[Tiny-tux] [Arc-hive] [Swarm] Weevils, TEND, Swarm, Arc-hive, what's next? Autonomy for Robotic performance art
Corey McGuire
coreyfro at coreyfro.com
Thu Nov 29 08:42:59 UTC 2012
Sounds good!
On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 7:15 PM, Xandor <xandoru at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hey All,
>
> Let's do Monday, as tomorrow is a little too short notice. 12/3 at
> 8:30pm; email me off-list for my address (in Castro, SF).
>
> -mark
>
>
> On Nov 27, 2012, at 8:35 PM, Corey McGuire <coreyfro at coreyfro.com> wrote:
>
> 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>
>
>
--
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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