Reporter : Ph.D. (ABD) Li-Ren Chien

1. An Event-Based Robotic Sensors and Actuators Collection API from A Computer Science Perspective – An implementation in Mindstorms NXT BrickLi-Ren Chien and Daniel J. Buehrer Reporter : Ph.D. (ABD) Li-Ren Chien Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Chung Cheng University

2. INTRODUCTION • Robin R. Muephy, “Introduction to AI Robotics,” (The MIT Press, 2000) Users can be easy to combine programming, networks, operating systems, algorithms … everything about CS into a robotic system • We introduce an event-based robotic sensors and actuators collection API from a computer science perspective

3. What’s it? • It’s a java API • event-based IOs collection • over an IP network • Be expressed with a self mode • functions of kinematics by Alonzo Kelly’s report (Alonzo Kelly, “Essential Kinematics for Autonomous Vehicles, 1994) • An educational application layer with TDD classification by power set of three variables value consisting of IOs, bricks and hosts

4. HBS framework • Historically, most robotics API has been written from the mechanical engineering perspective that was focus on developing robotic itself. • We present a HBS framework that is based on computer science, information engineering and education perspective. • It consists of • networking, • communication, • knowledge representation • educational theory… etc

5. HBS framework (Cont.) • The framework of an educational robotic should comprise host (H), brick (B) and sensor/actuator (S) • Host A host involves a device with a dependent high level CPU at least and running under an operation system that supports IP network and wireless protocols such as IR, Bluetooth and WiMAX. The API is planning to persist in a host. Under this specification, a host could be a PC, a notebook, a PDA or an OLPC of MIT Media Lab.

6. HBS framework (Cont.) • Brick A brick is light micro-processor system with wireless supports. A brick can be controlled by hosts and controls sensors and actuators. • For example, the underlayer of LEGO mindstroms NXT embedded system firmware with the Bluetooth hardware and driver communicates with a PC by NXT communication protocol. • Sensor and actuator The sensor as an input component whiles the actuator as an output of a logical robotic system similarly in a computer system aspect. The sensor and actuator is communicate and controlled by a brick directly.

7. Bluetooth H O S T Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors Sensors Brick Brick Brick Actuators Actuators Actuators Actuators Actuators Actuators Actuators Actuators Actuators Actuators Actuators Actuators IP network H O S T Brick Bluetooth Figure 1. Framework of hosts, bricks and sensor and actuators HBS framework (Cont.)

8. Host1, Brick 1, Sensor/Actuator 1 Event notification Collection of values of 3 variables Value change S Logic expression filter f(h1,b1,s1) B H O S T f(h2,b2,s2) Event notification H Logic expression filter Figure 2. The event notification flow Event based collection

9. Applying HBS on Education • Power set of {H,B,S} • {H}, {B}, {S}, {H,B}, {B,S}, {H,S}, {H,B,S} • David J. “An International View of Robotics”, (International Conference on Engineering Education, U.K, August 2002) • Seventeen fields for four grous(Jr, Hi, Stud, Eng) via two types of training (Progress in theory, Progress in practice)

10. Conclusion • In this paper, we designed an educational oriented event-based sensor and actuators collection API via three variables (S, B, H). • We can take such a framework as a base to adapt a robotic system to discussion in education. • At the same time, an event based collection API on HBS with semantic content self-model is facile for a distributed cooperative robotic system. • The API works with the Lego Mindstorms NTX as an application extension of the computer programming language course in Hsing Kuo Senior High School in Taiwan