CSCE 488: Homework 5

Due: Wednesday, March 26 (work plan) and Wednesday, April 9 April 11 (final report), both due at 11:59:59 p.m.

This assignment will give you practice in working with the Handy Board and LEGO robots. In doing this, you will work in your already-formed groups. This homework consists of two parts. The first part asks you to build a two-motor two-sensor robotic vehicle. The second part asks you to program an already assembled robot to follow a light. The robot you will use for this project is in Ferguson 18. Use the ``uinfo'' command on cse to get your code for the door to the lab.

Part 1: The primary purpose is to become familiar with the CAD tool for designing Lego robotic components. Using this tool you will "build" the Handybug (described on page 28 of the book Robotic Explorations by Fred Martin) or a similar robotic vehicle. Afterwards, you may check out a Lego kit for a day to actually build the vehicle and demonstrate it. You may follow the step-by-step instructions in the book but are encouraged to experiment and customize; you may receive up to 20% bonus credit for non-trivial customizations that improve the design or are otherwise justified in your report.

Part 2: You will be provided a chassis similar to that of the Handy Bug described on page 28 of the book Robotic Explorations by Fred Martin. There are two motors controlling the left and right rear wheels, and two light sensors. The left motor will be connected to motor port 0 and the right motor will be connected to motor port 3. The left light sensor will be connected to analog port 0 and the right light sensor will be connected to analog port 1.

You are to write a simple program to be compiled and downloaded to the handy board. The program should wait until the start button is pressed. Once this is done it should run an algorithm that follows a light. If no light is present (sensor levels indicate only ambient lighting) the robot should sit still until a higher light level is detected. This will require a small amount of sensor calibration. The power levels of the motors should be determined by the user knob. If an error occurs, the robot must enter a fail-safe mode, in which it stops and emits an audible signal.

Deliverables and Deadlines

1. Wednesday, March 26, 2003, by 11:59:59 p.m.: (50 pts) Submit via e-mail to the instructor:
1. The Team Resources and Expectations forms (see http://www.vta.spcomm.uiuc.edu/TBG/tbgt2-a8.html), as completed by each team member. (It is expected that you have completed and shared this form among the team at the beginning of the project.) This should be a text file.
2. A list showing the division of labor for this project. This should be a text file.
2. Wednesday, April 9, 2003, by 11:59:59 p.m.: (100 pts) Submit via e-mail to the instructor a well-written technical design report (in pdf format), again following the prescribed written style, of this assignment:
1. Detailing the project and how it accomplished its objectives,
2. Including, as an appendix, a short User's Manual that could be followed by an engineer with minimal working knowledge of the Handy Board.