Psych112R Cognitive Robotics – Midterm Laboratory Project Getting Around
Challenge – Tuesday, February 12, 2019, 2PM
Reports Due – Sunday, February 17, 2019, 11:59PM
Braitenberg’s Vehicle 1 is equipped with one sensor per modality and motors to move forward. The connection is a simple one. The more there is of the quality to which the sensor is tuned, the faster the motor goes. The vehicle should move in a trajectory to approach the sensory source.
The Getting Around Challenge
Your robot has one minute to reach the sensory source. The sensory source will be a light (e.g., desk lamp or flashlight). Your robot can be placed anywhere in the starting area and cannot move until a button or touch sensor is pressed. Your robot has 60 seconds to reach the light
source
and must stop by 60 seconds.
• Robots can only be constructed from parts in your Mindstorms kits.
• Robots must be autonomous and programmed in RobotC.
• Extra sensors can be used. We have a limited number of these.
o CheckwiththeTAsforavailability.
o Mustpresentdesigntojustifytheiruse.
• There will be some sensory cues leading the way. But, expect obstacles in the hallway.
o ThinkCompleteAgentandSensorimotorIntegration.
• Creativity will be rewarded.
o ThinkMorphologicalComputationandCheapDesign.
The contest will take place in the hallway behind ALP 3600/3610. Lego boxes will be used as obstacles. Masking tape will provide some guides. The diagram below shows one possible configuration.
Wall
Wall
ALP 3600/3610
Example layout for the Getting Around challenge. The challenge will be held in the hallway behind the ALP 3600/3610 classrooms. Robots have 60 seconds to get as close to the light source as possible. There will be masking tape marking pathways and Lego kit boxes blocking the way. The position and number of these objects can vary from trial to trial.
Rules and Guidelines
1. There will be an initial presentation of your robot and a solo demonstration of it Getting Around.
2. Time permitting, there will be races with several of the Thursday lab robots, and another with set of races with several of the Tuesday lab robots.
3. Your score will be based on how close you are to the sensor source. Any robot moving after one minute will receive zero points.
RobotC is installed in these computer labs:
• ALP 3600
o https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/OIT_Lab_ALP_3600@exchange.uci.edu/Calendar/cale
ndar.html
• ALP 3610
o https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/OIT_Lab_ALP_3610@exchange.uci.edu/Calendar/cale
ndar.html
• ALP 2800
o https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/OIT_Lab_ALP_2800@exchange.uci.edu/Calendar/cale
ndar.html
• Antcaves (https://scheduler.oit.uci.edu/reserve/Antcaves)
o Hours: 8am-10pm Mon-Fri
• MSTB 210
• MSTB 226
o Hours: 7am-10pm Mon-Sat
• Student Center C138
• Courtyard Study Lounge
o Hours: https://www.studentcenter.uci.edu/study-spaces/
Schedule:
• Tuesday, February 5, 2:30PM – Mindstorms kits handed out.
• Thursday, February 7, 2:00-6:20PM – Practice runs.
• Tuesday, February 12, Getting Around challenge
o 2:30-3:20PM – Thursday lab section. o 3:30-4:20PM – Tuesday lab section. o 4:30PM-6:20PM – Extra trials
10 feet
Tan Masking Tape
Lego Box
Lego Box
Lego Box
Lego Box
6 feet
Starting Box
Lego Box
Lego Box
Each Team Must Turn in a Written Report and a Video Report (One Per Team) Your written report should include:
• Names and team number.
• Overall strategy and design.
• Measurements taken from all sensors.
• Flow chart depicting the logic of your solution.
• Pseudocode describing your program flow.
• RobotC software program for running the robot.
• Results from experimental trials.
o Performtheseonyourown.
o Developametrictomeasuretheperformanceofyourrobot.
• Results from the Getting Around challenge.
• Diagrams and pictures of your robot’s design and behavior are strongly recommended.
• In the conclusion section,
o Discussionofyourrobot’sperformance § What worked?
§ What didn’t work?
o DiscussionofhowyourrobotfollowsPfeifer&Bongard’sdesignprinciplesfor
Intelligent Systems.
Your video report should include a narration in which you:
• State your names and team number
• Describe your:
o Robotdesign.
o Robotstrategy.
• Show your robot’s performance:
o Differentaspectsofitsbehavior
o DuringtheGettingAroundChallenge. o Duringyourownexperimentaltrials.
• Videos must be 5 minutes or less.
• Upload your video:
o UCICognitiveRoboticsYouTubepage
§ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3tdQTErvR7qE3RBtymvp2A § username: ucicogrobo@gmail.com
§ password: psych112r
o Providealinktothevideoinyourwrittenreport
Your final project will be graded according to the grading sheet on the next page.
Midterm Lab reports are due by Sunday, February 17, 2019, 11:59PM in the drop box “Psych112R-MidtrmProj”
GRADING SHEET
Written Report (80 Points):
• Overall strategy and design (10 points)
o General background on the inspiration for the robot. o Describe your robot’s design in detail.
§ Include figures and pictures. o Describe your experimental design
§ How you plan on testing your robot. • Flow chart (10 points)
o Properly formatted flowchart.
o Included in the report (i.e. NOT a separate file) • Pseudocode (10 points)
o Included in the report (i.e. NOT a separate file)
• RobotC software program for running the robot (10 points)
o Separate file (i.e. NOT included in the report) • Robot performance (20 points)
o Mean and standard deviations of sensors measurements. o Performance results from Getting Around challenge.
o Performance results measure by your team.
§ Report quantitative results.
§ Include charts, figures, and pictures. • Creativity (10 points)
o Describe how your solution was unique. Both for its locomotion strategy and how it sensed its environment.
• Conclusion section (10 points)
o Discussion of your robot’s performance
§ Trials and tribulations (i.e., what worked, what didn’t, why, how could it be improved.)
o Discussion of how your robot follows Pfeifer & Bongard’s design principles for Intelligent Systems.
§ All 8 principles whether your robot follows them or not.
Video Report (20 points):
• Video should stand on its own:
o Explain your robot’s design
o Explain your strategy
o Show overall performance and subtask performance.
• Video should have a narration (verbal or textual).
• Video report should discuss the robot’s components.