Mozart!
TEAM
MOZART
Alex Bostandjiev - Computer Engineer
Ivan Dryanovski - Electrical Engineer
Bob Lynch - Project Manager
Dr. Ken Krebs - Faculty Advisor
Steve Spadafore - Technical Consultant
Team MOZART
...where are Krebs and Steve?
Team MOZART
The 12th Annual
Trinity College
Firefighting
Robot Contest
April 9 - 10, 2005
Hartford, CT
Contest Objective:
The main challenge of this contest is to build an
autonomous computer-controlled robot that
can find its way through an arena that
represents a model house, find a lit candle that
represents a fire in the house, and extinguish
the fire in the shortest time. This task simulates
the real-world operation of an autonomous
robot performing a fire protection function in a
real house. The goal of the contest is to advance
robot technology and knowledge while using
robotics as an educational tool.
CONTEST RULES
• Robot Operation
Once turned on, the robot must be
autonomous--self-controlled without any
human intervention.
A robot may bump into or touch the walls of
the arena as it travels, but it cannot mark,
dislodge or damage the walls in doing so.
The robot must have found the candle before
it attempts to put it out.
CONTEST RULES
• Putting out the Candle
The robot must not use any destructive or
dangerous methods to put out the candle. It
may use such substances as water, air, CO2,
etc., but any method or material that is
dangerous or will damage the arena is
prohibited.
The robot must come within 30 cm of the
candle before it attempts to extinguish the
flame.
CONTEST RULES
• Robot Size
The robot must be able to fit in a box 31 cm
long by 31 cm wide by 27 cm high. The robot
cannot separate into multiple parts and must
never extend itself beyond the 31 cm allowed.
CONTEST RULES
• The Candle
The candle flame will be from 15 cm to 20 cm
above the floor level. The exact height and size
of the flame will change throughout the contest
depending upon the condition of candle and its
surroundings. The robot is required to find the
candle no matter what the size of the flame is at
that particular moment.
The candle will be placed at random in one of
the rooms in the arena.
CONTEST RULES
• Time Limits
In order to achieve the contest objective of
building a robot that can find and extinguish a
fire in a house, finding the fire within a
reasonable period of time is very important. The
maximum time limit for a robot to find the candle
will be 5 minutes.
CONTEST SCORING
• Operating Modes
Standard Mode (1.0 MF)
X Sound Activation Mode (0.95 MF)
Return Trip Mode (0.8 MF)
Extinguisher Mode (0.85 MF)
X Furniture Mode (0.75 MF)
X Uneven Floor Mode (0.8 MF)
X Clutter Mode (0.8 MF)
CONTEST SCORING
• Penalties

Continuous Contact With a Wall
(1 second for every 2 cm)

Touching the Candle
(50 seconds)
CONTEST SCORING
• Room Factor
If the candle is in the 1st room searched, the
Room Factor will be 1.0
If the candle is in the 2nd room searched, the
Room Factor will be 0.85
If the candle is in the 3rd room searched, the
Room Factor will be 0.50
If the candle is in the 4th room searched, the
Room Factor will be 0.35
CONTEST SCORING
• Scoring Procedure
For any run the judges measure the actual time
of the run and they record the operating
modes and penalties.
Robots with three successful runs (candle
extinguished) will form the highest group.
Design of
MOZART
Processor - Handyboard
Operating System - Interactive C
Locomotion - 4 Drive Motors
Power - External Battery Pack (NiMH)
Structure - K’NEX
Extinguishing Device - Water
Sensors - IR, Ultrasonic, Gyro, UV
Detection, Heat Detection
The HandyBoard
Description:
• Commercially available microcontroller
system
• Based on a Motorola 6811 chip
• Battery-powered
• 32K of memory
Quantity: 1
• Two-line LCD display
• 4 outputs to DC motors
• Analog & Digital inputs
• Digital outputs
• Servo outputs
The HandyBoard
The Digital Inputs
• Take ~0V or ~5V as input
• Convert to FALSE or TRUE
The Analog Inputs
Quantity: 1
• Take anywhere from 0V to 5V as input
• Convert to a number from 0 to 255
• ( 1 byte of memory space)
The HandyBoard
Advantages
• Easy to use & interface with computer
• Well documented
• “Plug-and-play” sensor & motor support
Disadvantages
Quantity: 1
• Low power output
• Unreliable at times
• Odd sensor input behavior
Sharp GP2D12: Infrared Detector Package
Description
• Operates with infrared light
• Detects proximity of objects
Advantages
• Very narrow field of sight
• Very fast update rate
• Reliable
• Little dependence on surface color / shape
Quantity: 6
Disadvantages
• Low distance accuracy (to within 3-4 cm)
• Cannot detect objects closer than 10cm
Devantech SRF04: Ultrasonic Range Sensor
Description
• Operates with high-frequency sound
• Detects proximity of objects
Advantages
Quantity: 1
• Wide field of “sight”
• Good distance accuracy (to within 1cm)
• Good minimum range (2 – 3 cm)
Disadvantages
• Slow update rate
• Occasional erroneous readings
Hamamatsu C3704/R2868: UV Flame Detector Package
Description
Detects UV radiation
Advantages
• 360-degree field of sight
• High sensitivity
• Reliable
Quantity: 1
Disadvantages
• Positioning difficulties
Eltec 442-3: Pyroelectric Sensor Package
Description
Detects heat (infrared) radiation
Can detect candle flame or body heat
Advantages
• Very high angular precision
Disadvantages
• Very slow update rate
• Unreliable
Quantity: 2
ADXRS150: Angular Rate Sensor
Description
Detects rate of turning
(angular velocity about the vertical axis)
Quantity: 1
Advantages
• Very light and small
• Fast update
• Very accurate for small intervals
• Reliable
Disadvantages
• Error builds up for longer intervals of time
Standard 180º Servo
Description
Rotates to a specified angle
Advantages
• Accurate
• Fast
Quantity: 2
Disadvantages
• High power consumption
Water Pump Controller
Quantity: 1
Description
• Water pump: 12 V motor
• Send low-power signal from
HandyBoard to external
circuit
• External circuit amplifies
power
A Regular Week of the
Programmer…
Week of the Competition…
What does this:
involve?
Inputs -> Black Box -> Outputs
?
Can you find an analogy
with something else?
An analogy..
Remember:
Inputs -> Black Box -> Outputs
?
Functions…
F (input1, input2,… ,input3) = output
Examples from our functions:
• Navigate the maze :: Remember where you are
• Movement:
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Turn left
Turn right
Go forward
Go backward
Follow the wall (left or right)
Transform input data into something that makes sense
Speak :: Sing
When found fire:
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Scan for fire
Approach candle
Extinguish
Swivel !
• Go home
+ many, many others…
Example: Transforming IR input
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Input :: number between 0 and 255 ???
Transform into distance (centimeters)
Split the curve into different parts
Fit a polynomial
Forward Left
45
40
35
y = -0.79422x + 70.79260
30
25
y = 0.00301x2 - 0.75340x + 58.61371
20
15
10
2
y = -0.00663x + 1.45076x - 66.83807
5
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
What is Interactive C
• a C language designed
for programming
robots using the RCX,
XBC or Handyboard
robot controller
Connections
IC consists of:
• compiler (with interactive command-line
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•
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compilation and debugging)
run-time machine language module
context sensitive editor
built in documentation
ability to upload data from the robot
controller back to the host pc
Processes:
allow multi-sensing!
IC implements a subset of C
including:
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control structures (for, while, if, else)
local and global variables
arrays
pointers
structures
16-bit and 32-bit integers
32-bit floating point numbers
Built in libraries support a variety of
sensors and actuators including:
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servo and DC motors
sonars
encoders
touch and light sensors
the CMUcam color tracker
the XBC camera multi-color tracking
system
Strategy!
MOVIES…
• Testing
– 3rd person
– 1st person
– 2nd person?!?
• Competition
Mozart placed
7th out of 60 robots
Competition Troubleshooting
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Aligning the robot with the candle
Blind Spot
Too Many Processes
Return to Home
Improvements for Next Year
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Fabricated Design
Nozzle
Water Reservoir
External Battery Pack Placement
Placement of Handyboard
Staircase - Track Drive
Sound Activation
If you like what we’ve done
(Or think it’s crap and you can do better)
Join the F&M Robotics Club
Next Semester
And work on a competitive project
For more info, email idryanov@fandm.edu
Or ken.krebs@fandm.edu