Faster Line Tracking

1. The robot spun in circles with a slight hesitations when it reached the black line.
2. The robot was moving too fast to properly register the black line, so it got lost on the right side of the line.
3. Put the sensor closer to the robot's axis of rotation at the back so it can register the line better.
4. The turning centers are underneath the wheels.
5. If we did not change the programming, the robot would track the line behind it, which would be pointless.
6. Since the sensor is on the center of the turn, it will stay in the center of the robot and remain on the black line longer.
7.
i. done
ii. 30% power, 24 seconds
iii. 91% power, 14 seconds
iv. 14/24 = 58.33%
8. There is a left backwards swing turn and a right backwards swing turn.
9. Right and left are dependent upon the person and the direction they are facing. Define left and right from the direction it is going, not the direction it is facing. Or you could say that Motor C is the left wheel and motor B is the right wheel.

Article Journal Post #14: Robotic Surgery

Doctors at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans have reported the first use of a surgical robot guided by an endoscope. The robot was used to remove a 20 millimeter salivary stone from a patient. Suing the surgical robot will save the salivary gland and reduce blood loss, scarring, and hospital stay. Many factors, such as a small mouth or obesity, made removing a salivary stone very difficult. The endoscope attached to the robot improves the doctor's view of the surgical area through a two-dimensional view. The robotic unit produces three dimensional images, further improving the view. The size and dexterity of the robot allows it to avoid vital structures while taking out the stone. 
Minimally invasive, robotic surgery is a highly popular method of surgery, because it does not cause as much of the pain associated with regular surgery. The endoscope guided robotic surgeon is able to remove a salivary stone without damaging the gland. Before, the neck would have been cut open and the whole gland taken out. The new way is much less painful and the patient does not need to suffer any ill effects from the surgery, such as losing a salivary gland. This new development will certainly be useful and save a number of people much pain.

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Follow the Guidelines

1. The robot is trying to sense light and dark.
2. It should turn right when it sees light because it needs to go back on the line.
3. It should turn left when it sees dark because it needs to go back to the left edge of the line.
4. (56+35)/2 = 46
5.
i. dark
ii. light
iii. light
iv. dark
6.
i.

ii.  

iii. 

iv.

7.

i. left (dark)

ii. left (dark)

iii. right (light)

iv. left (dark)

8. To make the robot follow the line, it must turn to the right when it sees light and turn to the left when it sees dark. Once it completes this action, it starts over again.

9. The room is probably lighter in the morning, so it is not able to easily distinguish the difference between the line and the floor. The weather and ambiance of the room that day could also affect the sensor readings. She needs to recalculate the threshold value and adjust her programming accordingly.

10. 

i. yes

ii. Instead of starting the robot on the left side of the line, you would have to start it on the right side of the line, assuming that the threshold values are the same. It would turn off the right side of the line rather than the left side of the line, tracing the right side of the line.

11.

i. Yes, if the sensor was not placed at the front of the robot, it would not be able to sense the line as well and would not turn properly. The robot would go way off the curve before it sensed that it needed to turn.

ii. If you raise the sensor, the threshold will have to be higher because more light would be sensed. If you lower the sensor, the threshold will have to be lower because less light would be sensed.

iii. It will work if you place the robot on the right side of the line to begin with.

12. It tracks the right side of the line because when the robot sees light, it will turn to the left. When it sees dark, it will turn to the right. We switched the behaviors when the robot senses light and dark.

13. It would be useful if the robot is near the edge of a cliff and might track the edge on the right side in order to stay on the cliff.

Article Journal Post #13: Flying Robot Car

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is developing a helicopter jeep that has the ability to travel both on land and in the air. The vehicle will be able to carry up to four people and 1,000 pounds of cargo a distance of about 250 knots. The purpose of the Transformer Program, as DARPA calls it, is to create a flexible vehicle that can fly itself or at least with minimal human input. The driver of the vehicle could operate the vehicle without any pilot training. The vehicle will have to be aware of its surroundings and automatically react to it. To help them in developing the robot pilot, DARPA is partnering with Carnegie-Mellon University. Last summer, CMU flew an autonomously guided full size helicopter.
This technology could be really helpful to our military. The jeep aspect of the vehicle could be used for patrols or other missions. The helicopter aspect of the vehicle would allow soldiers to fly over a potential land mine or other dangerous area. It would also be able to get injured soldiers out of the battle and to where they can get medical attention quickly. Since there would not be a need for a pilot to constantly man the controls of the helicopter, the vehicle could have more firepower.The vehicle can also make vertical takoofs and landings, so it would be difficult to hit and less predictable.

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Frequency and Amplitude

1. Sound 1: 25
Sound 2: 26
Sound 3: 27
Sound 4: 28
2. The pitch stayed the same, but the loudness of the sounds increased.
3. x = tone
    y = decibel percentage

4.
i. Yes. The readings went up as the amplitude went up.
ii. As the amplitude increases, the sensor readings increase. As the amplitude decreases, the sensor readings decrease.
5. If the amplitude is high, the sensor will read a louder sound and a higher volume. If the amplitude is low, then the sensor will read a lower volume.
6. Sound 1: 24
Sound 2: 69
Sound 3: 88
Sound 4: 96
7. The pitch changed between each tone because the frequencies increased. The amplitude between each tone changed.
8. x = tone
    y = decibel percentage

9.

i. Yes. 

ii. As the frequencies increased, the sensor readings went up. However, there is not a strong pattern.

10. Frequency and amplitude affect the sensor readings. As they increase, the sensor will read higher values. As they decrease, the sensor will read lower values.

11. Frequency and amplitude affect the sensor, but amplitude will be more accurate.

12. 

i. They would need the sound detector since they are trying to limit the amount of noise in the cafeteria.

ii. The sound sensor would be useless since the sensor cannot determine if the pitch is in tune or not. The sensor cannot determine frequency as well as it can amplitude.

iii. The sensor would not work, since the frequencies of people's voices are similar.

iv. It could work except that the sirens for the different emergency vehicles are different frequencies and different amplitudes when they are farther away as compared to when they are closer.

v. The sensor would work well for the teapot because the teapot makes the same noise and pitch every time.

vi. It could work because the crying would be the only noise for the sensor to hear.

13. Test the sound sensor when both amplitude and frequency are variables. We could also play a constant sound and move the sensor closer and farther away to see if it gets quieter and softer. 

14. The term to describe amplitude is volume. The term to describe frequency is tone or pitch.

Article Journal Post #12: RoboTeachers

The Education Ministry of South Korea plans to have robotic teachers in every kindergarten class by 2013. Two cities, Masan and Daegu already have the teachers in their elementary schools. An English speaking robot named EngKey can have scripted conversations with the children in English. A robotic dog named Genibo teaches them dance moves and gymnastics. The robots are currently working as a support role for the human teachers, but they can be used for telepresence teacheing, allowing English speakers to communicate with the children in Korea. Eventually, the robots could fully replace the human teachers. In three to five years, the robots’ language skills could be so developed that they could replace native English speakers.

These robots are a very creative solution to helping kids learn new languages. The scripted conversations may not be as effective as learning from an actual English speaker, but as the robots are developed and the telepresence systems are utilized, the robots could be very effective teachers. The cute design of the robots allows the children to think of the robot as their friend and not as a big piece of metal. The robot teachers can also assist the human teachers in caring for the children and can teach the children about robotics and technology.

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Clap On, Clap Off

1. 4%
2. 100%
3. 52%
4.
First Block: The Wait block is set to wait for a noise louder than 52%.
Second Block: The Wait block set to wait for a noise softer than 52%.
Third Block: The Motor block turns on motor C and moves it forward.
Fourth Block: the Motor block turns on motor B and moves it forward.
Fifth Block: The Wait block is set to wait for a noise louder than 52%.
Sixth Block: The Wait block is set to wait for a noise softer than 52%.
Seventh Block: The Motor block tells motor C to stop.
Eighth Block: The Motor block tells motor B to stop.
5. The program waits for a loud noise and then the drop off. It then moves forward and waits for the loud noise and drop off before it stops.
i. The two blocks are one Wait block that waits for a sound above the threshold and one Wait block that waits for a sound below that threshold.
ii. One Wait block is not enough because the noise for the clap is still above the threshold as the program moves to the second wait block. The sensor thinks that the after-clap is a second clap and stops the motors.
6. The threshold is the requirement or cutoff point for how loud or soft the sound has to be for the program to continue. If the threshold was higher, it would require a louder noise for the sensor to detect it and move on in the program. If the threshold was lower, then it would require a softer noise for the sensor to detect and move on in the program.
7. The halfway value makes sure that the noise detected to start the program is larger than the quiet sound but smaller than the loud clap. The threshold is meant to include the quieter claps and exclude the louder quiet noise.
8. It responds to other noises. Any noise that meets the requirements for the threshold value will trigger the sensor.
9.
i. She will need to find the quiet value in the theater and the loud value created by the slamming door. Then, she will calculate the threshold value by averaging the two numbers. She then programs her robot to move based on that threshold value.
ii. If the audience makes noise above the threshold value, such as clapping or laughing, the sensor will be triggered and the robot will move.
10. Find the quiet value for the cafeteria and the loudest value in the cafeteria. Then average the two and create a program that will flip the switch off when the noise goes above the threshold and flip the switch on when the noise in the cafeteria goes below the threshold level.
11. After the program is run, it will go back to the beginning and wait for another loud sound.
12. The program will run forever.