[From Rupert Young (2014.12.10 17.00)]
Here's a couple of videos of some great work by Adam on the
prototypes we are putting together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CsOqQE_X1Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQTuE1SyY3E
–
Regards,
Dr Rupert Young
[From Rick Marken (2014.12.10.1045)]
Rupert Young (2014.12.10 17.00)–
Here's a couple of videos of some great work by Adam on theprototypes we are putting together.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CsOqQE_X1Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CsOqQE_X1Y) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQTuE1SyY3E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQTuE1SyY3E)
RM: Well, that was refreshing!! Great work you guys.
RM: I would really like to know more about these robots. Do you have write ups on this that you could post to CSGNet? I’m particularly interested in two things. One is the lifting and roaming behavior of the “Two arm robot”. Is there some kind of remote control telling it when to get up and where to move once it’s balancing on two wheels? Or is it completely autonomous? The other is what the beacon following robot does when there is no beacon present? Does it just go towards the brightest part of the room? Or does it stop? I’m interested because I’ve never really understood how a control system is taken “off line” and it looks like the beacon follower might only do its following when there is a beacon around.
RM: Of course, the other thing the beacon following robot illustrates quite nicely is control behavior. The person moving the beacon (I presume it’s Adam) can make the robot move around the floor in any pattern desired. Moving the beacon relative to the robot is a disturbance to the perception(s) it is controlling (which I presume are the relative and total amount of light falling on two photo receptors) which the robot compensates for by turning and moving toward the beacon.
RM: Again, great work guys. I’d love to see diagrams of the control systems involved in these robots! If you could make them diagrams that are understandable by electronics dummy’s like me that would be really nice.
Best
Rick
–
Richard S. Marken, Ph.D.
Author of Doing Research on Purpose.
Now available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble
In nature there’s no blemish but the mind
None can be called deformed but the unkind.
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
[From Adam Matic, 2014.12.11]
Thanks Rick!
Yeah, so Rupert and me are deep down in the basement of University of
Zadar, in the labs of Department of Psychology. They've kindly allowed
us to use the rooms for our research. The robots are based on Lego
Minstorms set. The brick with the small LCD screen is a linux
computer, and we're using Java to program it. We've got a bunch of
motors and sensors, and we're trying out hierarchical control systems.
I'm pretty proud of the two arm balancing robot. In a way, that was
the first one we made combining our skills, since Rupert was working
on balancing robots, and I was working on robot arms. So, the
references for the top levels are either hard-coded or set by remote.
There are three "events", i suppose we could call them that. The hard
coded sequence of events is "lift up, do balancing, drop down".
Lifting up is done by controlling a the speed of lifting up, measured
by a gyroscope, using the arms as effectors, up until the robot starts
falling upwards. In that moment the control of balancing starts, and
the arms are returned up. During balancing references for speed of
turning and speed of going forward are set by remote. The remote also
starts the next event, which is to gracefully fall to the floor, by
first extending the arms and then throwing itself to the ground.
The beacon following robot is a first test of beacon following control
systems and the nice new wheels.Two top control systems are perceiving
the angle between the head and the beacon, and the distance from the
head to the beacon (the beacon is an IR light, the sensor is an IR
receiver). The robot is always trying to reduce the distance to the
beacon by simply moving toward it. The head is always trying to turn
toward the beacon, and the body is trying to maintain alignment with
the head by turning itself. And the head is moving faster than the the
body. If the beacon is not visible, the head stays where it was
previously, but the body continues to try to maintain alignment with
the head by turning around - last few seconds of the video show the
robot turning around without the beacon on (you can see the moment
that I'm turning it off), and you will recognize which error is
reduced by moving the head manually.
I'm currently working on a robot that will combine balancing and
following a beacon. There'll be a video soon. We're interested in a
whole bunch of other stuff, like using cameras, ultrasonic distance
sensors, magnetometers, higher levels, reorganization...
Best,
Adam
On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 7:45 PM, Richard Marken <csgnet@lists.illinois.edu> wrote:
[From Rick Marken (2014.12.10.1045)]
Rupert Young (2014.12.10 17.00)--
Here's a couple of videos of some great work by Adam on the prototypes we
are putting together.RM: Well, that was refreshing!! Great work you guys.
RM: I would really like to know more about these robots. Do you have write
ups on this that you could post to CSGNet? I'm particularly interested in
two things. One is the lifting and roaming behavior of the "Two arm robot".
Is there some kind of remote control telling it when to get up and where to
move once it's balancing on two wheels? Or is it completely autonomous? The
other is what the beacon following robot does when there is no beacon
present? Does it just go towards the brightest part of the room? Or does it
stop? I'm interested because I've never really understood how a control
system is taken "off line" and it looks like the beacon follower might only
do its following when there is a beacon around.RM: Of course, the other thing the beacon following robot illustrates quite
nicely is control behavior. The person moving the beacon (I presume it's
Adam) can make the robot move around the floor in any pattern desired.
Moving the beacon relative to the robot is a disturbance to the
perception(s) it is controlling (which I presume are the relative and total
amount of light falling on two photo receptors) which the robot compensates
for by turning and moving toward the beacon.RM: Again, great work guys. I'd love to see diagrams of the control systems
involved in these robots! If you could make them diagrams that are
understandable by electronics dummy's like me that would be really nice.Best
Rick
--
Richard S. Marken, Ph.D.
Author of Doing Research on Purpose.
Now available from Amazon or Barnes & NobleIn nature there's no blemish but the mind
None can be called deformed but the unkind.
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
[From Rick Marken (2014.12.11.1430)]
Adam Matic, (2014.12.11)_-
AM: Thanks Rick!
RM; Thank you Adam (and Rupert). Great work. And it sounds like great fun.
The beacon following robot is a first test of beacon following control
systems and the nice new wheels.Two top control systems are perceiving
the angle between the head and the beacon, and the distance from the
head to the beacon (the beacon is an IR light, the sensor is an IR
receiver).
RM: How is distance computed?
The robot is always trying to reduce the distance to the
beacon by simply moving toward it. The head is always trying to turn
toward the beacon, and the body is trying to maintain alignment with
the head by turning itself. And the head is moving faster than the the
body. If the beacon is not visible, the head stays where it was
previously, but the body continues to try to maintain alignment with
the head by turning around - last few seconds of the video show therobot turning around without the beacon on (you can see the moment
that I’m turning it off), and you will recognize which error is
reduced by moving the head manually.
RM How does the robot know that the beacon is no longer visible and that therefore the head should stay where it was when the beacon was last seen? I know this probe let sounds like a stupid question but I’m puzzled because you’ve got two control systems that must be controlling variables related to the sensed amplitude of the beacon. So when there is no beacon the sensors would go to zero which would presumably produce a large error in at least one of the control systems, which would act cause the robot to correct the error by moving the body or turning the head. But apparently when the IR sensors go to zero (because the beacon is not visible) the head stays where it was before the beacon disappeared, with the body maintaining alignment. I see what happens at the end of the video. The head remains in the position it was in when the beacon disappeared and the body keeps turning to maintain alignment with the body, so when you straighten the head the body aligns with the head. But why does the pursuit stop? Is there some code in the robot that says stop moving if the amplitude of the beacon at both sensors is 0?
RM: I’m particularly interested in this because this is the way living control systems can be seen to behave; that is, they stop controlling for a variable once that variable is no longer perceived. A dog, for example, will stop trying to chase a ball once the ball is out of sight. We are always, it seems, taking control systems “off line” once the variables they control are no longer there. It seems that if a control system remained on line when the controlled perception went to 0 the error would become huge and drive output like crazy. But this doesn’t happen, in living control systems or in you beacon follower robot. So I’d love to know what’s going on.
I’m currently working on a robot that will combine balancing and
following a beacon. There’ll be a video soon. We’re interested in a
whole bunch of other stuff, like using cameras, ultrasonic distance
sensors, magnetometers, higher levels, reorganization…
RM: Super!! You have restored my faith (and confidence)in the future of PCT. Actually, now I would like to get myself a logo set and replicate your balancing robot and beacon follower. Could you tell me (or us, on CSGNet) how to do that? I think it would be fun and educational!! And I want that beacon follower robot for my 1 year old granddaughter! It works great and it’s cute as can be!
Best
Rick
Best,
Adam
On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 7:45 PM, Richard Marken
csgnet@lists.illinois.edu wrote:
[From Rick Marken (2014.12.10.1045)]
Rupert Young (2014.12.10 17.00)–
Here’s a couple of videos of some great work by Adam on the prototypes we
are putting together.
RM: Well, that was refreshing!! Great work you guys.
RM: I would really like to know more about these robots. Do you have write
ups on this that you could post to CSGNet? I’m particularly interested in
two things. One is the lifting and roaming behavior of the “Two arm robot”.
Is there some kind of remote control telling it when to get up and where to
move once it’s balancing on two wheels? Or is it completely autonomous? The
other is what the beacon following robot does when there is no beacon
present? Does it just go towards the brightest part of the room? Or does it
stop? I’m interested because I’ve never really understood how a control
system is taken “off line” and it looks like the beacon follower might only
do its following when there is a beacon around.
RM: Of course, the other thing the beacon following robot illustrates quite
nicely is control behavior. The person moving the beacon (I presume it’s
Adam) can make the robot move around the floor in any pattern desired.
Moving the beacon relative to the robot is a disturbance to the
perception(s) it is controlling (which I presume are the relative and total
amount of light falling on two photo receptors) which the robot compensates
for by turning and moving toward the beacon.
RM: Again, great work guys. I’d love to see diagrams of the control systems
involved in these robots! If you could make them diagrams that are
understandable by electronics dummy’s like me that would be really nice.
Best
Rick
–
Richard S. Marken, Ph.D.
Author of Doing Research on Purpose.
Now available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble
In nature there’s no blemish but the mind
None can be called deformed but the unkind.
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
–
Richard S. Marken, Ph.D.
Author of Doing Research on Purpose.
Now available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble
In nature there’s no blemish but the mind
None can be called deformed but the unkind.
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
[From Adam Matic, 2014.12.11]
from Rick Marken (2014.12.11.1430)
The beacon following robot is a first test of beacon following control
systems and the nice new wheels.Two top control systems are perceiving
the angle between the head and the beacon, and the distance from the
head to the beacon (the beacon is an IR light, the sensor is an IR
receiver).RM: How is distance computed?
AM: The IR sensor is outputing two numbers, one is the angle of
displacement (of the beacon from the center line of the sensor), and
the other
is the distance, which is, I assume, computed from the intensity of
the signal. Works up to about two or three meters.
RM How does the robot know that the beacon is no longer visible and that
therefore the head should stay where it was when the beacon was last seen? I
know this probe let sounds like a stupid question but I'm puzzled because
you've got two control systems that must be controlling variables related to
the sensed amplitude of the beacon. So when there is no beacon the sensors
would go to zero which would presumably produce a large error in at least
one of the control systems, which would act cause the robot to correct the
error by moving the body or turning the head. But apparently when the IR
sensors go to zero (because the beacon is not visible) the head stays where
it was before the beacon disappeared, with the body maintaining alignment.
I see what happens at the end of the video. The head remains in the position
it was in when the beacon disappeared and the body keeps turning to maintain
alignment with the body, so when you straighten the head the body aligns
with the head. But why does the pursuit stop? Is there some code in the
robot that says stop moving if the amplitude of the beacon at both sensors
is 0?
AM:
It is not at all a stupid question, I was as surprised and puzzled
when the robot continued turning around after the beacon was turned
off. But it didn't always turn around, sometimes it just stopped. It
took me a few tries to figure out that speed of turning is related to
the angle of head to the body. And I programmed the bugger! As you
say, if the head is turned, and there is no beacon, there is a large
error in the head-body alignment control system, and it is causing the
body to turn with the speed of turning in proportion to the error.
There is a piece of code that says "if the angle of head to the beacon
is > 0, turn the head to the left (with speed proportional to the
angle), if it is > 0, turn the head to the right, and if it is zero,
don't turn the head." That last part is what allows for manual
adjustment of the head when there is no beacon. That is also an
unplanned behavior (a feature, not a bug!). The head can't be turned
manually if it is focused on a beacon, the motor resists any attempts.
The distance reducing control system is an integrator - the error is
increasing slowly when there is a beacon and a distance from it, and
that causes the robot to move forward. When there is no beacon, the
error stops growing, but the robot still continues to move until the
error goes to zero.
>
RM: Super!! You have restored my faith (and confidence)in the future of PCT.
Actually, now I would like to get myself a logo set and replicate your
balancing robot and beacon follower. Could you tell me (or us, on CSGNet)
how to do that? I think it would be fun and educational!! And I want that
beacon follower robot for my 1 year old granddaughter! It works great and
it's cute as can be!
They are terribly fun! The set is called Lego Mindstorms EV3 (the one
the beacon follower is made from), they sell it on Amazon and Lego
stores. To make working easier, you'd probably need some additional
stuff - a rechargeable battery and a small wifi dongle (Rupert, am I
missing something?). The gyro sensor is not a part of the set, but
can be bought separately. To program it in Java, you can use NetBeans
or Eclipse and the lejos software (http://www.lejos.org/)
Best,
Adam
Best,
AdamOn Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 7:45 PM, Richard Marken >> <csgnet@lists.illinois.edu> wrote:
> [From Rick Marken (2014.12.10.1045)]
>
>> Rupert Young (2014.12.10 17.00)--
>>
>> Here's a couple of videos of some great work by Adam on the prototypes
>> we
>> are putting together.
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CsOqQE_X1Y
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQTuE1SyY3E
>>
>
> RM: Well, that was refreshing!! Great work you guys.
>
> RM: I would really like to know more about these robots. Do you have
> write
> ups on this that you could post to CSGNet? I'm particularly interested
> in
> two things. One is the lifting and roaming behavior of the "Two arm
> robot".
> Is there some kind of remote control telling it when to get up and where
> to
> move once it's balancing on two wheels? Or is it completely autonomous?
> The
> other is what the beacon following robot does when there is no beacon
> present? Does it just go towards the brightest part of the room? Or does
> it
> stop? I'm interested because I've never really understood how a control
> system is taken "off line" and it looks like the beacon follower might
> only
> do its following when there is a beacon around.
>
> RM: Of course, the other thing the beacon following robot illustrates
> quite
> nicely is control behavior. The person moving the beacon (I presume it's
> Adam) can make the robot move around the floor in any pattern desired.
> Moving the beacon relative to the robot is a disturbance to the
> perception(s) it is controlling (which I presume are the relative and
> total
> amount of light falling on two photo receptors) which the robot
> compensates
> for by turning and moving toward the beacon.
>
> RM: Again, great work guys. I'd love to see diagrams of the control
> systems
> involved in these robots! If you could make them diagrams that are
> understandable by electronics dummy's like me that would be really nice.
>
> Best
>
> Rick
> --
> Richard S. Marken, Ph.D.
> Author of Doing Research on Purpose.
> Now available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble
>
> In nature there's no blemish but the mind
> None can be called deformed but the unkind.
> Shakespeare, Twelfth Night--
Richard S. Marken, Ph.D.
Author of Doing Research on Purpose.
Now available from Amazon or Barnes & NobleIn nature there's no blemish but the mind
None can be called deformed but the unkind.
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
[From Adam Matic 2014.12.11]
Thanks Warren!
Best,
Adam
On Fri, Dec 12, 2014 at 12:24 AM, Adam Matic <adam.matic@gmail.com> wrote:
[From Adam Matic, 2014.12.11]
From Rick Marken (2014.12.11.1430)
The beacon following robot is a first test of beacon following control
systems and the nice new wheels.Two top control systems are perceiving
the angle between the head and the beacon, and the distance from the
head to the beacon (the beacon is an IR light, the sensor is an IR
receiver).RM: How is distance computed?
AM: The IR sensor is outputing two numbers, one is the angle of
displacement (of the beacon from the center line of the sensor), and
the other
is the distance, which is, I assume, computed from the intensity of
the signal. Works up to about two or three meters.RM How does the robot know that the beacon is no longer visible and that
therefore the head should stay where it was when the beacon was last seen? I
know this probe let sounds like a stupid question but I'm puzzled because
you've got two control systems that must be controlling variables related to
the sensed amplitude of the beacon. So when there is no beacon the sensors
would go to zero which would presumably produce a large error in at least
one of the control systems, which would act cause the robot to correct the
error by moving the body or turning the head. But apparently when the IR
sensors go to zero (because the beacon is not visible) the head stays where
it was before the beacon disappeared, with the body maintaining alignment.
I see what happens at the end of the video. The head remains in the position
it was in when the beacon disappeared and the body keeps turning to maintain
alignment with the body, so when you straighten the head the body aligns
with the head. But why does the pursuit stop? Is there some code in the
robot that says stop moving if the amplitude of the beacon at both sensors
is 0?AM:
It is not at all a stupid question, I was as surprised and puzzled
when the robot continued turning around after the beacon was turned
off. But it didn't always turn around, sometimes it just stopped. It
took me a few tries to figure out that speed of turning is related to
the angle of head to the body. And I programmed the bugger! As you
say, if the head is turned, and there is no beacon, there is a large
error in the head-body alignment control system, and it is causing the
body to turn with the speed of turning in proportion to the error.There is a piece of code that says "if the angle of head to the beacon
is > 0, turn the head to the left (with speed proportional to the
angle), if it is > 0, turn the head to the right, and if it is zero,
don't turn the head." That last part is what allows for manual
adjustment of the head when there is no beacon. That is also an
unplanned behavior (a feature, not a bug!). The head can't be turned
manually if it is focused on a beacon, the motor resists any attempts.The distance reducing control system is an integrator - the error is
increasing slowly when there is a beacon and a distance from it, and
that causes the robot to move forward. When there is no beacon, the
error stops growing, but the robot still continues to move until the
error goes to zero.>
RM: Super!! You have restored my faith (and confidence)in the future of PCT.
Actually, now I would like to get myself a logo set and replicate your
balancing robot and beacon follower. Could you tell me (or us, on CSGNet)
how to do that? I think it would be fun and educational!! And I want that
beacon follower robot for my 1 year old granddaughter! It works great and
it's cute as can be!They are terribly fun! The set is called Lego Mindstorms EV3 (the one
the beacon follower is made from), they sell it on Amazon and Lego
stores. To make working easier, you'd probably need some additional
stuff - a rechargeable battery and a small wifi dongle (Rupert, am I
missing something?). The gyro sensor is not a part of the set, but
can be bought separately. To program it in Java, you can use NetBeans
or Eclipse and the lejos software (http://www.lejos.org/)Best,
AdamBest,
AdamOn Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 7:45 PM, Richard Marken >>> <csgnet@lists.illinois.edu> wrote:
> [From Rick Marken (2014.12.10.1045)]
>
>> Rupert Young (2014.12.10 17.00)--
>>
>> Here's a couple of videos of some great work by Adam on the prototypes
>> we
>> are putting together.
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CsOqQE_X1Y
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQTuE1SyY3E
>>
>
> RM: Well, that was refreshing!! Great work you guys.
>
> RM: I would really like to know more about these robots. Do you have
> write
> ups on this that you could post to CSGNet? I'm particularly interested
> in
> two things. One is the lifting and roaming behavior of the "Two arm
> robot".
> Is there some kind of remote control telling it when to get up and where
> to
> move once it's balancing on two wheels? Or is it completely autonomous?
> The
> other is what the beacon following robot does when there is no beacon
> present? Does it just go towards the brightest part of the room? Or does
> it
> stop? I'm interested because I've never really understood how a control
> system is taken "off line" and it looks like the beacon follower might
> only
> do its following when there is a beacon around.
>
> RM: Of course, the other thing the beacon following robot illustrates
> quite
> nicely is control behavior. The person moving the beacon (I presume it's
> Adam) can make the robot move around the floor in any pattern desired.
> Moving the beacon relative to the robot is a disturbance to the
> perception(s) it is controlling (which I presume are the relative and
> total
> amount of light falling on two photo receptors) which the robot
> compensates
> for by turning and moving toward the beacon.
>
> RM: Again, great work guys. I'd love to see diagrams of the control
> systems
> involved in these robots! If you could make them diagrams that are
> understandable by electronics dummy's like me that would be really nice.
>
> Best
>
> Rick
> --
> Richard S. Marken, Ph.D.
> Author of Doing Research on Purpose.
> Now available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble
>
> In nature there's no blemish but the mind
> None can be called deformed but the unkind.
> Shakespeare, Twelfth Night--
Richard S. Marken, Ph.D.
Author of Doing Research on Purpose.
Now available from Amazon or Barnes & NobleIn nature there's no blemish but the mind
None can be called deformed but the unkind.
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
[From Rick Marken (2014.12.11.1845)]
Adam Matic (2014.12.11) –
RM How does the robot know that the beacon is no longer visible and that
therefore the head should stay where it was when the beacon was last seen?
AM: As you say, if the head is turned, and there is no beacon, there is a large
error in the head-body alignment control system, and it is causing thebody to turn with the speed of turning in proportion to the error.
AM: There is a piece of code that says "if the angle of head to the beacon
is > 0, turn the head to the left (with speed proportional to the
angle), if it is > 0, turn the head to the right, and if it is zero,
don’t turn the head."
RM: I presume that second “>0” is a <0", right? Anyway, that’s a nifty solution. That code seems to be a control system that controls a relationship between perceived head angle relative to the beacon and head turning. It basically turns off the beam pointing control system when the head is pointing directly at the beam (in which case the angle of the head relative to the beam will be 0) or at nothing (since the angle of the head relative to no beam will also be 0). Is that right?
RM: Another possible way to do this, which might be physiologically more plausible, might be to use the principle of what has been called the “Universal Error Curve”,a demonstration of which is available at http://www.mindreadings.com/ControlDemosJava/ErrorCurve.html. This is just a non-linear error/output curve. In this case the error in the system controlling for the beacon being straight ahead (by turning the head appropriately – the output) would increase with increasing deviation from straight ahead, as usual. But the effect of error, e, on output, o, would only increase up to a threshold value of error, T,at which point there would be no more effect of error on output. So
o = k.o* e for e<T
o = 0 * e for e>=T
where k.o is the gain of the system. If it’s an integral output function with a leak this might result in the robot gradually stopping their attempts to follow the now non-existent beacon.
What do you think? Might be worth a try.
RM: Super!! You have restored my faith (and confidence)in the future of PCT.
Actually, now I would like to get myself a logo set and replicate your
balancing robot and beacon follower. Could you tell me (or us, on CSGNet)
how to do that? I think it would be fun and educational!! And I want that
beacon follower robot for my 1 year old granddaughter! It works great and
it’s cute as can be!
AM: They are terribly fun! The set is called Lego Mindstorms EV3 (the one
the beacon follower is made from), they sell it on Amazon and Lego
stores. To make working easier, you’d probably need some additional
stuff - a rechargeable battery and a small wifi dongle (Rupert, am I
missing something?). The gyro sensor is not a part of the set, but
can be bought separately. To program it in Java, you can use NetBeans
or Eclipse and the lejos software (http://www.lejos.org/)
RM: Maybe you (and/or Rupert) could post the plans and components for the Mindstorms EV3 beacon follower at the Perceptual Robots site? I would really like to try making it! The balancing one too.
Best
Rick
–
Richard S. Marken, Ph.D.
Author of Doing Research on Purpose.
Now available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble
In nature there’s no blemish but the mind
None can be called deformed but the unkind.
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
[From Rupert Young (2014.12.12 9.00)]
(Rick Marken (2014.12.11.1845)]
RY: Yes, I think it is fun, visually appealing and looks alive. The
latter, particularly, is something I was hoping for and we have in
mind when producing these prototypes. One of the areas we will be
investigating is the toy market where I think there is a lot of
potential for interactive, intelligent toys; which you have
identified. As such I wouldn’t want to openly publish everything
related to the prototypes, but I would love to see it reproduced
elsewhere. So as an early, early adopter and product tester we could
provide you with the plans and software, and help you through
replicating it.
There are a few non-standard things needed for the particular
models, some of which Adam has identified above, and are dependent
upon which Lego kit you buy. But if you want to go-ahead with it
contact me directly and I can provide you with the details of what
you need to buy.
**Regards,
Rupert
> RM: Super!! You have restored my faith (andconfidence)in the future of PCT.
> Actually, now I would like to get myself a logo setand replicate your
> balancing robot and beacon follower. Could you tellme (or us, on CSGNet)
> how to do that? I think it would be fun andeducational!! And I want that
> beacon follower robot for my 1 year oldgranddaughter! It works great and
> it's cute as can be! AM: They are terribly fun! The set is called LegoMindstorms EV3 (the one
the beacon follower is made from), they sell it on Amazonand Lego
stores. To make working easier, you'd probably need someadditional
stuff - a rechargeable battery and a small wifi dongle(Rupert, am I
missing something?). The gyro sensor is not a part of theset, but
can be bought separately. To program it in Java, you can useNetBeans
or
Eclipse and the lejos software (http://www.lejos.org/)
RM: Maybe you (and/or Rupert) could post the plans and
components for the Mindstorms EV3 beacon follower at the
Perceptual Robots site? I would really like to try making
it! The balancing one too.
Best
Rick
–
Richard S. Marken, Ph.D.
Author of [Doing Research on Purpose](http://www.amazon.com/Doing-Research-Purpose-Experimental-Psychology/dp/0944337554/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407342866&sr=8-1&keywords=doing+research+on+purpose).
Now available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble
In
nature there’s no blemish but the mind
None
can be called deformed but the unkind.
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night