NEXT MEETING

2010 Presentation Schedule 

JANUARY 27th

A Robotic Molecular Biology Laboratory
by
Brent Roman

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) is a microbiology lab in a can.  It operates , underwater autonomously executing a wide variety of chemical assays to determine species of microorganisms active in the water mass and some of the pathogens they are producing.  The main applications of the ESP are in water quality testing, aquaculture, and research.

The system's primary design goals were configuration and programming flexibility, low energy use and small size.  Actuators consist of a dozen or so precision DC servo motors driving syringes, clamps, rotary valves, a carousel and an elevator. All core sensors and actuators are managed by TI MSP430 microcontrollers networked via I2C.  The main brain is a TS-7200 ARM9 CPU where the whole application runs under Linux in the Ruby scripting language

Brent will bring a prototype unit to demonstrate, including some on-the-fly scripting of new behaviors.

More info about the project at:    http://www.mbari.org/esp

FEBRUARY 24th

Can Robot Cars save the World?
by
Brad Templeton

Prototype self-driving cars have been built by small, innovative teams thanks to a military-funded contest. But they can change the civilian world in astounding ways. This talk outlines how this technology could save millions of lives and make efficient electric (or other new technology) cars marketable and practical, resulting in major reductions in pollution and the elimination of the need to import oil.

The consequences extend into the realm of social interaction, manufacturing and the very nature of cities -- perhaps the largest effect on the world that computers may have in the medium term. But the challenge is not just technological, but also political and social, and the results are not all upsides.

www.templetons.com/brad/

MARCH 31st

Introduction to ARMs Cortex M3, and
TI Stellaris Cortex 3M MCUs
by

Jim Troutner

Jim will discuss the Stellaris Cortex M3 features , including Motion Control and Communication interfaces.  The talk will include a demonstration of the development environments available for Stellaris Cortex 3M and some of the motion control reference designs available.   Of the several  motion control designs available, the Brushed DC, Brushless DC, and Stepper kits are the most useful in robotics applications, Jim will also discuss some the robotic application and TI robotic application notes that have been developed using the Stellaris Cortex 3M.  If time permits, he will wrap up with a brief update about TI's other MCU offerings like the MSP430 (an ultra low power MCU) and the C2000 (precision high speed motion) devices as well.

Graphically Programming the Propeller with 12Blocks
by
Hanno Sander

Hanno will talk about his latest Parallax Propeller Project, 12Blocks. It was first designed for children as young as 5 but is now also used in industry to more intuitively program the Propeller. The library of over 100 blocks let's users easily incorporate advanced functionality like speech synthesis, behavior control, state machines, and smooth servo control in their programs.

For more information see http://12blocks.com

MAY 26th

The Personal Indoor Navigator
(a CMU student project)
Starts @ 8:00 pm

The Personal Indoor Navigator (PIN) and a new application that utilizes both a buildings current Wi-Fi infrastructure, and deployed Bluetooth beacons to achieve room level accurate indoor positioning.  Other technologies such as Red Pin and WASP use fingerprint-based localization to predict a mobile users indoor location.  PIN expands on these technologies by incorporating Bluetooth signals and achieves the accuracy needed to navigate a user indoors.  Once a user location is achieved, we will then talk about what steps were taken to start the development of a portable, navigational, indoor map that will fit the needs of the mobile user.  

JUNE 30th

How to Use a
Chumby to Control a Robot
by
Bob Smith

The Chumby is a low cost, low power, Linux computer that is perfect for use on a robot.  In this hands-on talk Bob will introduce the Chumby and show you how to turn it into a great Linux-based robot controller.  All that is required is a few minor changes to the init scripts.  Be fearless in this -- the root file system is on a Micro-SD card so it is really easy to fix any errors.

Bob will also present a schematic that shows you how to connect the Chumby's USB host port to a robot using an FPGA-based robot peripheral card.  For the demo, the robot peripheral card will be programmed to include a dual H-bridge controller, a dual quadrature decoder, a quad servo motor controller, bipolar and unipolar stepper motor controllers, and an IR receiver. Some useful links:

Chumby specs: http://www.chumby.com/pages/chumby_one
Chumby teardown: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/chumby-one/1614/1
Robot peripherals: http://www.demandperipherals.com

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AUGUST 25th

Phase 2 
8th Annual HBRC 
TableBot Challenge

Robot must locate a randomly placed block and then push it off of the table.

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SEPTEMBER 29th

Neato Robotics
by
 Camp Peavy

Camp will unveil the new Neato Robotics Vacuum with details.  Read all about the Neato XV-11 Robotics All-Floor, Vacuum Cleaner ... a smart, powerful, methodological advancement in utility robots for the home.      http://www.neatorobotics.com/
 

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OCTOBER 27th

Phase 3
8th Annual HBRC
TableBot Challenge

Robot must locate a randomly placed block and then
push it into a goal positioned at one end of the tabletop.

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NOVEMBER 24th

TBA

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DECEMBER

NO MEETING THIS MONTH

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