HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: hpm@cs.cmu.edu (Hans Moravec)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Re: Ant Sized Robot
Date: 6 Oct 92 23:52:48 GMT
Reply-To: hpm@cs.cmu.edu
Organization: Field Robotics Center, CMU


Karl Altenburg writes:

>The 'ant' sized robot I think you are talking about is the one proposed by
>Dr. Johannes Smits at Boston University's College of Engineering.
>
>I heard a lecture by him at the Artificial Life III conference last June.  
>According to his current designs and calculations the 'ant' will be around
>three to seven millimeters long, have six legs, a forward facing pincer,
>move at a top speed of 4 meters per second and carry 300 times its own 
>weight (wow.)         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

4 meters per second!!!!   It would be trailing tiny tornadoes!
  Maybe 4 cm per second ?
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: vadim@CS.Stanford.EDU (Vadim Akselrod)
Subject: GPS & Digital Compass vendors?
Reply-To: vadim@cs.stanford.edu
Organization: Computer Science Department, Stanford University.
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 19:32:24 GMT

I'm planning to incorporate a Global Positioning System and a Digital
Compass into a wheeled robot for improved navigation.  If anyone is familiar
with vendors that market either a GPS or such a compass, I would love to
hear about it!  Thanks in advance!

Cheers,

	-Vadim

+---------------------+---------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Vadim "Josh" Akselrod|vadim@cs.stanford.edu|W:(415)725-6969|H:(408)732-4606|
|MS Student, Comp. Sci+---------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Stanford University |  If my opinions were worth anything, I'd sell them  |
+---------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: saeed@a.cs.okstate.edu (SAEED FAISEL)
Subject: what do you know about IDS model ?
Organization: Oklahoma State University, Computer Science, Stillwater
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 92 23:13:18 GMT

I need some info on the IDS model suggested by Cornsweet & Yellot.
And I want to start with a comprehensive bibliography on IDS.

Any email containing any pointers like any work done related to IDS,
specially any publications, etc will be appreciated.

I would also like to correspond with anyone currently working on it.


-- 

Faisel Saeed
Computer Science Department,   Oklahoma State University,   Stillwater, OK 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xref: sparky comp.robotics:1976 sci.electronics:16665 sci.engr:2104 sci.engr.mech:390 sci.engr.control:143 comp.ai.neural-nets:3794 comp.ai.edu:467 comp.ai:3786 can.ai:43 can.general:4807 ieee.general:181 rec.models.rc:4082 ont.events:465 tor.general:1321 ont.sf-lovers:30
From: sjhill@waikato.ac.nz
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: 6502 design book?
Date: 29 Sep 92 23:07:51 +1200
Organization: University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

A friend of mine (who has plans to build a small robot) has a 6502 and a 
couple of support chips (CIA,VIA), but no documentation for them.

I'm pretty sure I remember seeing a book written about 10 or so years ago
on how to build your own 6502 computer. Maybe it was by Rodney Zaks or
Lance Leventhal (I know they wrote books on 6502 assembly language programming)

Does anyone know of such a book? If so what's its exact name, author, 
publisher?

Also, any other pointers to sources of info on 6502 singleboard computer
design/construction would be much appreciated!

Stef'
From: benedict@chaos.utexas.edu (Thomas Benedict)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Telemetry
Date: 6 Oct 92 21:36:47 GMT
Distribution: comp.robotics
Organization: Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, University of Texas at Austin

I need to get telemetry back from a robot.  Specifically I need to
know the orientation in all three axes, and need to know acceleration
in all three directions.  Does anyone know of a good source for small
gyroscopes and accelerometers?  I need them to be small and light so
they don't wind up taking up all of the available payload.

The RC setup I've got is a serial modem set up over some cheapo Radio
Shack walkie-talkies, so I'd prefer to get the gyros and
accelerometers to talk to me in digital form, but I could always stick
some A/D converters on them, so it's not too critical.

I'd LIKE to say that price is no issue, but the cheaper the better.

Tom Benedict
benedict@chaos.utexas.edu
Center for Nonlinear Dynamics
University of Texas at Austin
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: kube@cs.UAlberta.CA (Ron Kube)
Subject: Underwater Imaging for Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs)
Summary: Request for references
Keywords: Underwater Imaging
Organization: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1992 19:48:50 GMT

 I am looking for references on the current state of the art in Underwater
Imaging technology typically used in Remote Operated Vehicles or Autonomous
Underwater Vehicles.  I came across an article entitled "Undersea 3-D Imaging
and Mapping for Inspection and Research" by Dr. Frank M. Caimi at the
Florida Institute of Technology (in Advanced Imaging Aug. '92).  Unfortunately
the article has no references.  Can anyone please steer me in the right 
direction?
Thanks.

Ronald Kube
Robotics Research Laboratory
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Canada
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: jgm@cs.brown.edu (Jonathan Monsarrat)
Subject: Re: GPS & Digital Compass vendors?
Keywords: DGPS, navigation
Organization: Brown University Department of Computer Science
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 22:27:17 GMT


We have a nice DE710 digital compass here we bought from Zemco Group, Inc.
It only cost $86. You can easily hack it for analog or digital inputs.
(Many thanks to the MIT mobot lab which is where this reference came from)

However, they seem to have had their phone disconnected.

Anybody know if they are still in business? Directory assistance
for the area does not list them.

The latest info I have on them is:

Zemco Group Inc.
3401 Crow Canyon Rd. Suite 201
San Ramon, CA  94583
(415) 866-7266 FAX: (415) 866-0678

Thanks

-Jon Monsarrat
 Brown University Robotics Lab
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From: hannu.lehtinen@vtt.fi
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: vehicle
Date: 25 Sep 1992 10:51:30 +0300
Organization: Technical Research Centre of Finland
Distribution: world
Reply-To: hannu.lehtinen@vtt.fi

Item Subject: blanko.dos
I requested voluntary control system producers to help a vehicle manufacturer
a month ago. The original question is enclosed. I have got two answers so far.
They are:
Cortex Ltd./Hungary       willing to desing and manufacture such systems
                          (Tamas Ledezci: h1183led@ella.hu)
Coactive Aesthetics, Inc. offers GCB11 as a base for such a system
SF, CA, USA               (David Gaw: coactive!dgaw@coactive.com)
                    Yours      Hannu
-----------------
Hi there!
A message for vehicle control system producers or those who design and make
them quickly:
I am looking a new distributed control system for an in hundreds manufactured
underground heavy-duty vehicle. The basic requirements are as follows:
    -   temperature range -20 to +65 Celsius degrees
    -   automotive 24 VDC supply voltage (18 ... 32 VDC)
    -   master and slave processors connected to a proper network; industrial
        or automotive
    -   slave processors boot from the EPROMs of the master via network (or
        all modules are autonomous and communicate via CAN-bus)
    -   slaves (or modules) can be connected to industrial process I/O signals
        according to the following number of channels per module type:
          Module type                                        1   2   3   4   5
          (1 kHz) binary outputs 24 VDC, 1 A max each        16  8   -   16  -
          PWM outputs 24 VDC, 1 A max each                   -   -   8   4   4
          analog inputs 0-10 VDC (10 bit A/D)                8   16  8   -   -
          frequency counters or timer inputs (10 kHz)        -   -   -   -   4
    -   any 16 (or even 8) bit processor will do, but boards have to run under
        a real-time operative system (like OS-9, Lynx or so) in order to ease
        software development
    -   preferred PCB size is max 100 mm x 160 mm (3.94" x 6.30") and size of
        of one module about two VHS video cassettes (molded in a metal cage);
        connection terminals (a terminal bar) for the I/O signals can be
        outside the module
Send your kind replies to:        Hannu.Lehtinen@vtt.fi
                        or        Hannu Lehtinen
                                  VTT Lab. of Electrical and Automation Eng.
      fax: +358 0 456 6475        Otakaari 7 B
                                  SF-02150 ESPOO, FINLAND
PS.   Potential control systems will be listed and the list distributed
From: ted@nmsu.edu (Ted Dunning)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Re: Stiquito nervous system?
Date: 6 Oct 92 00:02:22 GMT
	<1992Sep29.210618.19@webo.dg.com>
Reply-To: ted@nmsu.edu
Organization: Computing Research Lab


In article <1992Sep29.210618.19@webo.dg.com> dmiller@dg.UUCP (David
Miller) writes:

   Newsgroups: comp.robotics Path:
   nmsu.edu!lynx!umn.edu!spool.mu.edu!wupost!usc!rpi!psinntp!psinntp!dg-rtp!webo!uunet!dg!dmiller
   From: dmiller@dg.UUCP (David Miller) Sender: dmiller@dg (David
   Miller) Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 21:06:18 GMT References:
   <1992Sep27.221330.26656@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> Organization:
   Data General Corporation, Research Triangle Park, NC Lines: 6

   Actually, experimentation is being done at Boston University, in
   something very similar to this.  They are building a chip with
   small actuated legs, which can be moved by the logic on the chip.
   The whole thing is ~1cm on a side.  (It looks something like a
   small ant from what I've heard.)
   ^^^^^

   Anyone with more info care to comment?


around here an ant that was 1cm on a side would be considered rather
large!
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: petesk@microsoft.com (Pete Skelly)
Subject: Re: Robotic Helicopters
Date: 01 Oct 92 09:25:31 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corp.
Keywords: Autonomous,Control,Helicopters

I believe there is some work going on at CMU, the same
folks who brought you the NavLab and the Ambler.

Anyone at CMU care to post more?

petesk@microsoft.com
From: ccb8m@uvacs.cs.Virginia.EDU (Charles C. Bundy)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Robot Languages?
Date: 27 Sep 92 22:12:47 GMT
Organization: University of Virginia Computer Science Department
Originator: ccb8m@onyx.cs.Virginia.EDU

I am interested in compiling a report on programming languages for
robotics and hardware control.  It seems as though many robotics
projects are more hardware oriented with assembly and C used to
implement various control paradigms.  Are there low level virtual
descriptions of hardware that can be used to develop robot 
independent high level control software?  Is any research being
done in this area?  I am not interested in super extensible
languages like forth, for obvious reasons of maintenance and
code readability :)

In summary:

   1) Is there any kind of standardization in the robotics
      community (industrial or academic) that allows for
      low level, platform independent programming.
      
   2) What is the language of choice for your own development
      projects?
      
My goal:

   Gain insight into this area as a topic of interest for
   possible research.

   
Many Thanks,

Charles C. Bundy IV
From: nivek@cs.cmu.edu (Kevin Dowling)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Re: Robot helicopters (CMU work)
Date: 5 Oct 92 00:44:27 GMT
Reply-To: nivek@cs.cmu.edu
Organization: Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon

CMU's The Robotics Institute has had research and development
work sponsored by Boeing to provide visual servoing capability
for unmanned air vehicles to allow them to land unassisted
on carrier desks.

The visual servoing uses a camera to extract deck patterns to provide
input to the chopper controller at higher distance and
then use point laser ranging devices as the landing nears to calculate
distance and orientation wrt the deck.

We do not have one of the ummanned machines but have constructed
a tower with a controlled hoist that allows 80 feet of drop of a platform onto a
pitching and rolling deck below. The work has been successful and may continue
depending on sponsor.

This work has become important because we see strong parallels between
development of unmanned ground vehicle and umanned air vehicles. 

Additionally, there is work using a modified RC helicopter
to provide computer controlled flying. An indoor stand constrains
testing to approxiamtely 1m hemisphere and also provides accurate
position feedback. Good success with modeling has enabled
some nice hovering behavior even under external disturbances
including poking at it with a stick and putting large ventilation
fans nearby!

Tony Stentz and Omead Amidi, respectively are the people doing this work.


							nivek



---

aka: Kevin Dowling			Carnegie Mellon University
tel: (412) 268-8830			The Robotics Institute
adr: nivek@rover.ri.cmu.edu		Pittsburgh, PA 15213
From: Mark.W..Tilden@mailbox.bison.mb.ca (Mark W. Tilden)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Re: Stiquito, A Small Nitinol-Propelled Robot
Date: 24 Sep 92 23:26:39 CST

Organization: University of Waterloo

In article <1992Sep24.113622.24133@news.cs.indiana.edu> jwmills@moose.cs.indiana.edu (Jonathan Mills) writes:
>
>Stiquito:  A Small Nitinol-Propelled Hexapod Robot

Wouldn't you know it.  And just seconds after I just finished
telling someone I didn't think it possible.

Sounds really good.  Can't wait until my three kits arrive.

Is all.


-- 
Mark Tilden: _-_-_-__--__--_      /(glitch!)  M.F.C.F Hardware Design Lab.
-_-___       |              \  /\/            U of Waterloo. Ont. Can, N2L-3G1
     |__-_-_-|               \/               (519)885-1211 ext. 2454 
"MY OPINIONS, YOU HEAR!? MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

 * Origin: The Electronic Mailbox (1:348/7.0)

Xref: sparky comp.robotics:1969 comp.databases.theory:513
From: ccb8m@uvacs.cs.Virginia.EDU (Charles C. Bundy)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Stiquito nervous system?
Date: 27 Sep 92 22:13:30 GMT
Organization: University of Virginia Computer Science Department
Originator: ccb8m@onyx.cs.Virginia.EDU

Stiquito looks interesting!  Has anyone ever tried to marry 
microprogramming with robot control?  If you think of the
legs as being "control points" you can slap a clocked FIFO and
IR I/O onto the frame and read in/out as if to a primitive
nervous system (remote host computer would be ideal in the case 
of stiquito!)  Add 'n' bits to your control word where your
control store is 2^n and you have branching/looping!  Use a pal
to decode sensor input + current microprog. word, and feedback
control can be implemented.  So ultimately stiquito could be
a walking CPU :)

Charles C. Bundy IV
Xref: sparky comp.robotics:1926 sci.electronics:16387
From: kilian@cray.com (Alan Kilian)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics,sci.electronics
Subject: Re: How to control a car with an HC11
Date: 30 Sep 92 17:30:59 GMT
Organization: Cray Research, Inc.

Robert,
  You want to control a model car with a 68HC11. You want the normal
  transmitter to control the car most of the time but the HC11 can
  "Take over" control whenever it wants to.

  Here is my suggestion:

  1)  Buy a "real" Radio-controlled car.
    - Get a two channel car. One channel for steering and one for throttle
    - A cheap radio will do fine.
    - Make sure its a standard type RC radio. Futaba is what I use.
      No funny business here. If you get a radio that can have different
      servos plugged into it you are on the right track.
    - You can get a car with the radio included. It will be cheaper.

  2)  The car's two servos are run by one digital signal each.
    - It's a standard 0 to 5 Volt pulse. The width of the pulse determines
      the position of the servo. The pulse repeats at a particular rate.
      The pulse is pretty easy for a HC11 to produce.

  3)  Run the servos like this: (One channel as an example)

      +----------+
      | Radio    |
      | Receiver |
      +-+--------+                                   +------------+
        |                                            |            |
        +-------------+                              |  Servo     |
                      |        +---------------------+            |
                      |        |                     +------------+
                      |        |      
              +-------+--------+-------+
              |       I        O       |
              |       C        C       |
              |       1        1       |
              |                        |
              |     MC68HC11           |
              +------------------------+


      Here's the idea:

      The HC11 measures the pulse width on it's IC1 line.
      The HC11 produces pulses on it's OC1 line to match the input
      When the HC11 needs to control the servo it will modify the
      pulse going out the OC1 line to be the desired duration.
      When the HC11 no longer needs to control the servo it goes back
      to duplicating the IC1 pulse on OC1

                          -Alan Kilian

-- 
 -Alan Kilian           kilian@cray.com 612.683.5499 (Work) 612.721.3990 (Home)
  Cray Research, Inc.   655 F Lone Oak Drive, Eagan  MN, 55121 
                        "It's based on actual math". -Dilbert
From: bezenek@plains.NoDak.edu (Todd M. Bezenek KO0N)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: new motorola board info wanted
Date: 2 Oct 92 04:19:13 GMT
Article-I.D.: plains.20876
Organization: North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND


I saw info about a new Motorola board about one month ago and neglected
to save it.  The board uses a 16Mhz processor and has a large memory
addressing capability.  It also may be run on only one supply voltage.

If you have the posting about this board, please send it to me.

Thank you,

Todd
--
Todd Michael Bezenek, KO0N
bezenek@plains.nodak.edu
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: roy@engin.umich.edu (Roy William Feague)
Subject: Digital Altimeters?
Date: Sat, 03 Oct 92 10:09:01 EDT
Organization: University of Michigan Engineering, Ann Arbor
Distribution: USA
Keywords: digital altimeter fly

Does anyone know of an inexpensive way to get altitude information to
a home-brew robot?  I am building a small platform to be carried by
a helium-filled weather balloon, and would love to get some feedback
on just how high the thing is.  Also, I am concerned that as the balloon
expands with lower air pressure on the way up, it might reach a breaking
point before it stops rising.  Any ideas on how to know when this will 
happen?  
	Regular analog altimeters cost about $250, and that's a bit pricey
for me.  I'd like to try to build a home-brew altimeter.  Any tips?

Thanks,
-Roy Feague
From: altenbur@plains.NoDak.edu (Karl Altenburg)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Ant Sized Robot
Date: 6 Oct 92 23:16:38 GMT
Article-I.D.: plains.21005
Organization: North Dakota Higher Education Computing Network

The 'ant' sized robot I think you are talking about is the one proposed by
Dr. Johannes Smits at Boston University's College of Engineering.  So far
he has only demonstrated the legs and is using something like zinc-oxide
coated silicon as a piezoelectric actuator.  

I heard a lecture by him at the Artificial Life III conference last June.  
According to his current designs and calculations the 'ant' will be around
three to seven millimeters long, have six legs, a forward facing pincer,
move at a top speed of 4 meters per second and carry 300 times its own 
weight (wow.)

The only references I have are:

Popular Science, March 1992, p20.

Computerworld, Jan 6 1992, p17.

New York Times, Jan 6 1992.

And I think there was an article in Discover Magazine during the last four
months or so.  These references have some nice pictures but not much
technical info.

Karl

-- 
Karl R Altenburg				altenbur@plains.NoDak.edu
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND  58105

All things are artificial, for nature is the art of God.  SIR THOMAS BROWNE
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: nagle@netcom.com (John Nagle)
Subject: Re: Wanted: A few good roboticists
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 17:48:10 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 

huber@sinaloa.jsc.nasa.gov (Eric Huber) writes:
>Position Title: Member Technical Staff
>Location: near Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (it's very hot down here)
>Job description: R&D of autonomous robot (primarily of the mobile type) 
>control architectures for integration of robotics technologies/algorithms
>applicable to space based tasks.

     It's sad seeing America's robotics expertise thrown away on
one-of-a-kind systems like this.  We'll never catch up with Japan that way.

					John Nagle
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: tidedu@mars.lerc.nasa.gov (William T. Dedula)
Subject: Sources for Robotics Systems, Circuits, and info. needed
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center
Distribution: usa
Date: 26 Sep 1992 13:31 EDT  

Hello All;
I am a member of a group who is coordinating a Robotics 
Contest for area High School students. Students will build 
minerature Robotics Rovers which will run on a section of 
terrain (designed by middle school students) which simulates the
surface of Mars. 

I am currently seeking as many sources of Robotics Material as I 
can to provide these students with as much resources as possible
as they build their Robotics Systems. Primarily, I'm looking for 
mail order corporations, institutions, or individuals who can 
provide the following ... 

1) A source for Minerature TV camera's as well as Minerature 
   video transmitters which operate at low power, utilize low 
   voltage (So they'll operate on the rober's batteries), and are
   fairly cheap. Also ... they should not require any special 
   licence or permission to operate. 

2) A good source for Robotics Kits (Particularly Robotics Rovers
   or cars). 

3) A good source for Robotics components such as stepper motors, 
   switches, sensors, Motor's, and other electronics and/or
   mechanical equipment. 

4) A good source for Robotics plans, books, etc. 

5) A source for anything else relating to Robotics which you think
   will benefit this project. 

The many students who take part in this exciting project as well 
as myself and the other robotics contest coordinators at the 
Lewis Research Center and Ohio Aerospace Institute will be very, 
very appreciative of any assistance you can give us with the above
information. 

Tim 

P.S. Please provide phone numbers and address of the above sources
if you know them. Thanks again !!!

W. Tim Dedula                        Internet: 
N.A.S.A. Lewis Research Center       tdedula@nasamail.nasa.gov
Mail Stop 77-3                       tidedu@mars.lerc.nasa.gov
21000 BrookPark Road                 aa252@cleveland.freenet.edu
Cleveland, Ohio 44135
Phone (216) 433-3668

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Science and
Technology ... for the Benefit of ALL Mankind !!!

Newsgroups: comp.robotics