Servo - August 2010

Robot Applications

However, it is the more versatile home-built mobile platforms with various appendages and sensors that pique our interests. iRobot realized this when they saw that many perfectly good Roombas were being hacked to bits. So, they came out with their Create platform shown in Figure 6. The Create platform features 32 built-in sensors, a cargo bay showing the optional green Atmel ATMega 168 microcontroller command module installed, and a 25-pin expansion port for additional hardware.

I have found the Create to be an excellent experimenter’s platform. It comes ready-made, rather than as a kit. The Parallax BASIC Stamp Boe-Bot is another popular robotics platform, as are the VEX and LEGO NTX kit series. Factory implementations of industrial robots may be fine for the manufacturing engineer, but robot hobbyists want their creations close and personal in their homes.

Aside from what’s currently available on the market and events such as maze solving, RoboMegellan, MicroMouse, line following, Sumo, and combat robots, most experimenters want a basic home robot that can serve them in some way. Fetching items seems to be at the top of the list, as in “Bring me a Pepsi or Coors Light.” A more serious application may be a robot to assist the elderly in independent living — a category that has been very close to my heart for a number of years. Household tasks such as entertaining guests, watering plants, household security and monitoring, home systems management, and basic house cleaning, are all desirable. Sometimes, a robot may be desired as a companion, just like the old Sony Aibo or Paro the seal.

The Versatility of Robots

I’ve just briefly touched on some of the many hundreds of applications that robots can perform. It is the versatility of these machines that make them so appealing to experimenters and hobbyists. In homes, factories, on battlefields, in space, roving on the surface of planets, operating on patients, undersea, or in the air, robots are amazing machines. Television programs (such as MythBusters) and science shows have introduced viewers to unique mechanical solutions that solve or prove (or disprove) varied concepts or problems bringing more awareness to robotic technology.

I was recently invited to Willow Garage in Menlo Park, CA to give a talk on the use of robots to assist the elderly in independent living and to view their facility and the amazing PR2 robot we’ve discussed in previous columns. Figure 7 shows the robot projecting a pattern on the wall in order to locate and identify a power outlet for recharging. Founded by Scott Hassan (best known for his eGroups start-up) and run by President and CEO, Steve Cousins (who previously was a manager at Xerox’s PARC), the company’s recently offered 11 PR2 robots to qualified researchers at some of the world’s top institutions and companies to encourage robot-specific applications.

The PR2 is not just your everyday robot but a highly sophisticated and capable machine. The robot has unlimited application possibilities. As Steve says: “Willow Garage is organized to encourage spin-out companies. We intend for spin-outs to participate in the industry, enabled by projects developed at Willow Garage. These spin-out projects should have broad applications that deliver significant contributions to the robotics community and beyond.”

Scott and Steve’s generous attitude towards the robot community is also shown in their development of ROS, their software platform which stands for Robot Operating System (much like a computer operating system). The software is completely open source and free for others to use.

FIGURE 6. iRobot Create experimenter’s platform.

Final Thoughts

I’ve discussed just a few of the many categories and applications for robots, and robot experimenters will certainly be coming up with many more in the future. It is this versatility that makes our machines and our hobby so interesting. SV