To LUGNET HomepageTo LUGNET News HomepageTo LUGNET Guide Homepage
 Help on Searching
 
Post new message to lugnet.roboticsOpen lugnet.robotics in your NNTP NewsreaderTo LUGNET News Traffic PageSign In (Members)
 Robotics / 12034
12033  |  12035
Subject: 
RE: Autonomous Robot
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics
Date: 
Tue, 8 Aug 2000 17:31:14 GMT
Original-From: 
Duncan Colvin <Duncan@climax.co.uk=nomorespam=>
Viewed: 
1771 times
  
How easy would it be to build a satellite dish style set up, where the beam
is reflected to a sensor in the middle of the dish? Has anyone done this
already? Are there prebuilt dishes that could be used? Is there an
affordable solution?

DBC
<Two thumbs fresh>

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sattler Chris-QA1406 [mailto:Christopher.Sattler@motorola.com]
> Sent: 08 August 2000 18:23
> To: lego-robotics@crynwr.com
> Subject: RE: Autonomous Robot
> 
> 
> I had a similar idea, but I was picturing a funnel-shaped
> mirror above a
> light sensor so that no matter what angle you hit it at the light is
> reflected down at the sensor.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ian Warfield [mailto:ipw47@hotmail.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2000 8:59 AM
> To: lego-robotics@crynwr.com
> Subject: Re: Autonomous Robot
> 
> 
> In lugnet.robotics, sjbaker1@airmail.net writes:
> > 
> > Ian Warfield wrote:
> > > 
> > > [...]
> > > 
> > > Building off the base station idea mentioned earlier, set
> up a single
> station
> > > in the middle of the room/arena/whatever.  This station
> incorporates an
> extra
> > > RCX, two motors, two rotation sensors, and two laser
> pointers, one mounted
> on
> > > the tower at ground level and one mounted about two feet • high.  The robot
> > > itself sports a laser detection sensor.
> > > 
> > > Here's the tricky part... use polar coordinates.  Suppose
> the robot wants
> to
> > > know where it is relative to the tower.  It stops, sends
> out an IR call
> for
> > > help, and enables its laser detection sensor.  The base
> station receives
> the
> > > call, turns on the ground-level laser pointer, and starts
> rotating the
> tower.
> > > As soon as the robot detects the ground-level laser it
> signals again, and
> the
> > > tower stops rotating.  Next the base station switches off • the ground-level
> > > laser and switches on the high-level laser.  The high-level • laser zeroes
> > > itself perpendicular to the floor and starts sweeping upward towards
> > > parallel.  When the robot detects this laser, it signals • again, and the
> > > high-level laser stops.
> > > 
> > > Now the base station records the orientation of the tower via the • turntable
> > > rotation sensor and the angle of the high-level laser via the laser • rotation
> > > sensor.  The base RCX stores the turntable orientation • which provides the
> > > angle reference.  It then multiplies the height of the • tower (two feet in
> > > this case) by the tangent of the angle of the tower-based • laser to get the
> > > distance from the base station to the robot.  Finally, it sends the • ordered
> > > coordinate pair to the robot, which updates its internal • odometry and
> > > continues on its way.
> > 
> > Clever! ...Food for thought!
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> 
> > The only snag I can see is that when the first laser is
> being acquired,
> both
> > the tower and the robot have to spin.  It might take a LOT • of rotations for
> > them both to happen to be pointing in the right direction for an
> > acquisition.
> 
> Not if you used an omnidirectional laser sensor.  Picture,
> instead of only
> one
> face of paper, a paper cylinder.  There would be a tube of
> paper mounted on
> top of a circular LEGO piece (or *pieces* arranged in a
> circle) with a paper
> top.  All sides of the cylinder except from the bottom would
> be paper.  Now
> stick a light sensor vertically upward through the bottom of
> the cylinder.
> Assuming the paper is diffuse enough, a laser striking
> anywhere on the paper
> should make it grow brightly enough to be seen by the light sensor.
> 
> (Even better, if it's available - use a block of frosted or
> translucent
> glass.  This would transmit light even better than the paper would.
> Wherever
> the laser strikes the block, the whole thing would glow
> bright rose pink.
> Stick it on top of a light sensor.)
> 
> 
> > I suppose that once the tower knows where the robot is, it • can do a little
> > spiral search to re-aquire it when it gets lost - so it
> won't be necessary
> to
> > track the robot all the time.  Knowing that would allow one • tower to track
> > MULTIPLE robots at once!
> 
> Cool.
> 
> 
> > Thinking about precision - how accurate can you make a lego gear
> > train/rotation sensor point?  Seems to me like the slop in • the gears would
> > limit you to perhaps 1 degree precision.
> 
> Only if you hooked the rotation sensor directly to the motor.
>  The slack
> isn't
> all that bad unless you use millions of gears.  If you geared
> the turning
> down
> quickly enough (i.e. with the shortest gear train) you
> wouldn't have that
> much
> to worry about.
> 
> 
> > Fine until the robot drives under the sofa!
> 
> :D
> 
> 
> --Ian
> 



Message has 1 Reply:
  RE: Autonomous Robot
 
(...) Try a flashlight reflector. Rat Shack used to sell a 'cigarette lighter' that was a hyperbolic dish to light from the suns rays. ___...___ He is able who thinks he is able. Buddha The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx (...) (26 years ago, 8-Aug-00, to lugnet.robotics)

2 Messages in This Thread:

Entire Thread on One Page:
Nested:  All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:  All | Brief | Compact
    

©2005 LUGNET. All rights reserved. - hosted by steinbruch.info GbR