[Tiny-tux] [Arc-hive] [Swarm] Weevils, TEND, Swarm, Arc-hive, what's next? Autonomy for Robotic performance art

Corey McGuire coreyfro at coreyfro.com
Wed Nov 28 04:35:37 UTC 2012 

I will have my kiddo on Monday, but Thursday might be a little short
notice.  Thursday works better for me.

On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 7:23 PM, Niladri Bora <niladri.bora at gmail.com>wrote:

> I will have to be a little late (9:15 ish) on Thursday but Monday 8:30
> works fine.
>
>
> On Nov 27, 2012, at 5:44 PM, Mark Alexander <xandoru at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Yup - 11/29 and 12/3 at 8:30pm are good.  For those interested in
> attending -- do these times work for you?
>
> -mark
>
> On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 4:22 PM, Mark Alexander <xandoru at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Marnia,
>>
>> I'll need to confirm with Martin, but likely times are either this
>> Thursday 11/29 or Monday 12/3 at 8:30pm.
>>
>> -mark
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 4:11 PM, Marnia Johnston <marnia at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> Mark, when would be a good time/day?
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 4:07 PM, Mark Alexander <xandoru at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> Corey,
>>>>
>>>> I too am interested in an in-person download of all this.  I can host
>>>> 8-10 people (will be quieter / less distracting than Chieftan or
>>>> Noisebridge), but if it's going to be more than that we'll need a bigger
>>>> venue.
>>>>
>>>> Looking forward to XBee finger dertying,
>>>> mark
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 12:34 AM, Corey McGuire <coreyfro at coreyfro.com>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hey Nil!
>>>>>
>>>>> I am available most of the time.  Marnia and I work over near you at
>>>>> TechShop Thursdays and Fridays.  We're putting in at least 8 hours a week
>>>>> on the CNC Mill.  Usually starting at 2PM.
>>>>>
>>>>> While Techshop is picky about how long people stay, we can always meet
>>>>> and the Chieftain for fish, chips, and BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER.
>>>>>
>>>>> I can meet around that, of course, but giving you a quick tour of
>>>>> Techshop after lunch seems like fun.
>>>>>
>>>>> Swarm!
>>>>>
>>>>> On Mon, Nov 26, 2012 at 2:57 PM, Niladri Bora <niladri.bora at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hey Corey,
>>>>>>       Sorry for the late reply. I am available over the holidays to
>>>>>> work on "stuff" (between christmas and new year). Are you available during
>>>>>> that time? I would also like to take a peek at what you have put together
>>>>>> so far. Maybe a demo at NB soon?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Wed, Nov 21, 2012 at 10:39 AM, Corey McGuire <
>>>>>> coreyfro at coreyfro.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Who's ready for the next autonomous robotic performance art project?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I am working on a platform that allows people to create their own
>>>>>>> vision of a robot and include it in an ad hoc swarm of robots created by
>>>>>>> other people.  However, there is no reason this system couldn't be used for
>>>>>>> swarms of similar robots with a singular vision, aesthetic, or purpose.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Another design goal is to make this as off the shelf as possible so
>>>>>>> we leverage mature, community supported platforms.  Of course, there are
>>>>>>> critical components that will not be off the shelf, namely, the swarming
>>>>>>> software components.  I want to keep OUR work focused to that.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I have had success with the control solution portion of the complete
>>>>>>> Rover swarming system.  At this moment, I can script anything to follow
>>>>>>> designated way points with purely off the shelf equipment.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Let's talk about the current state of my work.  The components
>>>>>>> required for an "Off the shelf" rover are as follows:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>    - Rover (two channel drive platform with control over throttle
>>>>>>>    and steering, so a differential drive system like a tank will require a two
>>>>>>>    motor speed control that handles channel mixing, such as the Sabertooth
>>>>>>>    used in the Weevils:
>>>>>>>    http://www.dimensionengineering.com/products/sabertooth2x60)
>>>>>>>    - Ardupilot Mega 2.5 (same as the 2.0 but a more streamlined
>>>>>>>    design) or Mav Link compatible autopilot.
>>>>>>>    - XBee's, preferably 900Mhz (to avoid interfearence with other
>>>>>>>    2.4Ghz signals which may be utilized for remote control and administration)
>>>>>>>    - Three Channel (or more) Hobby Radio transmitter and receiver.
>>>>>>>     Three channels are for throttle, steering, and a 3 position "mode" (Manual
>>>>>>>    Drive, Program Waypoints, Follow waypoints)
>>>>>>>    - Laptop
>>>>>>>    - Mission Planner
>>>>>>>    - Optional Sensors (dead-reckoning or "flow sensors" and sonar)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The Ardupilot is configured and provides telemetry over the XBee
>>>>>>> connection to the laptop.  The Laptop runs the mission planner which has a
>>>>>>> comfortable interface for observing the state of the rover, handling
>>>>>>> "flight planning", updating software, and tuning the behavior of the rover.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Talking to the Ardupiolt (or, indeed, select other auto pilots) is
>>>>>>> standardized using a common protocol called MAV-Link (
>>>>>>> http://qgroundcontrol.org/mavlink/start).  It is stateless and
>>>>>>> fairly robust, but it primarily deals with waypoints and not much else.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> *Going forward:*
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> None of this is true autonomy.  This is, purely, a control bundle
>>>>>>> awaiting commands from a brain such as to brains in our heads...or a brains
>>>>>>> we create.  What obviously comes next is a brain which takes in
>>>>>>> choreography as inputs for behaviors and give coordinates as outputs.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Choreography could simply be an extension to the mission planner, or
>>>>>>> the Swarm Timeline concept.  What is more important is how we handle
>>>>>>> coordination and behavior.  There are two modes:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>    - Mother node
>>>>>>>    - Locally
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> We could create a mothernode that handles the execution of
>>>>>>> choreography and runs the behaviors centrally, then issues commands
>>>>>>> remotely, or we can upload choreography to the constituent rovers which
>>>>>>> coordinate in realtime and execute behavior locally.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> There are arguments for either, but I feel we don't have to choose.
>>>>>>>  If we opt to make this system modular, there isn't any reason that we
>>>>>>> can't seamlessly move execution from remotely to locally.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Attached is the diagram for the proposed "Weevils".  Right now, we
>>>>>>> have completed the "Drone Phase".  From the drone phase, we could begin
>>>>>>> developing the Mothernode to begin remote execution of the Rovers.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Here is what I propose for the platform going forward:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>    - Consider an embedded hardware platform we can develop on for
>>>>>>>    Localized Behaviors (Currently, I am favoring the BeagleBone
>>>>>>>    http://beagleboard.org/bone)
>>>>>>>    - Select a tool chain which allows common code to run on the
>>>>>>>    mothernode or on the embedded system (Currently, I am favoring JAVA since
>>>>>>>    bytecode should be executable on both platforms without cross compiling and
>>>>>>>    it should perform much better than python.)
>>>>>>>    - Getting our hands very dirty with XBee. How do we make this a
>>>>>>>    robust protocol for bidirectional communication from a number of nodes?
>>>>>>>     This is the next piece of the puzzle for me and I have begun to work on
>>>>>>>    this problem this week.
>>>>>>>    - Begin evaluating the state of the Swarm timeline software,
>>>>>>>    the extensibility of the Ardupilot Mission Planner, or rolling a new
>>>>>>>    solution (which might not be too hard, since mission planning can be
>>>>>>>    handled with embedded hardware
>>>>>>>    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy2BE3Dzl3s)
>>>>>>>    - Begin developing the mothernode solution
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> One important question that might beg some consideration, however,
>>>>>>> is "Who's got ideas for a project that might utilize these tools?"  It
>>>>>>> would be great if we had a cohesive project that would allow us to make
>>>>>>> proposals for burningman, robodock, awesome foundation, kickstarter, etc.
>>>>>>>  The vision of a multicultural robot swarm is great, but it would be easier
>>>>>>> to promote a cohesive project, first.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> Arc-hive mailing list
>>>>>>> Arc-hive at fluxfoundation.org
>>>>>>> http://fluxfoundation.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/arc-hive
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Soul For Sale - Single owner, low mileage, best offer
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler - Albert
>>>>> Einstein <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein>
>>>>> Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication - Leonardo Da Vinci<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_Da_Vinci>
>>>>> Perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when
>>>>> there is nothing left to take away - Antoine de Saint Exupéry<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint_Exup%C3%A9ry>
>>>>> Keep It Simple Stupid - Kelly Johnson<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Johnson>
>>>>>
>>>>> ---- SWARM, A Large Scale Kinetic Art Project
>>>>> ---- http://orbswarm.com
>>>>> http://lists.lee.org/listinfo.cgi/swarm-lee.org
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ---- SWARM, A Large Scale Kinetic Art Project
>>>> ---- http://orbswarm.com
>>>> http://lists.lee.org/listinfo.cgi/swarm-lee.org
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
> ---- SWARM, A Large Scale Kinetic Art Project
> ---- http://orbswarm.com http://lists.lee.org/listinfo.cgi/swarm-lee.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Arc-hive mailing list
> Arc-hive at fluxfoundation.org
> http://fluxfoundation.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/arc-hive
>
>


-- 
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler - Albert
Einstein <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein>
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication - Leonardo Da
Vinci<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_Da_Vinci>
Perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there
is nothing left to take away - Antoine de Saint
Exupéry<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint_Exup%C3%A9ry>
Keep It Simple Stupid - Kelly
Johnson<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Johnson>
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