NCWIT Social Robotics Workshop

Jennifer Goodall, Nick Webb, Katy DeCorahhttp://www.albany.edu/robotics

What is a robot? Machine

Built to do job(s) Programmed Maybe autonomous

If we want robots to do things for us, we have to program them

How do we program a robot? What does the robot need to KNOW

to do useful things?

How do robots work?

What do they need to do to perform tasks?

Imagine picking up some trash from the floor and taking it to the nearest garbage bin Need to get an understanding of what’s around

them, like where the trash is (SENSE) Need to work out what they are going to do,

and how they are going to do it (PLAN) Then they need to actually do it (ACT)

What does this have to do with computer science?Designing new robots

New sensors New ways of combining sensor

information New effectors

Making robots think How to get them to talk How to make their eyes work

All of this involves writing programs

So, what is computer science?Computer programming

Create the behavior you want the robot or computer to do

Think ‘algorithmically’ Write down that algorithm in a way that

a machine understands Test it, improve it

Acting: How do I do it?

How do we do things? We move around We pick things up We drop things

Robots need to use the sameCalled ACTING

Effectors (for Action)

GripperMotor

Legs

Wheels

TracksFace

Display

Speech

NXT-g

New program

Start block

Programming blocks

MOVE

Making the robot move

Making the robot move

Making the robot move

Making the robot move

Making the robot move

Making the robot move

Making the robot move

Making the robot move

Making the robot move

Making the robot move

Download program to robot

Tasks

Move forward 3 seconds, then backward 3 seconds

Move forward 3 seconds, and turn left or right (try to get close to a 90o turn)

Try to get robot to drive around a square

Is there a better way to do this? Let’s create a new program

Loops

Loops

Loops

Loops

Loops

Use the loop structure to make your robot drive around in a rough square

Can you make it so that the robot drives EXACTLY once around the square, and then stops?

Can you make it drive once around a square, and then rotate roughly 360 degrees on the spot?

Sensing: What’s going on? What do we use to find out about the

world around us? Eyes Ears Touch Taste Smell

Robots need to use the same Called SENSING

Sensors

Camera

Color Ultra Sonic

Infra Red

Touch

Sound

Sensing and Switching

Sensing

Sensor control

Sensor control

Sensor control

Sensor control

Sensor control

Sensor control

Switch control

Switch control

Switch control

Sensing Create a new program (called

avoidObjects): Drive forward IF there’s an object ‘close’ to the robot THEN turn 90 degrees left or right (your choice) Do this forever

Try a new program with the color sensor Make the robot drive around IF it detects something RED THEN stop

Avoid objects

What have you been doing? You’ve been programming your robot Giving the PLANS or INSTRUCTIONS

to do tasks Using SENSORS to help make

decisions Using EFFECTORS to carry out those

plans

Planning: What should I do?How do we decide what to do?

Make decisions of what to do… …and when Put things together in sequence Make a plan (for the day, or week, or…) Have to be able to deal with things that

occur as we do our stuffRobots need to use the sameCalled PLANNING

Plan

Think of IF-THEN rules

IF <see garbage> THEN <pick-up> IF <holding garbage> AND <at trash

can> THEN <drop garbage> IF <10PM> OR <battery low> THEN

<sleep> IF NOT <holding garbage> THEN

<search room>

Definition of a social robot Social robots will interact with us in

our world Need to cooperate, communicate

and collaborate with humans Have to understand our goals, our

actions, and our behaviors What do robots need to achieve this?

Example: Roomba

Example: Roomba

BANG!!!

OUCH!!!!

Example: Roomba

BANG!!!Ooops. Sorry!

Example: Roomba

And then I said to her, you

know….

VRRROOOMMM

What the heck…hang

on…ROOMBA: NOT

NOW!!!And SHE said

that I was, and I said…

The reality…

So let’s make your robot social! Thinking about the AVOID program

from earlier What would a POLITE robot do?

NXT Bits and Pieces

Sounds

Display

Social Robot

Create a POLITE robot and show it off