ACM SIGCSE 2008
Workshop #8: Computer Vision and Image Processing:
Accessible Resources for Robotics and CS Curricula
March 12, 2008
Mini Grand Challenge Contest
To Enhance CS Education
Bob Avanzato
Associate Professor of Engineering
Penn State Abington
1600 Woodland Road
Abington PA 19001
RLA5@psu.edu
Objectives
• Design autonomous outdoor robot contest
“Mini Grand Challenge” (MGC) to promote
interest in robotics, vision and AI.
• Partly inspired by DARPA Grand Challenge
• Include vision and HRI component.
• Contest should be accessible to advanced
high school, lower-division undergrads (CS.
Engr, IST) and beyond.
• Availability of low-cost robot platform and
development environment to improve
accessibility to MGC contest.
PSU Abington Robot Platform
Mini Grand Challenge (MGC)
• Autonomous, outdoor, electric ground robot
• Follow 8-ft wide (unmarked) paths on college
campus
• Reach 6 waypoints (GPS longitude, latitude)
• Avoid human obstacles on path
• Entertain human spectators
• Take off-road detour across field (with obstacles)
• Payload: 1 gallon of water
• Robot Speed: 1.5 - 5mph
• (6) Waypoints disclosed 24 hours prior to contest
event.
Campus Paths
Campus Paths
Campus Paths
Campus Paths
Campus Paths
Campus Paths (Field)
Campus Paths
Campus Paths
Sample Path/Waypoint Layout
WP #4
WP #3
orange cones
WP #5
WP #6
Path width = ~8ft
Waypoint (WP) diameter = 20ft
Key Equipment List (PSU robot)
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PowerWheels™ platform
GPS (with serial cable)
Speaker/amp (15-30 watt)
Inverter (DC to AC)
Servo (steering)
Speed controller
USB camera (240 x 320)
Camera stand
Sonar and servo
USB to serial converter
Servo controller
Battery
TOTAL……
$150
$100
$60
$30
$50
$60
$50
$30
$50
$20
$50-$100
$50
$700 (approx.)
• NOTE: Laptop, MATLAB costs not included in above list
Robot Block Diagram
Sonar
Steering
Control
USB
Camera
Pontech SV203
Controller
GPS
(Garmin eTrex)
Speaker
(30-watt)
Laptop Computer
Windows XP OS
MATLAB
Drive Motor
Speed/Dir
Control
PSU Abington Robot
Key Software
• MATLAB with Image Processing Toolbox
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Grab image from USB camera
Edge detection
Read GPS text serial output (position, velocity)
Text-to-Speech
Send motor and steering commands to servo controller
Main control loop written in MATLAB
• Drivers
– MS Win32 Speech API (SAPI) (text to speech)
– VFM (Video for Windows frame grabber)
• Any Software/Hardware solution Allowed
Vision Processing
• Edge detection
Vision Processing
• Example Edge detection
Pilot Study: Student Solutions
• Background: Sophomore-level CS/EE
students with no prior experience in vision
• Students developed a heuristic, pathtracking algorithm in MATLAB (Image
Processing ToolBox; Canny edge
detection; non-optimal).
• MATLAB environment promotes rapid
prototyping and facilitates testing.
Results
• 2005 Mini Grand Challenge (April 2005)
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3 participants; no successful robots
Rain limited outdoor event (rescheduled in Dec.)
Robots on display indoors; same day as FF contest
Generated much interest for future events
• 2006 Mini Grand Challenge (April 1, 2006)
– 6 participants; one robot manages 50% of course
• 2007 Mini Grand Challenge (March 31, 2007)
– 8 robots registered
– 1 high school team
– 1 winner (50 out of 100 points); no robot completes course
• 2007 Mini Grand Challenge (April 26, 2008)
– Expect 10 – 15 robots
Mini Grand Challenge Event
(PSU-Abington PA; April 3, 2005)
MGC 2006
MGC 2006 (PSU Abington robot)
MGC 2006
MGC 2006 (PSU University Park robot)
MGC 2006 (Spectator Interaction)
Results/Conclusions
• Mini Grand Challenge (MGC) contest successfully
promotes interest in robotics and vision for a wide
range of participants (freshman college to professional)
• Low-cost robot platform with MATLAB software allows
freshman/sophomore undergrads to participate in
sophisticated algorithm development.
• Contest supports wide range of educational goals.
• Outdoor contest has risks (example: rain!)
• Larger robot --> more cumbersome for classroom
integration
Future Directions
• Develop web-based resources and tutorials.
• Develop K-12 outreach activities based on MGC
• Assess (survey) student retention and recruitment.
• Regional contests
• Develop indoor extension to contest to mitigate weather
problems. (Example: follow cones in gym)
• Non-CS major student involvement – IST (Spr 2008)
• Develop robot contest in Second Life 3D virtual world
References
• PSU Abington Mini Grand Challenge Website
http://cede.psu.edu/~avanzato/robots/contests/outdoor/index.htm
• YouTube video of MGC robot (2007)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVMxM7VVe8Y
Robotics in Second Life
• Exploratorium Second Life site (Mars rover)
Portland, Oregon in Second Life
Portland, Oregon in Second Life