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Subject: 
Re: moving in a straight line with two motors?
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics
Date: 
Sat, 14 Nov 1998 03:18:44 GMT
Viewed: 
2382 times
  
Daniel Miller wrote in message ...
1) You've been playing too much Carmageddon.

    What?


2) Control theory is relatively new (it paces the development of
computers).  There are quite a few good textbooks available, but a
professor is a much greater help.  Familiarity with calculus and dynamics
is required.

Not to say I'm an expert (I got a "c" in AAE464 and I was grateful) but it
should be pretty possible to implement proportional and derivative
control.  Integral control may be harder... but it would be needed to
eliminate steady-state error (i.e. keep it straight!).  Lead-lag control
would be damned impressive.

    This is all fine and well, but I was thinking about something
    a little less complex.  The RCX doesn't have the power to perform
    image processing and sophisticated feedback control.  What I was
    trying to impress on designers was the fact that bots can't be
    depended on to "stay the path" without providing some type of
    reaction control.  Furthermore, this reaction control doesn't
    doesn't have to be complex.  For example, while the angle sensor
    might be useful for steering, the bot is going to have to
    recalibrate itself on occasion against a "beacon".  For example,
    maybe a light which the light sensor can be home in on.  Another
    simple example consists of these bots that follow a line.  These
    bots close the loop using a light sensor to determine when the
    bot is no longer going the right direction.

    Unfortunately, I find that the RCX lacks the sensor inputs to
    really build something truly sophisticated.  After all, Fred
    Martin's Crickets have four sensor inputs, which is a far cry
    better than three.  In fact, I think it would be ideal if the
    RCX had four of each port.  Most of the applications I have
    played with left me wanting for one more of each port at one
    time or another.  I have been following the work people have
    been doing to expand the port capability.  Unfortunately, I
    do not have the time to build these devices.  Who wants to
    build me one and sell it to me (of course there would have
    to be some kind of guarantee that the thing works)?


Here's an exercise for someone with an RCX:  Create a chassis that
consists of one drive motor to the wheels and an angle sensor geared to a
2-d inverted pendulum on top.  Write a program that moves the chassis to
keep the pendulum straight vertical.

And finally:  It's quite possible to create a car that drives itself.  It
still needs human control for things like parking.  Same goes for
aircraft; the main purpose of the pilot in a current production A320 is to
park the airplane and make the passengers feel better en route.

There are some cases where the control system has failed.  On a flight
from Warsaw to New York, the pilot told the passengers they could see
Ireland out the starboard side.  The ensuing rush to the starboard
windows was too much for the autopilot, which disengaged.  Later, the
cause of the crash was determined to be a problem with the flight
computer; it seems there were too many Poles on the right hand plane.
Sorry, controls engineering joke.

Another:  "Welcome passengers to the first flight of the Boeing 2707, the
world's first totally robotically controlled airplane.  Please do not be
alarmed; the systems have been tested to the tightest imaginable
tolerances and we guarantee that nothing can go wrong go wrong go wrong go
wrong..."

Daniel "Dan'l" Miller                Senior, School of Aeronautics and
danielmi@expert.cc.purdue.edu        Astronautics, Purdue, Indiana
danielmi@cartoon.ecn.purdue.edu




Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: moving in a straight line with two motors?
 
(...) Image processing? Proportional control pushes back proportional to deflection (i.e. it simulates a spring). Derivative control pushes back proportional to rate of deflection (i.e. it simulates dynamic friction). Integral control pushes back (...) (26 years ago, 14-Nov-98, to lugnet.robotics)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: moving in a straight line with two motors?
 
(...) 1) You've been playing too much Carmageddon. 2) Control theory is relatively new (it paces the development of computers). There are quite a few good textbooks available, but a professor is a much greater help. Familiarity with calculus and (...) (26 years ago, 14-Nov-98, to lugnet.robotics)

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