http://www.albany.edu/robotics
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A machine
Built to help us
Autonomous (not remote control)
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If we want robots to do things for us,
we have to program them
How do we program a robot?
What does the robot need to KNOW
to do useful things?
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Imagine picking up some trash from
the floor and taking it to the nearest
garbage bin
What does a robot need to know?
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Understand what’s around them,
where is the trash? (SENSE)
Work out what they are going to do,
what does “pick up garbage” mean?
(PLAN)
Do it, move, turn (ACT)
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How do we do things?
Called ACTING
What do robots have to do things?
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Speech
Motor
Wheels
Gripper
Display
Tracks
Legs
Face
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We need to give instructions to the
robots
That’s what programming is
Many programming languages
We’re going to use a programming
language called NXT-g
 Graphical
 Easy
 Powerful
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Remember: Run the robot on the floor
Take the cable out of the shoulder
(leave it in the computer)
Orange button finds and runs the
program
Remember: the dark gray button is the
kill switch. Use this if the robot goes
nuts.
What happened?
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Move forward 3 seconds, then
backward 3 seconds
Move forward 3 seconds, and turn left
or right (try to get close to a 90o turn)
Once complete, you can play with
 Power
 Duration
 Sharp vs. lazy turn
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Make the robot move forward for 3
seconds
 Download program to robot
 Unplug robot
 Find the new program on the robot
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 Press gray button to go back to the folder
with your programs in it
 Use left and right arrow buttons to find
“square” program
 Use orange button to run the “square”
program
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Add instructions to drive around in a
square, start and end in the same spot
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What was that like?
 Robot does exactly what you tell it to do
 Every robot is different
 Eight move blocks
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How many blocks do you need:
 To drive a square twice?
 To drive a square twenty times?
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Is there a better way to do this?
Let’s create a new program
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Use the loop structure to make your
robot drive around in a rough square
Make the robot drive EXACTLY once
around the square, and then stop
Make the robot drive once around a
square, and then rotate roughly 360
degrees on the spot
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What do we use to get information
about the world?
This is called SENSING
Is your robot “smart”?
What do robots use to get information
about the world?
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Camera
Color
Infra Red
Ultra Sonic
Sound
Touch
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Make your robot drive around without
crashing into objects in its way
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Scan in front of you
IF there’s nothing close,
THEN drive forward
IF there is an object ‘close’
THEN turn 90 degrees
Do this forever
Hint: Robots can only do ONE thing at a
time
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How are we able to deal with things
that occur as we do our stuff?
How do we put things together in a
sequence?
This is called PLANNING
How does your robot decide what to
do?
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Think of IF-THEN rules
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IF <see garbage> THEN <pick-up>
IF <holding garbage> AND <at trash
can> THEN <drop garbage>
IF <10PM> OR <battery low> THEN
<sleep>
IF NOT <holding garbage> THEN
<search room>
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You’ve been programming your robot
Giving the PLANS or INSTRUCTIONS to
do tasks
Using SENSORS to help make decisions
Using EFFECTORS to carry out those
plans
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Would you want to hang out with your
robot?
What mood is your robot in?
Can robots have moods?
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Social robots will interact with us in our
world
Need to cooperate, communicate
and collaborate with humans
Have to understand our goals, our
actions, and our behaviors
What do robots need to achieve this?
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BANG!!!
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OUCH!!!!
Ooops.
Sorry!
BANG!!!
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The offer
seems
Wait
a
really
good….
second…hang
ROOMBA:
So
I thinkNOT
we
on…
NOW!!!
can
go ahead
with the sale…
VRRROOOMMM
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Can you guess what this robot does?
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How do you communicate?
How do I know how you feel?
Do you act differently to
communicate different things?
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Uses sounds to make noise
Uses display to show expressions, art
and messages
Uses actions to reinforce mood
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Create a POLITE robot and show it off
Create a SHY robot and show it off
Create a FRANTIC robot and show it
off
Create a SILLY robot and show it off
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Designing new robots
 New sensors
 New ways of combining sensor
information
 New effectors
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Making robots think
 How to get them to talk
 How to make their eyes work
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All of this involves writing programs
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Study math and science
Join robot clubs
Scratch?
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Tell your friends to take this workshop
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