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What's New
– Look here regularly for postings
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| nov 11
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NOTE: Next week I will
asking groups to present informal status reports on their lab
projects (GPS following with obstacle avoidance). I would like
each presentation to include a graphic visualization of
telemetry data from a field test.
Hence, one lab objective this week is to collect positioning data
and prepare it for presentation.
You may show simulation screenshots, if you wish, but
Your presentation should discuss the approach you are taking to
navigation, the status of its implementation, and a list of
immediate testing objectives. You may also include simulation
screen-shots, if you wish, but these are not substitutes for
"live-testing" telemetry.
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Here is a short example of plotting telemetry data using
Gunplot [HTM]
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| oct 27
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| Ye Fan sent me this question, and I thought I should share my response:
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I have a question about the range of how far that the sensor
is able to sense an obstacle. ... I found it is set to be 4 meters in
synlaser.py. [In the] current way_point file, the
navigation speed limit is 4.0 or 3.0 meters per second when cart is
travelling heading to the target way-point. I don't think it has enough
time and distance to slow down and avoid the obstacle if it is running
in a high speed.
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Mr. Fan is right that with a range of 4 m and a speed of 3 m/s,
you would not have sufficient time to avoid an obstacle directly in your
path. The speed limit field in the waypoint list is just
that—a limit. You can go slower but should not go faster.
I recommend starting your runs at 2 m/s, or slower,
until you can reliably get around the obstacles.
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The final lab specifies that obstacles, once detected, do not move.
And your assignment is to run the GPS course three times.
Under this scenario, your driver may be able to run portions of the
course faster once it knows where all the obstacles are. However,
concentrate, first, on avoiding the obstacles; second,
on staying within corridors; and last, going fast.
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Finally, we have acquired a new laser ranging sensor whose range is
20 m. We will get this integrated in ERTS as soon as we can. Meanwhile,
as Mr. Fan points out, you can change the range of
synlaser in the simulator if you want to explore.
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| oct 22
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| P545 Project Descriptions [HTM]. NOTE This information is under active revision.
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| I have posted some sample images of traffic cones
[HTM]
on the test field and art paths
[HTM]
at the IU golf course. These can also be found through
the ERTS Vision Project's
Image Catalog
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| oct 19
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| Lecture notes on timers
[HTM]
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| 14 oct
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| Updated Lecture notes on Time
[PDF]
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| The interesting imagery that I mentioned in class today is on this web page
[HTM].
I had a preliminary discussion with Prof. Lumsdaine this morning about doing an experimental
prototype with this novel technology on ERTS the Spring. Let me know if you are interested in
participating in such a project.
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| 12 oct
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| Lecture notes on Time
[PDF]
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| Comparative performance of various timing mechanisms
[HTM]
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| oct 6
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The VMware SyncFS image can be obtained from CS accounts from
/nfs/nfs2/home/scratch/bhimebau/
Sub-directory ubuntu-server-9.04-i386/
is an uncompressed copy of the image, The compressed copy in
p545sim-vmware-image.zip
is too big (4.9 Gb) for Linux systems, but works on XWP PCs.
Dave Bender has made copies on 2-level DVDs, so if your DVD reader
accepts that medium, that may be the fastest way to upload.
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At the time of this posting, VMware images have not been put up on the borrow or LH035 lab machines. We are working on this. For now, you are limited to your personal notebook and desktop hosts.
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The loginID and password are both p545user.
Look at the README file on the
Desktop for instructions.
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| Tips:
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The instructions say to run
cartfs
synlaser
ui/visualizer.py,
and all components in the foreground,
seperate term windows. Failure to do so may
cause the VM to die.
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| ◊
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The VM image does not presently support USB devices. We are trying
to resolve this issue. Meanwhile, two simple ways to transfer
files to the VM are via SVN or using secure-copy (See man scp) in the CS network.
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| sep 25
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| There have been some questions about organizaiton and content of
lab reports. I have posted general descriptions of report
organization, including some recent examples
[HTM].
These will be discussed in lecture next week.
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| System Documentation Guidelines
[PDF]
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| sep 23
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| • | We scheduled two weeks to complete
Lab 2 [PDF], so it is not "due"
yet. In fact, the nominal due dates are just indications of timely
progress. You may continue working on these lab objectives throughout
the semester.
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Materials for Lab 3:
| [PDF]
| Lab 3 Description. Ignore the due-date.
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| Note that in Lab 3, we are driving a GPS course containing
one obstacle, at a predetermined point within that course.
The main goal is simply to drive around the obstacle, staying within
the course corridor if you can. Thus an obstacle is
like a "negative" waypoint: you want to drive around (as opposed to
through) its LBO.
In Lab 4, the goal is the same, but you won't have advance knowledge
of obstacle positions. You should design your solution to Lab
3 with that in mind.
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| sep 16
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| I have posted some preliminary information relating to the
ERTS Vision project [HTM].
Please let me know if you are unable to access any of this information.
Also, be advised that I will shortly move it to a secure directory.
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| sep 13
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| • |
Notes on steering geometry[PDF]
and steering amplifier PID [PDF]
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Materials for Lab 2:
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David Bender has posted a "simple vehicle dynamics simulator"
[URL]. He goes on to say,
"It requires pygame
for the visualization, but I'll check in a non-gui option shortly. I'd also be willing to post my square.py to show how to hook it up if needed—though its as simple as replacing
from cartfs import CartFSLoggingHandler, Sensor
with
from sim import CartFSLoggingHandler, Sensor
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| [HTM]
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| • Previous What's New postings
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Course Information
[description]
[topics]
[background]
[text]
[goals]
[grading]
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| Course:
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P545 Embedded & Real-Time Systems
B490 Experiments in Autonomous Robotics (3 cr.)
The term embedded system refers to purpose-specific software
executing in a dedicated setting. Some examples are: cellular telephony,
network routing devices, consumer electronics, robots, digital avionics,
automotive systems, and ``smart'' cards, to name a few.
This is a project-oriented course in which classroom topics
are explored through in-depth experiences in a substantial laboratory project.
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Instructor:
Lab:
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Steve Johnson
(sjohnson@cs.indiana.edu)
Bryce Himebaugh
(bhimebau@cs.indiana.edu)
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| Meetings:
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| Lecture: | 9:30-10:45 MW LH035
| | Lab: | 2:00-5:00 F LH008 or the P545 Test Field
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Description:
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P545 Embedded and Real-Time Systems (3 cr.)
†P:
Any 400-level ``systems'' course (middle digit 3 or 4).
Design and implementation of purpose-specific, locally distributed
software systems. Models and methods for time-critical applications.
Real-time operating systems. Testing, validation, and verification.
Safety-critical design. Related topics, such as resiliency,
synchronization, sensor fusion, etc. Lecture and laboratory.
†NOTE:
Students with deficiencies but having compensatory special interests
(e.g. instrumentation science, robotics, cognitive science, multimedia, etc.)
are encouraged to consult with the instructor about approval to enroll.
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Laboratory:
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ERTS is a computer controlled golf car.
In the first half of the course, students do a cumulative sequence of
assignments learning basic GPS navigation and obstacle avoidance.
In the latter half, projects are based individual interests and backgrounds
of the participants.
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Please Note:
Embedded system design requires a broad background, encompassing both
system engineering and "domain expertise." This course is designed
to accomodate students with varied interests and goals. See Background Requirements below. However,
the higher aim of the course laboratory is to develop a configurable
platform for collaborative research in systems, sensor networks
(especially vision), and congnitive science (especially machine learning and
human-robot interaction).
Or contact the instructor about
other participation options.
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