Robot Racers
Senior Project
Doran Wilde and James Archibald
10 January 2012
1
Assignment
• Before Tuesday, team leader sends email
to Drs. Wilde and Archibald with:
– team name
– for each individual:
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name
email address
Route Y id
specializations
2
Task Chart
Game Stategy
Controller
Control velocity,
steering,
read encoder,
curvature
*test on block*
Load code
on Helios
*Hello World*
Feedback control
for steering
and velocity.
Basic Wireless
Communication
*loop test*
Drive Blind
Drive fixed distance
Drive fixed radius
ESTOP
Drive by vision
Drive to base
Play Game
Shoot Stationary
Target
Shoot Moving
Target
Drive from
Keyboard
Design GUI
*document*
GUI Program
*demo*
Display Frame
on GUI
Capture video
on Helios
*display over USB*
Color conversion
Color segmentation
Tower
Recognition
Recognize
state
truck vs. base
friend vs. foe
3
Team Specialists
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Leader and magician
Control guru and resident genius
Navigator and mystical guide
Vision expert and oracle
Communication lord and poet laureate
Hardware and embedded system wizard
GUI artist and master programmer
Game AI strategist and algorithmist
Golf pro (optional)
4
Leader
• “And whosoever of you will be the chiefest,
shall be servant of all.” Mark 10:4
• Provide vision and direction to the team
• Conduct team meetings
• Motivation, Morale, make sure everyone is
producing at all times.
• Coordination, Integration, Reporting
• Making the hard decisions, even when not
popular
5
Control
• Control of the speed and steering of the
vehicle.
• Velocity input (m/sec, or ft/sec, or cm/sec)
• Steering input (curvature: rad/sec or
deg/sec, or steering angle: degrees)
• Also inputs from encoders and gyro
• Control the PWM outputs to the motors
• Control loop, PID or PI to match actual
speed and steering with desired values.
6
Navigation
• How to get from where you are to where
you need to be.
• Path Planning, Ostacle avoidance
• Following other trucks
• Aligning a shot
• Inputs from Game AI, or Vision
• Outputs velocity and steering instructions
to the controller
7
Vision
• The camera is the primary input to your
system
• Input from the camera
• Determine relative position of
– bases
– other trucks
– obstacles
– navigation landmarks
• Outputs to Game AI and Navigation
8
Communication
• Establish wireless communication
between truck and
– host control station (gui)
– receive commands ESTOP, GO, Parameter
settings, send back debug info
– teammates (in multiplayer games)
• Establish wired communication with
– game system for shooting, reading encoders
and gyro, game state, debugging
9
Hardware & Embedded Systems
• Write the VHDL code for the Virtex 4
FPGA to
– interface with peripherals
– Implement parts of the vision algorithm
– Interface with the game system
• Manage the EDK
– Configuration of the embedded system
– Microprocessors, busses, peripherals
10
GUI
• The host station interface with the truck.
• Control center for configuring parameters,
starting and stopping the truck.
• Debug window into the truck. Display
debug info coming back from truck.
• Display vision info. Camera + overlays.
• Take advantage of previous GUIs that
have been written.
11
Game AI
• Determine strategy to win various games.
• Input info from vision giving relative positions
of objects on the field.
• Input state from game system (enabled,
disabled, enabled with flag)
• Decide on best course of action.
• Output navigation for movement
• Output to game system to make shots
12
Milestones (tentative)
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Week 1 (Theme: Get team, learn tools, become productive)
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Week 2 (Theme: Everyone has a job and a goal to work towards)
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Vision competition (drive to base, stop at specified distance from base); working debug
environment to test and debug vision (GUI works)
Week 5 (Theme: Trucks can track and shoot stationary targets)
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Compulsory maneuvers competition (no vision)
Week 4 (Theme: Our trucks can see and maneuver based on sight)
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Choose team specialists; leadership program; check out hardware; try out hardware, get
installation working; control lecture, vision lecture
Week 3 (Theme: Our trucks can accurately follow maneuver commands)
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Choose team members, team name, team leader; create team logo; get doorcode and space
in FB 150; get team computer setup; download and setup svn client on team and personal
computers; check out basic installation files; have first team meeting; setup Trac page; intro
to basic installation, EDK, cores, etc.; intro to Trac (online only)
Race to base competition (first to shoot the base wins), possibly with obstacles
Week 6 (Theme: We have a winning strategy)
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Simulated game competition (try out game strategies)
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Milestones (tentative)
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Week 7 (Theme: Our truck can track and shoot moving targets)
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Week 8 (Theme: Our trucks can shoot and avoid being shot)
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Practice laser tag competition (press coverage?)
Week 13 (Theme: Knock their socks off. DATE=????)
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Treasure hunt competition (practice mapping and navigating to absolute coordinates)
Week 12 (Theme: Rehearse the show)
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Practice laser tag competition
Week 11 (Theme: Map building, cooperative map building)
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Tag competition (trying to pass the flag to someone—anyone, same skills as death match)
Week 10 (Theme: Identify our weaknesses)
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Death match competition (shoot-em-up, last truck standing wins)
Week 9 (Theme: We can put it all together and play the game)
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Follow that truck competition (track a moving target)
Final laser tag competition
Week 14 (Theme: Wind down, prepare for next year)
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Check in hardware; commit files to repository; exit interview; final reports
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Questions?
15