Embedded Motion Control 2019

'PICO in the Hospital'

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Introduction

This course is about software design and how to apply this in the context of autonomous robots. The accompanying assignment is about applying this knowledge to a real-life robotics task.

Course Schedule and Lecture Slides

Lectures will be given on Wednesdays from 15.30h-17.30h in Traverse van Trierzaal. The preliminary course schedule is as follows:

April 24	Introduction by René van de Molengraft	Tooling and Infrastructure by Bob Hendrikx
May 1	Best Practices in System Design for Robot Control by Herman Bruyninckx	Architecture by Herman Bruyninckx
May 8	First presentation of the design by the groups. 6-minute presentation, about the group's initial design. Afterwards 4 minutes for questions.
May 15	Escape Room Competition	Reflection Session
May 22	Worldmodeling for Experts by Wouter Houtman Worldmodeling for Real Experts by Marzieh Dolatabadi Worldmodeling in practice by Hao Liang Chen
June 5	Presentation of final design by the groups.
June 12	Final Competition

Getting Started

To get started, please do the tutorials on the Tutorial Page.

FAQ

Here you can find a collection of Frequently Asked Questions. Please check this page before contacting the student assistants or the tutors! If you find any issues or questions you had to deal with, please add them as well so your colleagues don't run into the same problems.

Design Document

Hand-in a 3-page A4-sized design document as pdf (<1Mb) that pictures/describes the initial design idea with:

• Requirements,
• Functions,
• Components,
• Specifications
• Interfaces.

You should upload this design document to your group's Wiki-page as this is a vital document in the design process. Make sure the document has been uploaded on May 6th, 17.00h. In case of questions about the document, consult your tutor.

Escape Room Competition

Scheme of a possible Escape Room, with measurements, but not up to scale!

Challenge Specifications

• You have finished the assignment if PICO did not bump into walls and the entire rear wheel is across the finish line.
• Do not touch the walls! Slightly touching is allowed, however, bumping (i.e., driving head-on into a wall) is not allowed! If PICO hits the wall, we decide whether it counts as bumping.
• Every team has two trials (= max one restart). A trial ends if:
  • PICO bumps into the wall
  • PICO has not moved or has not made sensible movements (as judged by the tutors) for 30 seconds
  • The total time limit of 5 minutes per group is reached
  • The group requests a restart (on the first trial)
• restart means:
  • PICO restarts at the defined start position
  • The trail time (= the time graded) is reset, but
  • the total time keeps running
• Maximum speed (is limited in PICO): 0.5 m/s translational, 1.2 rad/s rotational.
• There will be no second attempt if first attempt was successful

On the right you can find one example of a Escape Room Challenge.

Environment Specifications

• The shape of the room is rectangular, the dimensions will not be given before the start of the challenge.
• PICO starts at a random position in the room (but equal for all groups), PICO does not necessarily face the exit, nor a straight wall.
• The orientation of the corridor will be perpendiculair to the wall.
• The wall (on the far end) of the corridor will be open
• The walls might not be perfectly straight, the corners might not be perfectly perpendicular, the walls of the corridor might not be perfectly parallel. The width of the corridor will be reasonable (somewhere between 0.5 and 1.5 meters).
• At the exit, the finish line is located more than 3 m into the corridor. The walls that can be used to align PICO will be a little bit longer.

Robot Software

• Make sure your software is easy to set-up, i.e:
  • Your software can be updated with one easy command, e.g. 'git pull'
  • Your software can be compiled using 'cmake' and 'make'
  • To start your software, only one executable has to be called
  • If your set-up deviates from this method, let your tutor know 1 week before the challenge!
• The software of all groups will be updated on the robot before the challenge starts
  • This way, teams starting the challenge have as much time as teams that do the challenge at the end

Group Wiki Pages

Group 1 - visit wiki - Tutor: Wouter Kuijpers

Group 2 - visit wiki - Tutor: Wouter Houtman (Jordy senden in first week)

Group 3 - visit wiki - Tutor: Jordy Senden

Group 4 - visit wiki - Tutor: Bob Hendrikx

Group 5 - visit wiki - Tutor: Hao Liang Chen

Group 6 - visit wiki - Tutor: Marzieh Dolatabadi

Group 7 - visit wiki - Tutor: Yanick Douven

Group 8 - visit wiki - Tutor: Rene & Herman

Group 9 - visit wiki - Tutor: Bob Hendrikx

Contact Details

Tutors

Bob Hendrikx - r dot w dot m dot hendrikx at tue dot nl

Hao Liang Chen - h dot l dot chen at tue dot nl

Jordy Senden - j dot p dot f dot senden at tue dot nl

Peter Dooren - p dot v dot dooren at tue dot nl

Manuel Muñoz Sánchez - m dot munoz dot sanchez at tue dot nl

César López - C dot A dot Lopez dot Martinez at tue dot nl