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Robotics for Embedded Systems Education

Robotics for Embedded Systems Education. Joseph Zambreno 10/16/06. Motivation. Investigate robotics platforms that might be used for 288/388/488 sequence Can we do better than… …microcontroller on a breadboard? …simulator? Requirements: Flexibility to conduct multiple labs

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Robotics for Embedded Systems Education

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  1. Robotics for Embedded Systems Education Joseph Zambreno 10/16/06

  2. Motivation • Investigate robotics platforms that might be used for 288/388/488 sequence • Can we do better than… • …microcontroller on a breadboard? • …simulator? • Requirements: • Flexibility to conduct multiple labs • Ability to explore concepts like memory addressing and I/O, interrupt handling, ADC/DAC, etc. • C programming interface

  3. Common Uses • Robotics typically not being used in introductory CprE courses • Slightly more common in introductory ComS courses • Also found in 300/400 level courses in robotics, AI, embedded systems, mechatronics • Most common usage in K-12 outreach programs • Some available resources: • NASA Robotics Alliance – http://robotics.nasa.gov • Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy – http://www-education.rec.ri.cmu.edu • Iowa State University Robotics Club (ISURC) – http://nukelab1.student.iastate.edu

  4. Academic Projects • Stiquito (http://www.stiquito.com) • Developed at Indiana University in 1992 • J. Conrad, “Stiquito for Robotics and Embedded Systems Education”, IEEE Computer, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 77-81, June 2005. • Hexapod robot • Six legs glued to a simple PCB • TI MSP430 microprocessor • 4Kb of flash memory • Small, inexpensive (comes with the textbook!) • Limited ability, flexibility

  5. Academic Projects (2) • Palm Pilot Robot Kit (http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pprk) • Developed at CMU in 2000 • Three-wheeled robot • Palm Pilot or other PDA controls the system • More functional than Stiquito • Fairly expensive (PDA, sensors not included) • PDA requirement complicates programming interface

  6. LEGO Mindstorms • http://mindstorms.lego.com • Mindstorms RCX • Renesas/Hitachi H8 microcontroller • Graphical programming model (LabView) • Third-party modifications for C, other languages • Mindstorms NCX • ARM7 microprocessor • Atmel AVR microcontroller • USB/Bluetooth connectivity • D. Cliburn, “Experiences with the LEGO Mindstorms throughout the Undergraduate Computer Science Curriculum”, ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2006. • Very popular, lots of resources available • Targeted for grades 4-8? • Limited to LEGO parts?

  7. Other Systems • Parallax, Inc. makes several robotics kits (http://www.parallax.com) • Boe-bot • Hexcrawler • All built on BASIC stamp microcontroller • PIC16C57 microcontroller • BASIC interpreter

  8. Other Systems (2) • Vex Robotics Design System (http://www.vexlabs.com) • Two PIC18F8250 microcontrollers • 16 I/O ports • Programming kit with C compiler • S. Cass, “Getting Vexed”, IEEE Spectrum, May 2006. • RC controlled but can be autonomous • Less limitation on design

  9. Next Steps • Is this the direction we want to go in? • Best bets: Vex system or LEGO Mindstorms • LEGO is fairly well-established in this area • Vex systems more flexible and are a bit more serious than LEGO • Team-up with ISURC group to gain further insight into the different choices

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