root / docs / www / colonyscout / intro.php @ 781890a0
History | View | Annotate | Download (6.4 KB)
1 | f59acf11 | Dan Shope | <?php
|
---|---|---|---|
2 | $cacheFile="cache/intro.html"; |
||
3 | if (file_exists($cacheFile)) //we can read this cache file back reduce database load |
||
4 | { |
||
5 | header("Content-Type: text/html"); |
||
6 | readfile($cacheFile); |
||
7 | exit;
|
||
8 | } else {
|
||
9 | ob_start(); //start buffering so we can cache for future accesses
|
||
10 | } |
||
11 | ?>
|
||
12 | |||
13 | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
|
||
14 | <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"><head> |
||
15 | <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"/> |
||
16 | <meta name="description" content="A low cost, versatile research platform for autonomous systems in collaborative robotics"/> |
||
17 | <meta name="keywords" content="low cost, research platform, robotics, Carngie Mellon, Scout, engineer, program"/> |
||
18 | |||
19 | <?php include("header.php"); ?> |
||
20 | <title>Introduction | ColonyScout.com</title> |
||
21 | |||
22 | </head>
|
||
23 | <body bgcolor="#eeeeee"> |
||
24 | |||
25 | <div id="general"> |
||
26 | <?php include("nav.php"); ?> |
||
27 | <div id="body"> |
||
28 | <div id="body-boxes"> |
||
29 | <div class="box-row"> |
||
30 | <div class="white-top"></div> |
||
31 | <div class="white-body text-box"> |
||
32 | <div class="content-box"> |
||
33 | <h1>What is the Colony Scout?</h1> |
||
34 | <p><b>Swarm intelligence</b><i>\'swòrm in-'te-lə-jən(t)s\</i> describes the collective behavior of decentralized, |
||
35 | self-organized systems, natural or artificial.</p>
|
||
36 | |||
37 | <img src="images/intro_colony3.jpg" alt="Colony 3"/> |
||
38 | |||
39 | <p>The Colony project of the <a href="http://www.roboclub.org" target="about:blank">Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Club</a> |
||
40 | demonstrates the capabilities of a colony of |
||
41 | simple low-cost robots that are able to localize relative to each other using <em>"swarm intelligence".</em> Each device |
||
42 | gathers information about its environment via simple one-dimensional sensors, such as IR beacons, and shares data |
||
43 | via an ad hoc wireless network.</p>
|
||
44 | |||
45 | <img src="images/intro_scout.jpg" alt="Colony Scout Accessories"/> |
||
46 | |||
47 | <p>The Scout is designed as an evolution of the current platform employed by the Carnegie Mellon project. It builds on the
|
||
48 | technology of the Colony III robots (top picture) and offers new functionality to each individual robot. In this way each robot |
||
49 | can offer more intelligence to the swarm, operate over more extreme terrain, and cover larger distances more quickly. Scout takes |
||
50 | the lessons gleaned from several years of research and aims to provide a simple interface into a powerful set of reliable |
||
51 | technologies.</p>
|
||
52 | |||
53 | <div class="hr"></div> |
||
54 | |||
55 | <h1>Project Goals</h1> |
||
56 | <p>At the outset of the Scout project in April of 2009, several goals were defined. The new robot should have:</p> |
||
57 | <ul>
|
||
58 | <li>enhancements over the current sensor array</li> |
||
59 | <li>a more robust localization scheme</li> |
||
60 | <li>be physically capable of traversing complex terrain (indoor, possibly outdoor)</li> |
||
61 | <li>an adaptable design that can be modified for different purposes</li> |
||
62 | <li>be capable of object/environment manipulation</li> |
||
63 | <li>similar form factor and power requirements</li> |
||
64 | <li>Must be low-cost (sub $500 in qty)</li> |
||
65 | </ul>
|
||
66 | <p>The cost restriction has been a major driving factor for most design decisions and even the motivation for the project. There are
|
||
67 | many commerical solutions that offer compact and capable robots, but at a price point unsuitable for undergraduate studies and |
||
68 | invididual research.</p>
|
||
69 | |||
70 | <p>We aimed to develop a platform enticing to individuals, companies, and research institutions, but at a price point that doesn't
|
||
71 | hinder innonvative research.</p>
|
||
72 | </div>
|
||
73 | |||
74 | <div class="side-box gray"> |
||
75 | <img src="images/intro_kiva.jpg" alt="Kiva storage rack handling robots"/> |
||
76 | <p><small><i>Kiva's robots carrying package racks (Credit: Forbes.com)</i></small></p> |
||
77 | <p>Colonies of robots have many applications. They can solve larger problems than individual
|
||
78 | robots. The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory has developed a colony of robots that seeks out |
||
79 | liquid spills. They surround the spill by having each robot locate part of the edge of the spill. Kiva's orange package carrying |
||
80 | robots perform orchestrated dances in warehouses across the United States, enhancing productivity of the entire delivery system.</p>
|
||
81 | </div>
|
||
82 | </div>
|
||
83 | |||
84 | <div class="white-body text-box"> |
||
85 | <div class="hr"></div> |
||
86 | |||
87 | <h1>Feature Comparison</h1> |
||
88 | <table class="intro"> |
||
89 | <tr><th><strong>Tech</strong></th><th><strong>Colony III</strong></th><th><strong>Scout</strong></th></tr> |
||
90 | <tr><td>Processor</td><td>8MHz 8-bit AVR</td><td>600MHz 32-bit Cortex A8 + 16MHz 8-bit AVR</td></tr> |
||
91 | <tr><td>Rangefinders</td><td>5 Position (1.5-12in) IR</td><td>48 Position, 360-degree coverage (0-20ft) Sonar</td></tr> |
||
92 | <tr><td>Battery</td><td>6.0VDC 2.6Ah NiMH</td><td>7.4VDC 3.0Ah Lion</td> </tr> |
||
93 | <tr><td>Locomotion</td><td>2 Wheel Differential Drive</td><td>4WD Skid Steer</td> </tr> |
||
94 | <tr><td>Ground Clearance</td><td>None</td><td>1.34" Clearance with Rocker Pivot to conform to terrain</td> </tr> |
||
95 | <tr><td>Cliff Detection</td><td>None</td><td>3 Side Drop-off Detection</td> </tr> |
||
96 | <tr><td>BOM</td><td>16 Point IR</td><td>4 Point IR with modulation and noise suppression</td> </tr> |
||
97 | <tr><td>Wireless</td><td>Zigbee, 300 ft range</td><td>Zigbee, >300 ft range</td> </tr> |
||
98 | <tr><td>Charging</td><td> Removable</td><td>Integrated homing and charging contacts</td> </tr> |
||
99 | <tr><td>Extension</td><td>None</td><td> Accessory/Expansion hardpoints and power/data connection</td> </tr> |
||
100 | <tr><td>Production</td><td>Botrics</td><td>In-house design and manufacturing for full control over device lifetime</td> |
||
101 | </tr>
|
||
102 | </table>
|
||
103 | |||
104 | <p><h2>Eager to learn more? Explore the rest of ColonyScout.com.</h2></p> |
||
105 | |||
106 | <div id="bottom-nav"> |
||
107 | <div class="hr"></div> |
||
108 | <ul id="pagenav"> |
||
109 | <li class="previous"></li> |
||
110 | <li class="next"> |
||
111 | <a href="<?php echo $nav[$nav_id['intro']+1]; ?></a></li> |
||
112 | </ul>
|
||
113 | </div>
|
||
114 | </div>
|
||
115 | <div class="white-bottom"></div> |
||
116 | </div>
|
||
117 | |||
118 | </div>
|
||
119 | </div> <!--BODY!--> |
||
120 | |||
121 | |||
122 | <?php include("footer.php"); ?> |
||
123 | |||
124 | </div><!--GENERAL!--> |
||
125 | |||
126 | </body></html> |
||
127 | <?php
|
||
128 | $buffer = ob_get_contents();
|
||
129 | ob_end_flush(); |
||
130 | $fp = fopen($cacheFile, "w"); fwrite($fp, $buffer); fclose($fp); |
||
131 | ?> |