 2006 (PSU University Park robot)

  28. MGC 2006 (Spectator Interaction)

  29. Conclusions • Mini Grand Challenge (MGC) contest successfully promotes interest in robotics and AI for a wide range of participants (freshman college to professional) • Low-cost robot platform with MATLAB software allows freshman/sophomore undergrads to participate in sophisticated algorithm development. • Spectator friendly; educational & outreach benefits • Outdoor contest has risks (example: rain!) • Larger robot --> more cumbersome for classroom integration

  30. Future Directions • Expand student involvement in Mini Grand Challenge (course integration problem). • Develop web-based resources and tutorials. • Develop K-12 outreach activities based on MGC • Assess (survey) student retention and recruitment. • Expand spectator-robot interaction (SRI) • ArtBots (in Philly, PA) • Develop indoor extension to contest to mitigate weather problems. (Example: follow cones in gym) • Non-engineering student involvement – IST?

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