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 Robotics / 1103
1102  |  1104
Subject: 
RE: Antenna Bumpers/Insects
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics
Date: 
Fri, 4 Dec 1998 18:09:53 GMT
Original-From: 
Carl G. Schaefer, Jr. <cgschaef@futurelinkinc.com+stopspammers+>
Viewed: 
7062 times
  
Andy,

Randall Beer did some great work on simulated cockroaches.  Try the link
below to download a program based on his research.  I don't think this is
the original program he developed, but it should be ideal for your purposes.
It runs in DOS I believe. Also, below is the information on his book.

http://rtis.com/nat/user/elsberry/compbio/ans.html


Randall D. Beer, Department of
Computer Engineering and Science, Case Western Reserve University,
Cleveland, Ohio, INTELLIGENCE AS ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR: AN
EXPERIMENT IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROETHOLOGY, Academic Press, 1990 (ISBN
0-12-084730-2; to order, phone A.P. toll-free at 1-800-321-5068).


Hope this helps.

Carl

> -----Original Message-----
> From: news@lugnet.com [mailto:news@lugnet.com]On Behalf Of Andy Bower
> Sent: Friday, December 04, 1998 12:47 PM
> To: lego-robotics@crynwr.com
> Subject: Re: Antenna Bumpers/Insects
> 
> 
> Howard,
> 
> Since you are into mimicing the behaviour of an insect in some way, and I
> know that you are messing around with the Smalltalk Bot-Kit, you
> might like
> to consider the following for an idea.
> 
> One of the interesting things about Bot-Kit is it allows you to drive your
> robots directly from programs written on the PC.  This might allow you to
> attach more complex logic (or whatever) to the robots
> decision-making.  One
> thing I had in mind was to mimic the behaviour of a cockroach. I believe
> that you can simulate the general behaviour of a cockroach using a neural
> net with approximately 100 neurons.  I haven't got a link for this but I'm
> sure that at some time in the past I found a simulation on the Net to do
> this. The computer simulated cockroach would buzz around on the screen
> behaving, to all intents and purposes, exactly as a real cockroach would.
> Now I think this would be interesting; to use a neural network to control
> some sort of physical cockroach built from LEGO. You'd have to build some
> neural net stuff using Smalltalk and then to import (or train)
> the cockroach
> simulation into it.  You could then use Bot-Kit interface to give
> your robot
> bug a "real brain".
> 
> As far as I can see, the main problem with this idea would be keeping the
> RCX in contact with PC via the IR link at all times.  I'm not
> entirely sure
> how this could be done (mirrors?) but some guy in this group did
> mention the
> possibility of some gizmo from Radio Shack being able to extend
> the IR range
> using a radio link extender.  I somehow doubt this would give two-way
> communication, though.  Of course, using a Cybermaster then would be no
> problem since this uses a radio link anyway.
> 
> Just food for thought.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Andy Bower
> 
> Vaan, Howard wrote in message ...
> > If they really do have such funky antennae they have to have the brain to • go
> > with them.  I thought you could accomplish insect behaviour without doing
> > the kind of representational mapping that your answer implies (i.e. size
> > inference).
> > 
> > I think this may be in danger of straying away from pure RCX-iness - but
> > biological modelling's a good way to go.
> > 
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Laurentino Martins [SMTP:lmartins@marktest.pt]
> > > Sent: Friday, December 04, 1998 1:11 PM
> > > To: Lego-Robotics
> > > Subject: Re: Antenna Bumpers/Insects
> > > 
> > > 
> > > I think insects do much better than that.
> > > Their antennas are VERY touch-sensitive and they know which • point of the
> > > antenna was touched.
> > > Better, the also move the antennas to "feel" the object and • it's current
> > > position, size and maybe texture.
> > > I think we are in no position to mimic their behavior with a
> > > RCX/CyberMaster... but it's a great challenge anyway! :-)
> > > 
> > > Laurentino Martins
> > > 
> > > At 12:57 04-12-1998 Friday , you wrote:
> > > > I've just made a simple bot with the antenna-like config in the
> > > > Constructopedia + implemented the simple touch>stop motor algorithm.
> > > > 
> > > > One problem the robot has is with table/chair legs and the like - the • bot
> > > > wanders straight into it and then can't escape because the • antennae make
> > > it
> > > > continually steer back into it.
> > > > 
> > > > OK - I know plenty of ways to fix this, from a HW or SW point
> of view .
> .
> > > .
> > > > that's not the question.
> > > > 
> > > > How do real insects with long antenna manage this problem?  Can they • walk
> > > > backwards?  I don't think so . . .
> > > > 
> > > > (We don't have many large roaches here in the UK that I can observe)
> > > > 
> > > > Cheers,
> > > > 
> > > > Howard
> 
> 



Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Antenna Bumpers/Insects
 
Howard, Since you are into mimicing the behaviour of an insect in some way, and I know that you are messing around with the Smalltalk Bot-Kit, you might like to consider the following for an idea. One of the interesting things about Bot-Kit is it (...) (28 years ago, 4-Dec-98, to lugnet.robotics)

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