CarBrake

Hi programing group,

Attached is a zip file containing the Delphi source code and the executable
file for "CarBrake," which is my version of Bill Power's "CarStop" program
simulating the braking of a vehicle attempting to stop at a reference
position. I've tested it successfully on both Windows 98 and Windows XP.

CarBrake uses the same hierarchical control organization as CarStop but
adds a few features. The vehicle now has a small, fixed amount of rolling
resistance and a user-specifiable amount of wind resistance. The user can
also vary the "stickiness" of the brakes by setting the coefficient of
friction for the brake pads, the initial speed and mass of the vehicle, the
reference stopping position, reference maximum deceleration, and gains of
the control system. In addition, by pressing a radio button, you can
switch the braking to manual control and try braking the vehicle yourself.

I've organized and commented the source code so that the logic of the
program should be relatively easy to follow, for those who like to have a
look "under the hood." For those who do not have the Delphi IDE, the main
source code is found in CarBrakeU.pas and can be viewed in any text editor.

I'm very much interested in hearing your comments or suggestions for
improvements.

Best wishes,

Bruce A.

CarBrake.zip (241 KB)

Hi Bruce et al

Well I'm glad to see someone is doing some work on PCT. I figured everyone was just
completely depressed into silence by these ghastly Bush policies.

I did find out some interesting information from the baseball research front. Several
years ago I spoke with Dennis Shafer, one of the authors of the Science paper on LOT.
He said he was going to do the same kind of study (using a video camera to capture the
fielder's view) with a dog catching a Frisbee. Apparently, that study has finally been
done and it was reported in the NY Times Science column! (Gary Cziko's daughter found
the article). I've contacted Dennis in an attempt to see the data. They (Shafer and
McBeath) apparently think it supports a LOT strategy; I want to see if I can account
for the data with my model. But I need the frisbee trajectories in order to do it. So
we shall see. I haven't contacted Shafer since we talked back in about 1997 but I think
he has a moderately soft spot for my work; he was the only one of three reviewers to
recommend my "Fielder's Choice" paper for publication in JEP last year.

I look forward to running you braking model but I'll have to wait until I get home to a
PC.

Best regards

Rick

"Bruce B. Abbott" wrote:

···

Hi programing group,

Attached is a zip file containing the Delphi source code and the executable
file for "CarBrake," which is my version of Bill Power's "CarStop" program
simulating the braking of a vehicle attempting to stop at a reference
position. I've tested it successfully on both Windows 98 and Windows XP.

CarBrake uses the same hierarchical control organization as CarStop but
adds a few features. The vehicle now has a small, fixed amount of rolling
resistance and a user-specifiable amount of wind resistance. The user can
also vary the "stickiness" of the brakes by setting the coefficient of
friction for the brake pads, the initial speed and mass of the vehicle, the
reference stopping position, reference maximum deceleration, and gains of
the control system. In addition, by pressing a radio button, you can
switch the braking to manual control and try braking the vehicle yourself.

I've organized and commented the source code so that the logic of the
program should be relatively easy to follow, for those who like to have a
look "under the hood." For those who do not have the Delphi IDE, the main
source code is found in CarBrakeU.pas and can be viewed in any text editor.

I'm very much interested in hearing your comments or suggestions for
improvements.

Best wishes,

Bruce A.

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   Name: CarBrake.zip
   CarBrake.zip Type: application/zip (application/zip)
               Encoding: base64

--
Richard S. Marken, Ph.D.
Senior Behavioral Scientist
The RAND Corporation
PO Box 2138
1700 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138
Tel: 310-393-0411 x7971
Fax: 310-451-7018
E-mail: rmarken@rand.org

Hi Bruce et al --

Well I looked at the program, though not carefully. But it is beautifully executed. Great
HCI. I haven't has a chance to play with it much but I've got it downloaded on the PC and
I'll mess with it this weekend.

I still haven't heard from the people who did the Frisbee catching study. Indeed, I
haven't heard from nearly anyone except except some kind people who want to help me
enlarge my penis and reduce my debt. Is it the overwhelming volume of junk mail that is
keeping people away from e-mail and CSGNet?

Best regards

Rick

Richard Marken wrote:

···

Hi Bruce et al

Well I'm glad to see someone is doing some work on PCT. I figured everyone was just
completely depressed into silence by these ghastly Bush policies.

I did find out some interesting information from the baseball research front. Several
years ago I spoke with Dennis Shafer, one of the authors of the Science paper on LOT.
He said he was going to do the same kind of study (using a video camera to capture the
fielder's view) with a dog catching a Frisbee. Apparently, that study has finally been
done and it was reported in the NY Times Science column! (Gary Cziko's daughter found
the article). I've contacted Dennis in an attempt to see the data. They (Shafer and
McBeath) apparently think it supports a LOT strategy; I want to see if I can account
for the data with my model. But I need the frisbee trajectories in order to do it. So
we shall see. I haven't contacted Shafer since we talked back in about 1997 but I think
he has a moderately soft spot for my work; he was the only one of three reviewers to
recommend my "Fielder's Choice" paper for publication in JEP last year.

I look forward to running you braking model but I'll have to wait until I get home to a
PC.

Best regards

Rick

"Bruce B. Abbott" wrote:

> Hi programing group,
>
> Attached is a zip file containing the Delphi source code and the executable
> file for "CarBrake," which is my version of Bill Power's "CarStop" program
> simulating the braking of a vehicle attempting to stop at a reference
> position. I've tested it successfully on both Windows 98 and Windows XP.
>
> CarBrake uses the same hierarchical control organization as CarStop but
> adds a few features. The vehicle now has a small, fixed amount of rolling
> resistance and a user-specifiable amount of wind resistance. The user can
> also vary the "stickiness" of the brakes by setting the coefficient of
> friction for the brake pads, the initial speed and mass of the vehicle, the
> reference stopping position, reference maximum deceleration, and gains of
> the control system. In addition, by pressing a radio button, you can
> switch the braking to manual control and try braking the vehicle yourself.
>
> I've organized and commented the source code so that the logic of the
> program should be relatively easy to follow, for those who like to have a
> look "under the hood." For those who do not have the Delphi IDE, the main
> source code is found in CarBrakeU.pas and can be viewed in any text editor.
>
> I'm very much interested in hearing your comments or suggestions for
> improvements.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Bruce A.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Name: CarBrake.zip
> CarBrake.zip Type: application/zip (application/zip)
> Encoding: base64

--
Richard S. Marken, Ph.D.
Senior Behavioral Scientist
The RAND Corporation
PO Box 2138
1700 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138
Tel: 310-393-0411 x7971
Fax: 310-451-7018
E-mail: rmarken@rand.org

--
Richard S. Marken, Ph.D.
Senior Behavioral Scientist
The RAND Corporation
PO Box 2138
1700 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138
Tel: 310-393-0411 x7971
Fax: 310-451-7018
E-mail: rmarken@rand.org