Linux Robotics Programming Smarter Robots

by Newman, D.

• ISBN13: 9780071444842
• ISBN10: 007144484X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-01-11
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education TAB

Summary

When used as a robotic "brain," single-board computers such as Linux offer speed and capacity advantages over microcontrollers. This resource combines essential aspects of robotics and programming to show hobbyists how to incorporate the power of Linux into their robot creations. An original sample robot is used to illustrate all examples throughout the book Coverage includes sensors, controllers, communications, behavioral programming, navigation and piloting, neural Networks The accompanying website includes: a Linux distribution created specifically for robotics applications; downloadable software; circuit examples, solderless breadboard designs, and a complete set of behavioral programming and neural network classes (in Java, C, and C++)

Author Biography

D. Jay Newman is a Sr. Research Programmer at Penn State, helping faculty use technology. He has been interested in robots and computers his entire life. This is his first foray into writing.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xv
Starting Out	1	(26)
What Is a Robot?	4	(2)
Types of robots	5	(1)
Linux Controllers	6	(2)
Why Linux?	7	(1)
Robot Design 101	8	(2)
Building Robots	10	(5)
Building Groucho	10	(5)
Building a Robot Base	15	(1)
Modifying a toy	15	(1)
The Power Supply	16	(2)
Sensors	18	(1)
Controlling Your Robot: The Software	19	(3)
The motor interface	20	(1)
The sensor interface	21	(1)
Linux and the Mini-ITX Board	22	(1)
Storage	23	(1)
Putting Gentoo Linux on the Mini-ITX	24	(1)
Additional software	24	(1)
Summary	24	(3)
Electronics and Such	27	(20)
Electricity	28	(3)
Ground (Vss)	28	(1)
Voltage In (Vin)	28	(1)
Positive/negative	29	(1)
Current	29	(1)
Resistance	29	(1)
Voltage drop	30	(1)
Power spikes and transients	30	(1)
Motors	31	(4)
Permanent magnet DC motors	32	(1)
Pulse width modulation	33	(1)
R/C servo motors (servos)	34	(1)
Batteries	35	(2)
Basic Components	37	(3)
Resistors	37	(1)
Capacitors	38	(1)
Voltage regulators	39	(1)
Schematic Diagrams	40	(1)
Breadboards, Printed Circuit Boards, and Soldering Irons	40	(3)
Soldering	40	(2)
Printed circuit boards	42	(1)
Breadboards	43	(1)
Connectors	43	(3)
Pin headers	44	(1)
Barrier strips	44	(1)
Screw connectors	44	(2)
Summary	46	(1)
Internal Communication: The Control Network	47	(16)
Hardware Layer	50	(1)
Ethernet	51	(1)
USB	52	(1)
Asynchronous Serial Protocol	53	(2)
RS232	54	(1)
RS485	54	(1)
12C	55	(1)
SPI	55	(1)
ROBIN	56	(1)
MojoBus	56	(5)
General MojoBus commands	57	(1)
RX50 MojoBus commands	57	(1)
Groucho's sensor controller	58	(1)
MojoBus master code	58	(3)
Summary	61	(2)
Sensors	63	(16)
Connecting Sensors	65	(4)
The separate I/O processor	66	(2)
Smart sensors	68	(1)
RS485	68	(1)
Modules and pods	69	(1)
Example Sensors	69	(7)
The switch	69	(2)
Photoresister (CdS cell, photocell, or light-sensitive resistor)	71	(1)
Infrared detection	72	(1)
Passive infrared detector (PID)	72	(1)
The sharp IR ranger	72	(1)
Sonar	73	(1)
Accelerometers	74	(1)
Gyroscopes	75	(1)
Compass	75	(1)
Capacitance sensors	75	(1)
Odometers	76	(1)
Code	76	(1)
Groucho's Sensor Architecture	77	(1)
Summary	78	(1)
Behavioral Programming	79	(14)
Behavioral Programming History	82	(1)
Behavioral Programming Basics	83	(4)
Simple subsumption architecture	86	(1)
The Code	87	(2)
Limitation	89	(2)
Learning	89	(1)
State	90	(1)
Timing	90	(1)
Intuitive programming	90	(1)
Summary	91	(2)
Audio: Speaking and Listening	93	(10)
Text to Speech	94	(3)
Sable	96	(1)
Alternate sound output	97	(1)
Speech to Text	97	(5)
Simple grammars (JSGF)	97	(2)
Doing it the hard way: Training Sphinx	99	(1)
From Sphinx to Groucho	100	(2)
Sphinx wrap-up	102	(1)
Summary	102	(1)
Vision: Seeing the World	103	(16)
Theory	104	(4)
Color mapping	105	(1)
Thresholding	105	(2)
Convolution	107	(1)
Hardware	108	(1)
Software	109	(2)
Driver software	109	(1)
High-level software	110	(1)
Feature Extraction	111	(2)
Edge detection	111	(1)
Histograms	112	(1)
Optical Flow	113	(1)
Possible algorithms	114	(1)
Color Blobs	114	(1)
Signs and Beacons	115	(2)
Plain text	116	(1)
Bar codes	116	(1)
Bicycle reflectors	116	(1)
Existing signs	117	(1)
Summary	117	(2)
Mapping and Planning: Where Is Here? and How Do We Get from Here to There?	119	(12)
Mapping Algorithms	121	(5)
Topological maps	121	(1)
Occupancy maps	122	(3)
Polar maps	125	(1)
Well-known locations	126	(1)
Programming the Maps	126	(3)
OccupancyMap and MapCell	126	(2)
Mapper	128	(1)
Locator	129	(1)
Navigator	129	(1)
Summary	129	(2)
Artificial Neural Networks	131	(8)
The Artificial Neuron	132	(2)
The McCulloch-Pitts neuron	132	(1)
The generic neural network artificial neuron	133	(1)
Layers in an Artificial Neural Network	134	(2)
Single-layer artificial neural networks	135	(1)
Multilayer artificial neural networks	135	(1)
Neural Network Software	136	(1)
Sound and neurons	136	(1)
Joone	137	(1)
Summary	137	(2)
Working without a Wire	139	(18)
WiFi	140	(1)
Radio Modems	141	(1)
It's Connected: Now What?	142	(10)
Tomcat	144	(3)
Apache	147	(1)
NFS	148	(1)
Camsource	149	(2)
PostgreSQL	151	(1)
Code	152	(3)
SocketSensorImpl	152	(2)
ServerSocketSensorImpl	154	(1)
Summary	155	(2)
Appendix A. ENerd Robotics Framework Code	157	(120)
Main Interfaces	157	(10)
ws.enerd.robots.Motor.java	157	(2)
ws.enerd.robots.Sensor.java	159	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.Robot.java	160	(5)
ws.enerd.robots.DriveSystem.java	165	(2)
Utility	167	(2)
ws.enerd.util.StoppableThread.java	167	(2)
MojoBus	169	(9)
ws.enerd.robots.mojo.MojoConstants.java	169	(2)
ws.enerd.robots.mojo.MojoDevice.java	171	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.mojo.MojoCommand.java	172	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.mojo.MojoConnection.java	173	(3)
ws.enerd.robots.mojo.TestMotors.java	176	(2)
Motors	178	(16)
ws.enerd.robots.motor.AbstractMotor.java	178	(4)
ws.enerd.robots.motor.MojoMotor.java	182	(6)
ws.enerd.robots.motor.AbstractServoMotor.java	188	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.motor.AbstractDriveSystem.java	189	(2)
ws.enerd.robots.motor.DifferentialDriveSystem.java	191	(3)
Sensors	194	(34)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.SensorThread.java	195	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.AbstractSensor.java	196	(7)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.BooleanSensor.java	203	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.DistanceSensor.java	204	(4)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.StringSensor.java	208	(2)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.TPAData.java	210	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.TPASensor.java	211	(2)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.SensorFilter.java	213	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.AbstractSensorFilter.java	213	(3)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.AveragingArrayFilter.java	216	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.SensorImpl.java	217	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.AbstractSensorImpl.java	218	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.FileSensorImpl.java	219	(2)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.MojoSensorRingImpl.java	221	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.SocketSensorImpl.java	222	(2)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.SocketServerSensorImpl.java	224	(3)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.SensorEvent.java	227	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.sensor.SensorListener.java	228	(1)
Behavioral Programming	228	(19)
ws.enerd.robots.Behavior.java	229	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.AbstractBehavior.java	230	(5)
ws.enerd.robots.NullBehavior.java	235	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.BehaviorListener.java	235	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.Arbitrator.java	236	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.AbstractArbitrator.java	237	(6)
ws.enerd.robots.ControlArbitrator.java	243	(2)
ws.enerd.robots.SimpleSubsumptionArbitrator.java	245	(2)
Imaging	247	(2)
ws.enerd.robots.image.ImageMinder.java	247	(2)
Speech	249	(4)
Mapping	253	(5)
ws.enerd.robots.mapping.OccupancyMap	253	(2)
ws.enerd.robots.mapping.MapCell	255	(3)
AVRCam	258	(19)
ws.enerd.robots.avrcam.AVRCamConnection.java	258	(7)
ws.enerd.robots.avrcam.AVRCamEvent.java	265	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.avrcam.AVRCamFrameListener.java	266	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.avrcam.AVRCamImageEvent.java	267	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.avrcam.AVRCamImageReceiver.java	268	(4)
ws.enerd.robots.avrcam.AVRCamListener.java	272	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.avrcam.AVRConstants.java	272	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.avrcam.ScanLine.java	273	(1)
ws.enerd.robots.avrcam.Test.java	274	(3)
Appendix B. Resources	277	(2)
Index	279