HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: sdw@meaddata.com (Stephen Williams)
Subject: Re: Seeking high-resolution ultrasound system
Organization: Mead Data Central, Dayton OH
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 19:21:23 GMT

First idea to glide past:

Mount 3 or more directional accelerometers and watch their relative
strengths during apogee (bounce).  

3 pressure transducers on the 'foot' would work also.

3034871@QUCDN.QueensU.CA (Ralph Siemsen) writes:
: We're looking for some ultrasonic (or otherwise) detector to measure
: distances of 5-15 cm to an accuracy of +- 0.5cm or better.
: 
: The intended application is to measure the angle (by triangulation)
: of a monopod robot relative to the ground. We have considered
: accelerometers, but the bouncing action of the robot makes them
: innefective. Commercial angle sensors are expensive ($1500) and we
: really only care about a small range of angles (20 degrees), rather
: than the full 180 degrees that most commercial units offer.
: 
: So it would be quite easy to measure the distance to the ground from
: a platform atop the robot. All we need is a nice sensor.
...
sdw
--
Stephen D. Williams  Local Internet Gateway Co.; SDW Systems 513 496-5223APager
LIG dev./sales       Internet: sdw@world.std.com CIS 76244.210@compuserve.com
OO R&D Source Dist.  By Horse: 10028 Village Tree Ct., Miamisburg, OH 45342
GNU Support          ICBM: 39 34N 85 15W I love it when a plan comes together
From: galsci!mpearce
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Cheap, light orientation sensor needed
Summary: cheap and light rules!
Keywords: orientation sensor, gyroscope, compass
Date: Thu, 05 Nov 92 17:03:47 EST
Reply-To: mpearce@galsci.uucp
Distribution: world
Organization: Galaxy Scientific Corp.

I'm looking for a small, cheap, and light orientation sensor that
will work with the Miniboard. The FAQ says something about a
gyroscope w/ RS-232 interface, but $1,000 is over my budget. It
will be used on a toy hovercraft, so it should not weigh over 2 oz.

I've seen ads for "piezoelectric vibrating gyroscopes," they look like
they may fit my requirements. What is the power drain on these and who
makes them? The other possibility is to pull the circutry out of an
electronic compass. Radio Shack used to carry these but no longer does.
Has anyone done this before and where can I get one?


-----------
Mike Pearce, Knowledge/Interface/ToolBook Engineer
Galaxy Scientific Corp., Information Division, Atlanta GA
(404) 491-1100 or mpearce@galsci.uucp
From: fredm@media.mit.edu (Fred G Martin)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Introduction to 6811 Assembly Programming
Date: 5 Nov 92 15:51:28 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.1992Nov5.155128.24970
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory

If any of you are looking for an introduction on programming the 6811/
the Mini Board in assembly language, I've updated an guide I wrote a
couple years ago on the topic.

It's the file 6811intr.PS in /pub/miniboard/docs/ on
cherupakha.media.mit.edu.  The printout is about 40 pages long.

This document gives an introduction to bits and bytes, hexadecimal
numbering, addressing modes, 6811 instruction op-codes, interrupts,
serial line interactions, analog conversions, and a few other topics.
It isn't intended as a substitute for Motorola documentation but
rather as an introductory supplement.

If anybody reads it and has any comments I'd be glad to hear them.

	-Fred
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: dwilliam@jabba.ess.harris.com (Dave Williams)
Subject: Re: Miniboard or Motorola eval board?
Organization: Harris Corporation - ISD
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 18:30:53 GMT

In <1992Nov6.114542.2744@reed.edu> reeder@reed.edu (P. Douglas Reeder) writes:

>In article <Bx9JGp.464@jabba.ess.harris.com> dwilliam@jabba.ess.harris.com (Dave Williams) writes:
>:In article<???> reeder@reed.edu (Doug Reeder) writes:
>:>Functionally, the HC11 is always in single-chip operating mode, so
>:>hardware not part of the EVB cannot be in the memory map.  This means 
>:>you are forever limited to the two 8K blocks of RAM (though you could
>:>replace the 8K ROM with one of your own).
>:
>:   Hummm.  I wouldn't say that - There's quite a few holes in the
>:EVB memory map where you could put all sorts of nifty stuff.

>How? There are no connectors to the address and data busses on the board.
>The B and C ports ara available at connector P1, but only as general I/O
>ports, since connector P1 looks like an HC11 in single-chip mode.

   Uhhhh,  errrr, ummm.  "Whoops."  (Maybe my .sig is appropriate
here, huh?)

   Sorry about that.  I've been switching back and forth between the 
EVBU and the EVB so much that I've gotten them confused.  The EVBU 
has a very similar P1 connector, which *can* be used to add in more
memory-mapped hardware.  Most of the stuff I've added to the EVB 
board has been driven off of I/O signals from the various single-
chip ports.  Oh well.

   Not to mention the fact that I keep hacking on the buffalo ROM
to add in my own custom routines.  I keep thinking it's something
*I* added in.  :-)

-- 
  Dave Williams                                     | I'm lucky if I can
    dwilliam@jabba.ess.harris.com                   | even spell opinion,
      "Huh?  What?  Could you repeat the question?" | much less have them.
From: reeder@reed.edu (P. Douglas Reeder)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Re: Miniboard or Motorola eval board?
Date: 6 Nov 92 11:45:42 GMT
Article-I.D.: reed.1992Nov6.114542.2744
Organization: Div, Grad & Curl

In article <Bx9JGp.464@jabba.ess.harris.com> dwilliam@jabba.ess.harris.com (Dave Williams) writes:
:
:   The EVBU (EVBU stands for EValuation Board, University style, by the
:way) is a much less complex board.  
:Mot. supplies a program for PCs called PCBug11 that operates via the
:bootstrap mode of the 6811.  What happens, is you power everything up,
:and PCBug11 loads a "talker" program into the 6811.  This program is
:used to modify the 6811's internal registers and memory under control
:of the PC.
I am pleased to hear that this arrangement is available.  This sounds like
it implements a way of doing things that I had envisioned, which doesn't
hog the board's resources.

:In article<???> reeder@reed.edu (Doug Reeder) writes:
:>Functionally, the HC11 is always in single-chip operating mode, so
:>hardware not part of the EVB cannot be in the memory map.  This means 
:>you are forever limited to the two 8K blocks of RAM (though you could
:>replace the 8K ROM with one of your own).
:
:   Hummm.  I wouldn't say that - There's quite a few holes in the
:EVB memory map where you could put all sorts of nifty stuff.

How? There are no connectors to the address and data busses on the board.
The B and C ports ara available at connector P1, but only as general I/O
ports, since connector P1 looks like an HC11 in single-chip mode.




-- 
Doug Reeder                              Internet: reeder@reed.EDU
Div, Grad & Curl                         USENET:   ...!tektronix!reed!reeder
programming & derivative work            BITNET:   reeder@reed.BITNET
I am actively seeking scientific programming contracts.
From: Elistan+@CMU.EDU (Mark Alan Lang)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Re: Lego robotics
Date: 6 Nov 92 10:02:50 GMT
Article-I.D.: andrew.seygxeW00WA1M2CJ5M
Organization: Freshman, MCS general, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Excerpts from netnews.comp.robotics: 6-Nov-92 Lego robotics by
pgm2@waikato.ac.nz i.ethz  Reeder@reed.e 
> I am a new user on NEWS, so forgive me if I am asking the wrong conference or
> if this information is somewhere else
>  
> My name is Phillip Middlemiss, an undergraduate at Waikato University
finishing
> off a computers and maths degree.
> The department has got hold of a "Lego construction set" which has all the
> motors, sensor pads, and other extras. It is possible to control the
moters etc
> via a computer.
> For a project, I am to build various types of robotic experiments for next
> years AI class.  The experiments will be things like the Blocks-world
problem.
>  
> What I wanted to know was if anyone knows of previous work that has been done
> in this area. I cannot find any research information in our library at
varsity
> at all.
> The information I am interested in is:
> Languages that can be used to program the set;
> any previous robots or similair that have been built;
> the types of things that can be doone with the lego construction set.

	Have you heared of TC Logo?  It is a derivative of Logo that has
routines for controlling Lego constructions.  It comes with a controll
box that has nine motor ports (3 multidirectional, 6 unidirectional) and
two sensor ports (simple on/off).  I know that IBM and Apple ][ versions
exist, but I don't know about any other machines...
	(And I though that the robotic-like Lego's came with TC Logo?)

	Anyway, this might not be exactly what you are looking for, as it is
geared more towards grade schoolers than college students. But it's VERY
fun, IMHO!
Playing with Legos is FUN!  :-)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|  Mark Lang                       |  ml5t+@andrew.cmu.edu            |
|  elistan+@cmu.edu                |  elistan@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu  |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: iarit@slate.mines.colorado.edu (ARIT ISMAIL)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Object-Oriented Programming in Robotics..
Date: 8 Nov 92 18:45:54 GMT
Organization: i d'unno

Hi,

I am writing a OO package that will be used to manipulate
any given robot.The user can easly define frames, links, joints
(in craig notation) and etc. to form a robot, and do 
forward kinematics. The package will also do jacobians for a given
robot. 
But the problem is Inverse kinematics...!! In general, every robot has its
own inverse kinematics, you can't develop a function that will solve
any given robot's inverse kinematics.(Am i right?). But I think there
is one way to go if you want to do a very general inverse kin.:
DEM ( Discrete Element Method )
Is there anybody, out there, working/worked on this? 
I appreciate your reply on DEM.

Thanks.
iarit@slate.mines.colorado.edu


   
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: grlw1@cl.cam.ac.uk (G.R.L. Walker)
Subject: MIT ex-staff
Reply-To: grlw1@phx.cam.ac.uk
Organization: Shadow
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1992 10:37:15 GMT

Does anyone know what happened to J.Conell, Rodney Brooks' student who
boult many ofthe interesting robots that have come out of the MIT labs
in the last few years? Any information appreciated, as a friend of mine
is trying to find out what he's working on now...
Cheers
Rich!

Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: meyer@dbsun.uucp (Don Meyer)
Subject: Re: Human Computers....
Organization: BioMerieux-Vitek, St. Louis Mo.
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 17:51:11 GMT

Take a look at "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and "Time Enough for Love",
both by Robert A. Heinlein.
Roger Zelazny has also done a few stories along these lines. (titles
escape me at the moment.  Email if you need me to look them up in my
library)

Don
-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
meyer%dbsun.uucp@wupost.wustl.edu        |||     I am at two with nature.
Opinions expressed are personal.         |||       -- Woody Allen
From: cmcmanis@pepper.Eng.Sun.COM (Chuck McManis)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Re: Power supply for robots
Date: 5 Nov 1992 20:03:10 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
NNTP-Posting-Host: pepper

In article <1992Nov5.005936.9684@reed.edu> (P. Douglas Reeder) writes:
> I doubt nuclear is a viable choice, for the same reasons we don't 
> have nuclear powered cars.

In article <73755@hydra.gatech.EDU> (Tom Collins) writes:
>And for those of you who don't know, the reason is that you either
>need a very LARGE vehicle (to isolate the reactor physically) or a
>great deal of shielding.

I don't believe this is true. Certainly some of the latest Russian
satellite reactors 1 - 10Kw, no refueling are efficent enough to power
a car and their radiation emissions are well below those considered
harmful. The reactors were designed to power the latest version of
of their spy satellites and had to be shielded to keep from contributing
to the already radiation "rich" environment of low earth orbit.

It is much more likely that we don't have nuclear powered cars because
it would be more efficient to have 1 nuclear power plant supply electricity
to the roads and have the cars pick up the power as they needed it.
(much more efficient use of nuclear fuel, easier to maintain, centralized
waste disposal) 

Fuel cells are an interesting alternative for robot power (and you
can get LNG powered ones as well.) but they are generally to large
at present to be easily portable. John Nagle's idea of the butane
powered main plant is (in all its engineering difficulty) the most
practical, long "range", fast refill, power source.


--
--Chuck McManis						    Sun Microsystems
uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis   BIX: <none>   Internet: cmcmanis@Eng.Sun.COM
NIS+ Architect
These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.
From: bleck@aztec.ai.mit.edu (Olaf Bleck)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Re: Cheap, light orientation sensor needed
Date: 10 Nov 1992 02:51:58 GMT
Organization: MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
Distribution: world
Reply-To: bleck@ai.mit.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: aztec.ai.mit.edu

In article <1992Nov6.165554.16576@PacBell.COM>, tlhouns@ns.pacbell.com (Lee Hounshell) writes:
|> I had an idea for constructing one using "bend" sensors with weights attached
|> to one end.  As the robot's orientation would change, the sensors would move
|> (because of gravity pulling the weights).  If several of these sensors were
|> placed strategically inside a robot's chassis, I suspect that one could calculate
|> the robot's orientation fairly accurately.  Any comments?


Ah!  But wait!  What are the weights really telling you?  They don't hang
down with gravity, they hang in the direction of their net acceleration,
which is the classic problem with "cheap" inertial sensors.  Unless your
robot only samples the sensor when it's been standing still for a while
(which you need some other sensor to tell you), you don't kow what your
robot's orientation is, unless you can integrate your sensor perfectly over
time, and it doesn't have any mechanical error.  

This is a particular problem with things like the robotic helicopter task,
where the helicopter is basically depending in all six axis on inertial data.
The trend is to use cameras and stuff to look at the ground/horizon/etc. to
recalibrate a few time/sec.

So you've basically rediscovered inertial nav here, where your "accuracy" is
basically log($$$)... in the general case.

-Olaf
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: KEN.WILLIAMS@OFFICE.WANG.COM ("Ken E. Williams")
Subject: Metrabyte board
Organization: Mail to News Gateway at Wang Labs
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 21:22:31 GMT

Can anyone help me locate some info on the following PC board made by Metrabyte
Corp?  The following labels and designations are on the card.
"Digital I/O 3 8 bit Port" - hand written label
Metrabyte Corp. REV. 8833
PC6062 Rev E Parallel I/O

Does anyone have their address or phone number?

Thanks,

KEN.WILLIAMS@office.wang.com
From: dg@cam-orl.co.uk (Dave Garnett)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Re: Cheap, light orientation sensor needed
Keywords: orientation sensor, gyroscope, compass
Date: 9 Nov 92 10:41:08 GMT
Reply-To: dg@cam-orl.co.uk (Dave Garnett)
Organization: Olivetti Research Ltd, Cambridge, England


Murata make small piezo rate gyros at about 30 pounds each.
However, they are 'rate' gyros, so it would be quite tricky
to make an attitude sensor with them (drift etc ...)

Since you talk about a hovercraft, presumably it operates
in a 2d plane only, so I would have thought that a flux
gate compass would have been ok. Articles on how to make them
appear from time to time in the UK (and presumably the US) 
electronics press, if you can't afford to buy one.

One source that hasn't been mentioned here before is the
units made for Marine purposes, which have NMEA outputs. At
least they are waterproof !

regards, Dave
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: e90tb@efd.lth.se (Tord Bjoersne)
Subject: Re: Cheap, light orientation sensor needed 
Keywords: orientation sensor, gyroscope, compass
Organization: Lund Institute of Technology, Sweden
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 12:12:46 GMT

Gyros specially designed for toy helicopters are available from some 
toy/hobby stores. I don't know how much they cost. Probably well below 
$1000 though...


Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: pdavies@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (Paul Davies)
Subject: Re: Seeking high-resolution ultrasound system
Organization: University of Toronto Chemistry Department
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 23:04:11 GMT

>3034871@QUCDN.QueensU.CA (Ralph Siemsen) writes:
>: We're looking for some ultrasonic (or otherwise) detector to measure
>: distances of 5-15 cm to an accuracy of +- 0.5cm or better.
>: 
>: The intended application is to measure the angle (by triangulation)
>: of a monopod robot relative to the ground. We have considered
>: accelerometers, but the bouncing action of the robot makes them
>: innefective. Commercial angle sensors are expensive ($1500) and we
>: really only care about a small range of angles (20 degrees), rather
>: than the full 180 degrees that most commercial units offer.
>: 
>: So it would be quite easy to measure the distance to the ground from
>: a platform atop the robot. All we need is a nice sensor.

I remember in undergrad some guys built a broom handle balancing robot.
It only had 1 degree of freedom.  They used a pot and calculated the
angle from that.  Since it was analog it was very fast.  It worked
pretty good except the tires slipped on the floor (i think they later
tried to use a chain and gear wheels).


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 | "The effects of technology do not occur
Paul Davies / Synthetic Man      | at the level of opinions or concepts, but
pdavies@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca | alter sense ratios or patterns of per-
rec.arts.bodyart FAQ Keeper      | ception steadily and without resistance."
                                 |  - Marshall McLuhan
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: nivek@cs.cmu.edu (Kevin Dowling)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Re: Seeking high-resolution ultrasound syst
Date: 11 Nov 92 04:23:41 GMT
Article-I.D.: cs.BxJAvn.4Lx.2
Reply-To: nivek@cs.cmu.edu
Organization: Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon

Here are a couple of systems:

Celesco's V-scope system.
It uses several (up to eight) 'buttons' that read an IR signal and retransmit
an acoustic signal. For 3D three transceiver towers are used to send the IR signal
and receive the acoustic signal from the buttons. [40Khz freq]

System resolution is claimed to .004" (0.1mm) and up to eight bodies
can be tracked for distances up to 16 feet in 3D.

It doesn't say what the accuracy is however - I'm looking into these systems
to develop a calibration system for a new robot I'm building.

Anyway - Celesco is at PO Box 7964, Canoga Park, Ca 91309 (818) 884-6860

Another is Innovision Systems at (313) 573-9845.
They have a system that uses two cameras that use PID chips to track small
spheres coated with 3M retro-reflective material (lots of tiny spheres) that
act very similar to corner cubes. The cameras also have IR emitters to
provide an active light signal that enables the filtering of ambient light.
We had a demo here a few months ago and it seemed to work quite well.

The other system used for Raibert's hopping machines here at CMU in the mid-80's
was the Selspot system which tracked modulated IR LED's. Selspot is a Swedish company
but I don't have their address on-line here.

					nivek


---

aka: Kevin Dowling			Carnegie Mellon University
tel: (412) 268-8830			The Robotics Institute
adr: nivek@rover.ri.cmu.edu		Pittsburgh, PA 15213
From: connolly@rabbit.cs.umass.edu (Christopher Ian Connolly)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Tables of Contents for Robotics Journals
Date: 8 Nov 92 19:43:43 GMT
Article-I.D.: dime.55940
Followup-To: comp.robotics
Organization: University of Massachusetts, Amherst

In article <25977@optima.cs.arizona.edu> japancs@cs.arizona.edu (Japan
CS Project) writes the table of contents of a Japanese robotics
journal.  I think this is a great idea.  They do this same sort of
thing in one of the bionet groups, and I think it's quite useful.
Perhaps some volunteers could pick some other journals to contribute.
But before I volunteer myself for a journal, I thought I'd throw it
out for discussion.
			-CC
-- 
	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Christopher Ian Connolly			connolly@cs.umass.edu
Laboratory for Perceptual Robotics		wa2ifi
University of Massachusetts at Amherst		Amherst, MA 01003
From: ch952@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Isaac D Reuben)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Flying robot competition?
Date: 6 Nov 92 06:16:25 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


I am new to this group (and to usenet in general) but when I saw
the name it reminded me of a project I was working on a while ago
I read an article on a competition for designing a flying robot
that could fly across a tennis court and pick up a metal disc and
bring it back8, repeating the procedure six times.
This intrigued me and for the next two months I came up with a
great (I think, anyway) design for the competition. The problem
is I have forgotten who was sponsoring the event and I have no
one to contact for more information.
If anyone out there has this information I would really, really
appreciate it if you could E-mail it to me.
Thanks in advance,
Isaac Reuben 
-- 
Isaac Reuben
isaacr@aol.com
<insert random clever phrase here>
From: cyberman@toz.buffalo.ny.us (Cyberman)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Re: on 74ls139
Date: 11 Nov 92 02:13:32 GMT
X-Maildoor: WaflineMail 1.00r


   Kenneth Mtz. (yonix) was espousing about 'on 74ls139',
   on [11-04-92  20:53] to All!
 KM(> Could anyone tell me more about what this device does (?)
 KM(> What is the pinout layout?

    That is a dual 4 line decoder here is the pinout

                __ __
Enable     1G  |1 U16| VCC
Select   / 1A  |2  15| 2G   Enable
         \ 1B  |3  14| 2A \ Select
          /1Y0 |4  13| 2B /
Data     / 1Y1 |5  12| 2Y0 \
Outputs  \ 1Y2 |6  11| 2Y1  \ Data
          \1Y3 |7  10| 2Y2  / Outputs
           GND |8   9| 2Y3 /

outputs are active LOW
Enable active low.

    Cyberman
... Don't steal...the government hates competition
--- Blue Wave/QWK v2.10
                                                                                                                    
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
From: schuch@phx.mcd.mot.com (John Schuch)
Subject: Stiquito on TV
Organization: Motorola Computer Group, Tempe, Az.
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 13:53:51 GMT

Anybody else notice the Stiquito robot on the "Home robots" segment
of 'Next Step' last night? At least I THINK that was a Stiquito.
BTW: It was on the Discover Channel

John

-- 
| ONE LINE NOVEL: She backed away from the corpse slowly, not so much out  |
| of fear, but simply unsure of what the crowd expected her to do with it. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| John R. Schuch  -  Motorola Computer Group  -  Manufacturing Engineering |
Newsgroups: comp.robotics