Miller Robotic Interface II Manual de usuario descargar pdf (Pagina 27)

We noted during runs of other systems we were studying that a large percentage of the robot

hits in the environment were directly behind the robot [Yanco and Drury 2004]. The reason for

this problem was clear; anything outside of the 180° camera pan range directly in front of the

robot was essentially a blind spot. To alleviate this problem, we added a rear-facing

pan/tilt/zoom camera to our robot. This camera (a Canon VCC4) is identical to the forward-

facing camera that was already in place. In user tests of using the two cameras, we noticed a

significant reduction in the number of collisions to the rear of the robot [Keyes et al., 2006].

When we looked at the results of the previously studied competitions, the need for more

advanced vision processing became evident. Therefore the internal computer system was fully

upgraded. We replaced the Pentium III system with a Pentium IV system with one gigabyte of

RAM to alleviate the computation requirements of these advanced algorithms. For this upgrade,

the robot required a new custom power supply as well as an update of all of its software,

including iRobot’s Mobility software.

Also, during the study of the other robot systems, we saw that most teams duct-taped a

flashlight to the front of their robot. This was done to help them see in the dark areas of the

arena. However, this was a futile attempt, as the flashlight was generally not bright enough.

There was also no control to turn it off. Many of the panels in the test arenas were reflective.

This caused the flashlight to be reflected back into the robot’s camera causing the white

balancing to go wild, making it impossible to see anything. Also, a flashlight’s beam is very

directional, so if something is lit up, anything to the left or right is not, making the user have to

turn the robot to see more things. Turning the robot, can be a dangerous task if the user has

poor SA. Panning the camera is safer; assuming they remember to re-center it. We felt that

there was a better way to solve this problem. We used Velcro to attach a cold-cathode light to

each exterior side of the robot. These lights are controlled though software, so the user can turn

them on or off with the push of a button. They are also very powerful. We were able to

illuminate a completely dark and cluttered room enough to effectively maneuver through it. The

cold cathode tubes give off ambient light, so everything is equally lit, giving the user the ability to

drive the robot in a sun lit room as well as in a completely dark one.

We also attached a forward looking infrared (FLIR) camera to the front of the robot. This

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Miller Robotic Interface II Manual de usuario Pagina 27