5 ms·

Introduction to Autonomous Robots

netgusto 11y ago
The summary is dense, yet the chapters remain readable. The figures disseminated across the pages make it really easier to grasp the concepts. I don't know anything about robots, but shuffling thru the pages I found similarities with the video game programming field. Thank you for this !
- TACIXAT 11y ago
  I'm in a robotics course right now and the midterm is to build a simulation of a robot with mecanum wheels, where you can provide paths or shapes and it will execute. It sounded daunting until I realized I should just write a game loop and update the robot each tick.
  - Symmetry 11y ago
    You can do that in simulation fine but when you're doing planning you're eager to speed things up by moving as much into analytic solutions as feasible.
- jackhack 11y ago
  I'm surprised that a chapter titled "Intelligence and embodiment" (ch.1) would not include even a reference to Rod Brooks (MIT Mobile Robot Lab). Brooks' invention of "subsumption architecture" (augmented finite state machines) and layered control systems in which higher level behaviors suppress low-level behaviors has been demonstrated to lead to robust intelligent behavior without centralized control, internal mapping, and emergent behavior. In short, a biologically-inspired solution which had tremendous influence in the field. To my mind, such an omission is a bit like writing a book on computer graphics and not including a reference to Watt, Foley or vanDam. Not saying it's wrong, just very surprising.
  - Symmetry 11y ago
    An introductory textbook probably isn't the place to be introducing heterodox views. None of the commercial robotics companies I'm familiar with, including Rethink Robotics where Rodney Brooks works now, use subsumption architectures.
    - gugagore 11y ago
      I agree with you. But Roomba.
      - Symmetry 11y ago
        Right, there is the Roomba. But don't the newer Roombas do mapping?
        gugagore 11y ago
        I think that is true, but as you say that's the most recent model.
      - Animats 11y ago
        The Roomba algorithm is roughly: - 1. Go in an increasing spiral until you hit something. - 2. Wall follow for a while. - 3. Turn away from the wall and go a few meters. - 4. Go to step 1.
  - Animats 11y ago
    Brooks at MIT, and Latoumbe at Stanford, headed the two opposed camps during the AI Winter. Brooks wanted purely reactive robots, and did some nice insect robots. Latoumbe was into very rigid planning systems, where you approach manipulation as path planning using maze solving algorithms in a N-dimensional space with obstacles. Both turned out to be dead ends. Purely reactive systems don't get beyond insect level, and high-dimensional planning requires total information about the environment. Then the statistical machine learning people took over and started to get real results, especially in sensor data reduction.
chinathrow 11y ago
Can anyone locate the PDF?
- pennaMan 11y ago
  https://github.com/correll/Introduction-to-Autonomous-Robots/releases/download/v1.7/book.pdf https://github.com/correll/Introduction-to-Autonomous-Robots...
  - jensC 11y ago
    thanks ... could not find it either.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- daniel-levin 11y ago
  Look under the 'Releases' tab. There you'll find different versions of the book, as pdfs
  - chinathrow 11y ago
    Thanks - the tabs are one level higher, I simply couldn't find it easily, also not easily on mobile.
jobigoud 11y ago
For the interested, this is "autonomous" as in locomotion. (Not financially autonomous).
halotrope 11y ago
This is rally cool. Have been looking to get to know about robots a little more. Thank you for sharing this.
blister 11y ago
Shameless plug, but I'm working with a startup that teaches middle-school (and up) autonomous robot programming within the context of Sumo Robot competitions. We're active in 6 schools right now in Georgia and hope to expand to the entire east coast this year. What sets our program apart is that we've developed a super low-cost robotics kit that lets us sell each student their own programmable robot for $100 each. I just spent the last four months writing the 8-week curriculum and associated text book. Our website is at http://www.sumorobotleague.com/ http://www.sumorobotleague.com/ and we'd love for you to sign up for our mailing list. We're trying to figure out manufacturing right now so that we can crank out thousands of robots to keep up with demand. If you're interested in robotics, I think our kit and program is probably the easiest introduction that you'll find.
- rubicon33 11y ago
  Would this be applicable for someone with lots of programming experience, but zero automation / robotics experience? I'm a hands on, self learner. I don't do well in a structured course, but prefer to learn by tinkering and building (while referencing good resources). I'd love to start with something like this, but wonder since it's marketed to middle school kids, if it would be too trivial? On the other hand, I have zero experience in this field, so maybe it would be perfect...?
  - MrQuincle 11y ago
    I don't know about this particular robot, but if you're up for it, you can built your own quite easily. https://dobots.nl/2012/08/26/the-dotty-robot/ https://dobots.nl/2012/08/26/the-dotty-robot/ https://dobots.nl/2012/06/19/implementing-swarm-behavior-with-a-group-of-small-robots/ https://dobots.nl/2012/06/19/implementing-swarm-behavior-wit... https://dobots.nl/2014/02/26/dotty-update/ https://dobots.nl/2014/02/26/dotty-update/ This uses the Arexx frame and on top of that 3D printed hulls (so it's under say around a 30 bucks). We considered Kickstarting it, and we might actually do this one day. Especially with the wireless charging added it to, it's actually quite a cool thing. :-) Most important of all, this allows you to build normal Android apps to do all kind of interesting experiments. That's more than you can do on any robotic platform!
alexyes 11y ago
Thanks for sharing

The summary is dense, yet the chapters remain readable. The figures disseminated across the pages make it really easier to grasp the concepts. I don't know anything about robots, but shuffling thru the pages I found similarities with the video game programming field. Thank you for this !

TACIXAT 11y ago
I'm in a robotics course right now and the midterm is to build a simulation of a robot with mecanum wheels, where you can provide paths or shapes and it will execute. It sounded daunting until I realized I should just write a game loop and update the robot each tick.
- Symmetry 11y ago
  You can do that in simulation fine but when you're doing planning you're eager to speed things up by moving as much into analytic solutions as feasible.
jackhack 11y ago
I'm surprised that a chapter titled "Intelligence and embodiment" (ch.1) would not include even a reference to Rod Brooks (MIT Mobile Robot Lab). Brooks' invention of "subsumption architecture" (augmented finite state machines) and layered control systems in which higher level behaviors suppress low-level behaviors has been demonstrated to lead to robust intelligent behavior without centralized control, internal mapping, and emergent behavior. In short, a biologically-inspired solution which had tremendous influence in the field. To my mind, such an omission is a bit like writing a book on computer graphics and not including a reference to Watt, Foley or vanDam. Not saying it's wrong, just very surprising.
- Symmetry 11y ago
  An introductory textbook probably isn't the place to be introducing heterodox views. None of the commercial robotics companies I'm familiar with, including Rethink Robotics where Rodney Brooks works now, use subsumption architectures.
  - gugagore 11y ago
    I agree with you. But Roomba.
    - Symmetry 11y ago
      Right, there is the Roomba. But don't the newer Roombas do mapping?
      - gugagore 11y ago
        I think that is true, but as you say that's the most recent model.
    - Animats 11y ago
      The Roomba algorithm is roughly: - 1. Go in an increasing spiral until you hit something. - 2. Wall follow for a while. - 3. Turn away from the wall and go a few meters. - 4. Go to step 1.
- Animats 11y ago
  Brooks at MIT, and Latoumbe at Stanford, headed the two opposed camps during the AI Winter. Brooks wanted purely reactive robots, and did some nice insect robots. Latoumbe was into very rigid planning systems, where you approach manipulation as path planning using maze solving algorithms in a N-dimensional space with obstacles. Both turned out to be dead ends. Purely reactive systems don't get beyond insect level, and high-dimensional planning requires total information about the environment. Then the statistical machine learning people took over and started to get real results, especially in sensor data reduction.

chinathrow 11y ago

Can anyone locate the PDF?

pennaMan 11y ago
https://github.com/correll/Introduction-to-Autonomous-Robots/releases/download/v1.7/book.pdf https://github.com/correll/Introduction-to-Autonomous-Robots...
- jensC 11y ago
  thanks ... could not find it either.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
daniel-levin 11y ago
Look under the 'Releases' tab. There you'll find different versions of the book, as pdfs
- chinathrow 11y ago
  Thanks - the tabs are one level higher, I simply couldn't find it easily, also not easily on mobile.

jobigoud 11y ago

For the interested, this is "autonomous" as in locomotion. (Not financially autonomous).

halotrope 11y ago

This is rally cool. Have been looking to get to know about robots a little more. Thank you for sharing this.

blister 11y ago

Shameless plug, but I'm working with a startup that teaches middle-school (and up) autonomous robot programming within the context of Sumo Robot competitions. We're active in 6 schools right now in Georgia and hope to expand to the entire east coast this year. What sets our program apart is that we've developed a super low-cost robotics kit that lets us sell each student their own programmable robot for $100 each. I just spent the last four months writing the 8-week curriculum and associated text book. Our website is at http://www.sumorobotleague.com/ http://www.sumorobotleague.com/ and we'd love for you to sign up for our mailing list. We're trying to figure out manufacturing right now so that we can crank out thousands of robots to keep up with demand. If you're interested in robotics, I think our kit and program is probably the easiest introduction that you'll find.

rubicon33 11y ago
Would this be applicable for someone with lots of programming experience, but zero automation / robotics experience? I'm a hands on, self learner. I don't do well in a structured course, but prefer to learn by tinkering and building (while referencing good resources). I'd love to start with something like this, but wonder since it's marketed to middle school kids, if it would be too trivial? On the other hand, I have zero experience in this field, so maybe it would be perfect...?
- MrQuincle 11y ago
  I don't know about this particular robot, but if you're up for it, you can built your own quite easily. https://dobots.nl/2012/08/26/the-dotty-robot/ https://dobots.nl/2012/08/26/the-dotty-robot/ https://dobots.nl/2012/06/19/implementing-swarm-behavior-with-a-group-of-small-robots/ https://dobots.nl/2012/06/19/implementing-swarm-behavior-wit... https://dobots.nl/2014/02/26/dotty-update/ https://dobots.nl/2014/02/26/dotty-update/ This uses the Arexx frame and on top of that 3D printed hulls (so it's under say around a 30 bucks). We considered Kickstarting it, and we might actually do this one day. Especially with the wireless charging added it to, it's actually quite a cool thing. :-) Most important of all, this allows you to build normal Android apps to do all kind of interesting experiments. That's more than you can do on any robotic platform!

alexyes 11y ago

Thanks for sharing