(1) Download the Project.zip file and unzip it. Load up the ProjectWorldOnePath world:

The overall goal of this project is to get 3 robots to work together to each find 2 jars and deliver them to their matching color location. Each student on the team must implement their own code for their individual  robot. It is up to the team members to decide which robot will deliver which jars, but each robot must deliver two jars. The robots are each equipped with a front-end gripper that can grab and lift a single jar at one time (see image here). The robots all have a compass, camera,  touch sensor (to detect when ajar has been bumped into), an accelerometer, sonar sensors and a laser range finder. The robots do NOT have their position available, so you may not ask for the robot’s position. You MUST NOT modify the robot sensors nor actuators nor the environment world file.

You will work together as teams (chosen by the instructor) of three students to accomplish this … where each student writes the controller code for one of three robots. You will need to decide which student will collect which jars. Even though you must each write your own code, you may  share ideas (but not code). Ultimately, you will all end up working together since all three robots must be working properly to get the task done without interfering with each other. So, please spend time helping your teammates if they are having problems.

Each student will receive individual marks according to how well their robot accomplishes its  task. The team itself will also receive marks according to how much was accomplished in the end.

Rules:

•    Each robot’s code must be written in either ProjectController1.java, ProjectController2.java or ProjectController3.java. Some code has already been written to get you started.

•   The robots MUST NOT use a GPS nor a Supervisor class nor anything that gives the robot’s location or orientation directly. If  you want to know the (x,y) position at any time, you will have to compute it yourself. The compass can be used to obtain the orientation.

•   The robot MUST find each jar (use the camera) and then drop it off in front of the wall with that corresponding color (see image   here on the right). The jar should be close to the wall as shown, but need not be right up against the wall.

•   Once a robot has completed dropping off both jars, it should stop running with a System.exit(0); call and stay near the drop off location. See image below:

•    Robots should NOT collide with any objects nor with any other robots, otherwise points will be lost.

Tips:

•   To start, place ajar in front of your robot and set your robot to not move. Display the RGB

values as the program runs to determine the appropriate RGB value range for your color of jar.  Ensure that the RGB values that you use do not detect other jars, robots of obstacles. You can HARD-CODE these values into your program.  The drop off locations should be the same color as the jars.

•    Draw yourself a state machine and add to it as you go. See if you can home in on ajar and detect it.

•    Once you detect … see if you can grab it and pick it up a bit.  Keep in mind that once you pick  up ajar, your robot will see that jar in the bottom half of the camera image while it is holding it.  You can click on a robot and then select Camera Devices from the Overlays menu and select Show ‘camera’ overlay to see what the robot sees as it is moving around.  This will help you.

•   As your robot moves towards a drop off location while holding ajar, watch the camera view and see if you can come up with (1) an idea to home in on the drop off location, and (2) an  idea to decide when you are close enough to drop off the jar.

•    Much of your time will be spent on moving around the environment and trying not to hit anything. You can always get all of that working first before you look for jars. Remember to draw your state machine with all the obstacle avoidance and steering that you need.

•   Once your code works correctly, record a video of your robot completing its task on its own. You will submit this. Only then should you work towards making the code work along with your teammates. You’ll need to find a way to detect and avoid colliding with other robots. You should discuss this as a team.

•   You may want to make use of the laser rangefinder for moving around or possibly do wall-following, or you can try to use dead-reckoning to travel … remember though that you cannot access your position from the Supervisor class not any other method … you would need to calculate it manually as you move.

•   You can alter and save the environment for testing purposes but you MUST use the original environment when doing your final video and testing as a team.

•   Some of you will have slow computers which could make things painful to test.  You can always remove a lot of the objects and create a more basic environment for testing your code at first. Keep in mind that you need to press the save button (looks like a diskette icon) each time that you modify the environment. Before you do any of this, make a backup of the original environment, otherwise you will need to download the project zip file and extract it later.

Marking for Individual Students (10 marks)

If a robot uses a Supervisor class or the robot has been modified by adding/removing sensors/actuators … the student gets 0 on the project!!! If the student copied any portions of code from a student on another team, the student gets 0 on the project and the case is sent to the Dean’s Office for investigation of plagiarism. You should discus ideas with your teammates … but you must not be copying their code. Your teammates may help debug your code with you, if they have time and are willing.

The following marking scheme is used:

• 2 marks – one mark for each jar robot finds and grabs successfully

• 1 mark – robot quits after delivering (or believing that it has delivered) 2 jars

• 1 mark – robot avoids collisions with walls and objects the whole time (running into jars is ok, but can ruin your team’s ability to complete)

• 1 mark – robot avoids collisions with walls and objects the whole time (running into jars is ok, but can ruin your team’s ability to complete)

• 1 mark – robot avoids collisions with robots the whole time.  If a robot runs into you from the back or side, you do not lose this mark, but if you graze a robot or run head on together, you lose this mark.

• 4 marks – 2 marks for each jar dropped off to the “correct” location. Jars that are not placed properly at their destination will NOT lose marks … so the jars shown here on the right are acceptable for 1 mark each.