Robotics

By BENJAMEN L. BANAAG JR.

Motivation
• Intelligent Environments are aimed at
improving the inhabitants’ experience and
task performance
▫ Automate functions in the home
▫ Provide services to the inhabitants
• Decisions coming from the decision maker(s)
in the environment have to be executed.
▫ Decisions require actions to be performed on
devices
▫ Decisions are frequently not elementary device
interactions but rather relatively complex
commands
 Decisions define set points or results that have to be
achieved
 Decisions can require entire tasks to be performed
Automation and Robotics in
Intelligent Environments
 Control of the physical environment
 Automated blinds
 Thermostats and heating ducts
 Automatic doors
 Automatic room partitioning
 Personal service robots
 House cleaning
 Lawn mowing
 Assistance to the elderly and handicapped
 Office assistants
 Security services
Robots
• Robota (Czech) = A worker of forced labor
From Czech playwright Karel Capek's 1921 play “R.U.R”
(“Rossum's Universal Robots”)

• Japanese Industrial Robot Association (JIRA) :

“A device with degrees of freedom that can be
controlled.”
▫ Class 1 : Manual handling device
▫ Class 2 : Fixed sequence robot
▫ Class 3 : Variable sequence robot
▫ Class 4 : Playback robot
▫ Class 5 : Numerical control robot
▫ Class 6 : Intelligent robot
A Brief History of Robotics
• Mechanical Automata
▫ Ancient Greece & Egypt
 Water powered for ceremonies
▫ 14th – 19th century Europe
 Clockwork driven for entertainment
• Motor driven Robots
▫ 1928: First motor driven automata
▫ 1961: Unimate
 First industrial robot
▫ 1967: Shakey
 Autonomous mobile research robot
▫ 1969: Stanford Arm
 Dextrous, electric motor driven robot arm
Robots
 Robot Manipulators

 Mobile Robots
Autonomous Robots
• The control of autonomous robots involves a
number of subtasks
▫ Understanding and modeling of the mechanism
 Kinematics, Dynamics, and Odometry
▫ Reliable control of the actuators
 Closed-loop control
▫ Generation of task-specific motions
 Path planning
▫ Integration of sensors
 Selection and interfacing of various types of sensors
▫ Coping with noise and uncertainty
 Filtering of sensor noise and actuator uncertainty
▫ Creation of flexible control policies
 Control has to deal with new situations
Requirements for Robots in Intelligent
Environments
• Autonomy
▫ Robots have to be capable of achieving task objectives
without human input
▫ Robots have to be able to make and execute their own
decisions based on sensor information
• Intuitive Human-Robot Interfaces
▫ Use of robots in smart homes can not require
extensive user training
▫ Commands to robots should be natural for inhabitants
• Adaptation
▫ Robots have to be able to adjust to changes in the
environment
Robots for Intelligent Environments
• Service Robots
▫ Security guard
▫ Delivery
▫ Cleaning
▫ Mowing
• Assistance Robots
▫ Mobility
▫ Services for elderly and
People with disabilities
ARDUINO
What is Arduino?
• is an open-source microcontroller board based
on the Microchip ATmega328P microcontroller
and developed by Arduino.cc. The board is
equipped with sets of digital and analog
input/output (I/O) pins that may be interfaced
to various expansion boards (shields) and other
circuits.
Arduino Board
1. Power
• the board can be powered via the USB connection or
with an external power supply (range 7V to 12V)
• Vin - supply voltage through this pin or via the power
supply jack when using an external power supply
• GND: ground pins
• 5V: regulated power supply used to power the
components on board
• 3v3: a 3.3V supply voltage
• RESET: bring this line LOW to reset the micro-
controller. Typically used to add a reset button to
shield which block the one on the board
(reset button)
2. Analog Input

• each input provides 10-bits of resolution (ie.

1024 different values). By default they measure
from GND to 5V, mapping values from 0 to
1023 respectively

3. Memory

• 32KB of flash memory for storing code (sketch

of your program)
4. Digital Input/Output

• each pin can be an input or output,

using pinMode( ), digitalWrite( ),
and digitalRead( ) functions
• each pin operates at 5V and can provide or
receive a maximum of 40mA
• PWM: 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11 - provide a PWM output
with the analogWrite( )function
• LED13: built-in LED connected to pin 13. When
this pin is HIGH, the LED is on, when this pin is
LOW, it is off
 Breadboard
• A breadboard is used to connect components
to form circuits. No *soldering is required
so it is easy to change connections or
replace components.

* Soldering: a technique to join 2 conductive

(metal) contacts in a circuit
 Beginner's Electronics
• LED (Light Emitting Diode)
Lights up when current flows
from the (+) anode, longer
lead, to (-) cathode. Requires
resistor to limit the current
• Diode
A device which allows current
to flow in only one direction, and
prevents the flow of current from
the opposite direction
• Tri-colour LED
Similar to 3 LEDs of different
colors wired together. This
is COMMON CATHODE type
and its connected to GND. Note
the positions of the leads and its
corresponding colors

• Resistor
Restricts the amount of current
that flows through it. The color
bands indicate resistance and
tolerance
• LDR (Light Dependent
Resistor) or Photoresistor
Its resistance varies depending
on the amount of light

• Push Button
A switch - makes contact
when the button is
pressed
• Speaker/Piezo Buzzer
Produces sound in response
to an electrical audio signal
input

• LCD (Liquid Crystal

Display)
Displays alphanumeric
characters based in digital
input signal. It can display
16 characters over 2 lines
• IR LED (Infra-red LED)
Similar to LED but the light is
not visible. Infra-red is like
heat, not visible to the naked
eye. The longer lead is (+)
anode
• IR Phototransistor
A transistor which current
depends on the amount of IR
light. The longer lead is the
EMITTER. This component is
tinted black to prevent
interference from visible light
• Potentiometer
A simple knob that provides
a variable resistance, which
we can read into the Arduino
board as an analog value

• DC Motor
A motor in which speed can
be varied by changing the
operating voltage or the
strength of the magnetic
field
• Capacitor
Stores electrical charge - used
in timer circuits to smooth
power fluctuation and to
block direct current (DC)

• Servo Motor
A motor in which the angular
position of the shaft is
determined by the duration
of pulses (PWM signal) to the
control terminal
• Transistor
A device which can behave
either as a switch or an
amplifier. It acts as a switch
or amplify electronic or
electric signals
 Colors on Resistors
• Reading colour bands of any resistor is easy.
For most resistors, there are 4 coloured bands.
The 1st & 2nd bands indicate the digits while
the 3rd band indicate # of zeros and the last (4th)
band indicate its tolerance. For simplicity, we
shall ignore the 4th band.
• Example
In the diagram given,
the order of the color
bands is as follows:
1st: Red (2)
2nd: Black (0)
3rd: Black (x1)
•
Resistor Value: 20Ω
• More Examples
Solve the resistor values of these colored bands:

• brown green brown (150Ω)

• yellow purple brow (470Ω)

• brown black orange

(10kΩ)
Sketch Structure

• The sketch on the Arduino App works on a

simplified C Programming language. It consists
of 3 main parts namely:

• Declaration: declaring your libraries, variables

and data types
• Preparation: Initialise the program once
• Execution: Run the program continuously,
unless otherwise specified
• Declaration

• libraries (e.g. <Servo.h> )

• data types (e.g. int, const int, char)

Example

• include <Servo.h>
• const int motor = 9;
• Preparation{

• begins and ends with { curly brackets }

• pinMode (pin, mode)
• Serial.begin (baud rate)
• lcd.begin (x, y)
• delay ( )
• void loop ()
{
• Example:
• pinMode (motor, OUTPUT); // set pin 9 as an
output
• Serial.begin (9600); // initialises the Serial
Monitor
• lcd.begin (0,0); // initialises the
display at coordinate 0,0
• delay (3000); // pause for 3000ms
(or 3 secs) for looping
•}
• Execution
void loop ()
{

• begins and ends with { curly brackets }

• function command
(e.g. digitalWrite, digitalRead, analogWrite,an
alogRead, tone)
• control command (e.g. if-else, for, while)
• algorithms or calculations
• Serial.print ("...") OR Serial.println ("...")
• lcd.print ("...") OR lcd.println ("...")
• delay ( )
•}
Example:
• void loop ()
{

• digitalWrite (motor, HIGH);

• Serial.print ("Motor is running at full
speed!");
• lcd.print ("Full speed ahead!");
• delay (3000);
Definitions of sketch structure
1. BASIC
setup( )
To initialise variables, pin modes, start using
libraries, etc. This function will only run once, after
each power or rest of the Arduino board

loop( )
Does precisely what its name suggest, and loops
consecutively, allowing your sketch to change and
respond. Comes after creating a setup( ) function
2. Pin State
• INPUT | OUTPUT
Alters the electrical behaviour of the pin. Used with the pinMode( ) command
INPUT: Useful for reading a sensor, or sending in a signal to the Arduino
OUTPUT: Useful to powering LEDs, or sending out a signal to a
component

HIGH | LOW
Writing or Reading a value to a digital pin, with varying behaviours when pin is
declared as an input or an output

a) HIGH (w INPUT)
- read with the digitalRead( ) command
- reports if a voltage of 3V or more is present at pin

b) HIGH (w OUTPUT)
- write with the digitalWrite( ) command
- reports a voltage of 3V or more to a component
• c) LOW (w INPUT)
- reads with the digitalRead( ) command
- report LOW if a voltage of 2V or less is present
at the pin

d) LOW (w OUTPUT)
- writes with the digitalWrite( ) command
- reports a voltage of 0V to sink current e.g. to
light up an LED that is connected in series with a
resistor and +5V.
3. Syntax
• // (single line comment)
Comments are lines in the sketch that are used to inform
yourself or others about the way the program works. They
are ignored by the computer

; (semicolon)
Used to end a statement

{ } (curly braces)
To contain your program lines as a whole part
under setup( ) and loop( )functions. Every time you open a
brace '{', close it at the end '}'
4. Data Types

• int: primary data type of storing

integers. e.g. 3, 24. -25
const int: stores a constant integer
value. e.g. ledPin = 3, tonePin = 5
float: stores values which has a decimal
point. e.g. 3.13, 2.0
char: stores a character value. e.g. 'A', "ABC"
void: is a keyword used only in function
declaration. e.g. void loop()
Useful Commands
• Commands in sketch is very useful and easy to
understand. Here, we shall explore 2 different
categories of commands:

• Function, and
• Control
Function
• Digital

pinMode (pin, mode)

Configure a pin either an INPUT or OUTPUT mode. "pin" is the pin
number between 0 and 19 (digital input/output ranges 0 - 13, while
analog input ranges A0 - A5)

digitalWrite (pin, value)

Once a pin is configured as an OUTPUT, its value can be set
either HIGH(+5V) or LOW (ground)

digitalRead (pin)
Reads the value from a specified pin, either HIGH or LOW

tone (pin, frequency, duration)

Produces an ON/OFF signal (or a note) very much like the PWM signal.
However unlike the PWM signal which repeats itself at a fixed interval,
the interval for tone signal is not fixed.
Note that the frequency is in Hertz (Hz) and duration in millisecond (ms)
• Analog

analogWrite (pin, value)

Pin 3, 5, 6, 9, 10 and 11 support PWM (Pulse Width
Modulation), a kind of rapid ON and OFF signal
that simulates analog signal. At a value of 0, the
signal is completely OFF while a value of 255, the
signal is completely ON
analogRead (pin)
Reads the value from a specified analog INPUT pin.
The value ranges from 0 to 1023, corresponding to
input voltages between 0 to 5V
Control
• if (condition)
{ }
This will execute the codes between the curly brackets if condition is
TRUE

if (condition)
{action a}
else
{action b}
This will execute action a if condition is TRUE, else action b is executed

for (int x = 0; x < 10; x++)

{ }
Used to repeat a block of codes a number of times. In this case x is
initialised with 0, and will be incremented (can be decremented as well
using x--) as long as x < 10. As a result, the block of codes within the
curly brackets will be repeated 10 times
EXERCISE # 1 BLINK
You will write a program to make the LED blink.
Software Discovery: Constants, Digital
Output
Other Discovery: LED

Qty Part
1 LED
1 Resistor [150Ω]
 CODES
int led = 3; // LED connected to digital pin 13

void setup() // run once, when the sketch starts

{
pinMode(led, OUTPUT); // sets the digital pin as output
}
void loop() // run over and over again forever
{
digitalWrite(led, HIGH); // turn the LED on
delay(1000); // wait for a second
digitalWrite(led, LOW); // turn the LED off delay(1000); // wait
for a second
}