10th ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM of ROBOTICS and MACHINE INTELLIGENCE
Elizabethtown College Gibble Auditorium
April 19, 2011
9:30am-12:00pm
Session Chairs: Elizabeth Starkey and J. Wunderlich, Ph.D.
9:30am
RMI Talk #1: “Wunderbot Parallel
Programming and Coding Alternatives”
by Elizabeth Starkey and Mark Yorgey
Wunderbot 6 is presently being retooled to implement new
undergraduate research including possibly new parallel-processing hardware and
software. Additionally, new computer programming languages and platforms are
being explored. This research was completed as a semester project for EGR/CS230
“Microcomputer Architecture”
9:45am
RMI Talk #2: “Wunderbot Vision
Upgrades”
by Mike Conlow
LabVIEW 8.5 has been used In recent years to develop a vision system for Elizabethtown
College Wunderbot’s. This software has presented
systems integration problems; for example the vision system (along with other
sensor information) needs to interface more elegantly with motor control and
path-planning. Due to the volatility of the trial software used to capture
images in LabVIEW, all LabVIEW
software must be removed and reinstalled in the proper order; otherwise the
system will require the full USB interfacing software to be purchased. When
the Wunderbot is receiving the image in LabVIEW the amount of filtering and positioning of the
camera needs to be adjusted to perform optimally. Also, since the Phoenix Contact company has recently
donated an advanced Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) that uses the IEC-61131
standard, new Wunderbot computer hardware and
software platform can be explored, and digital image processing capabilities of
this PLC can be assessed. Using IEC-61131 should work well as long as the PLC
can handle digital image processing with ease, and since IEC-61131 is capable
of coding in a variety of standards (structured text, functional blocks, and
instruction lists), the power of each of these can also be explored. Currently
no other student knows the details of how the Wunderbot
vision system has been developed, so one of the Robotics and Machine
Intelligence Club members who will be here next year has assisted me so they
can carry on the work after this semester. This research was completed for EGR491/492
“Engineering Senior Project.” A related POSTER has been made.
10:00am
RMI Talk #3: “Genetic
Algorithms”
by Ashley
Jordan
Genetic Algorithms are
implemented in computer programs such that random permutations, inheritance,
and heuristic searches lead to the solution of complex problems. This research
was completed as a semester project for EGR/CS230
“Microcomputer Architecture”
10:15am
RMI Talk #4: "Neural Network Theory and Applications”
by Coty Morrison
Neural networks have
been part of the Robotics and Machine Intelligence initiatives at Elizabethtown
College for many years. This talk reviews some recent analysis and implementation
of Artificial Neural Networks. This research was completed as a one-credit EGR280
“Engineering Research” project.
10:30am
RMI Talk #5: “Remote-Controlled
Multi-Shot T-Shirt Cannon”
by Sean Flanagan
A Tel-net
client-equipped cell phone is used to send commands to a computer that
uses a modified USB missile launcher to trigger various relays, which fire
cannons via sprinkler valves which in turn trigger a more
powerful piston valve. Cannons are powered by compressed air. This
research was completed as a semester project for EGR/CS230
“Microcomputer Architecture.”
10:45am BREAK
11:00am
RMI Talk #6: “How Full-authority
Fly-by-wire Flight Control Systems Opened up a New
Frontier in Transformational Aircraft; namely, the Tiltrotor"
by Clayton Belcher
For as long as aviation has
been around, control surfaces have traditionally been physically linked to the
pilot's controls (i.e., pushrods, pulleys, cables, etc.), and the pilot has had
full-authority over those control surfaces. The single most profound
challenge in developing the Tiltrotor was to solve
the problem of transforming from helicopter, to airplane, and vice versa.
This meant developing and aircraft with BOTH helicopter and airplane control
surfaces, that could be controlled by the same pilot. The Tiltrotor could only be fully realized through the
integration of a software controlled fly-by-wire system that could
automatically "wash-out" degrees of deflection during
conversion. In essence, it's ultimately the flight control computers that
have full-authority over the thrust and control surfaces based on their
interpretation of the pilot's input and nacelle angle. This research was
completed as a project for the BOEING
Company and has been incorporated into the course content for EGR/CS333
“Digital Design and Interfacing.” A related POSTER has been made.
11:15am
RMI Talk #7: “Phoenix-Contact IEC61131 Advanced Programmable
Logic Controllers (PLC’s)”
by James Kelly
Elizabethtown
College’s Engineering professors Dr. Wunderlich and Dr. Estrada have
recently agreed to be the first faculty in the United States to be part of an
international engineering educational initiative, the “EduNet,”
which presently includes universities in Austria, Belgium, China, Germany,
Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Spain, and Turkey. This initiative involves
integrating high-end Phoenix Contact IEC61131 advanced Programmable Logic
Controllers (PLC's) into engineering courses. Dr. Wunderlich and Dr.
Estrada will be to traveling annually to international locations to collaborate
with many universities about teaching such technologies. The student giving
this talk was present during the final meeting with Phoenix Contact executives
to formalize this agreement, and this talk will provide an overview of the
capabilities of these advanced PLC’s. This research was completed as a semester
project for EGR/CS230
“Microcomputer Architecture.”
RMI
Talk #8: “Automated Hydroponic Garden using a
Phoenix-Contact NanoLC PLC”
by
Dan Fenton
and Jacqueline Westman
A hydroponic
garden is a fast and effective way of growing plants through soilless culture
while conserving a valuable resource: water. However, routine
maintenance of plants requires much time and attention. This project
automates watering, lighting, and a pH balancing system using a Phoenix Contact
"NanoLC" Programmable Logic
Controller (PLC). By using this controller, the garden takes care of
itself. The garden pulls water from a reservoir via a pump to irrigate
the plants, and when the plants’ growing medium can no longer hold any more
water, it drips back into the reservoir. The programmed timing of water,
light exposure, and pH regulation could eliminate under-watering and
insufficient plant growth. Implementing this project on a large scale
could provide food for an entire season. The costs of these systems are
relatively inexpensive, meaning implementation and experimentation is possible.
This research was completed for EGR492
“Engineering Senior Project.” A related POSTER has been made.
Abstract: In January
2011 Wunderbot 6 was demonstrated to 160 of
the top executives of the Phoenix Contact company; a
10,000-member, multi-billion dollar International Corporation; this included demonstrating
new environmental sampling capabilities of the robot (a EGR491
“Engineering Senior Project” by Dan Fenton and Jacqueline Westman, plus a major semester project
in EGR/CS332
“Computer Organization and Architecture” by Elizabeth Starkey, Mark
Yorgey, Zachary Johnson, James Kelly, and Chris Janssen. This talk will include next year’s plans for
the Robotics and Machine Intelligence Club. A related POSTER has been made.
"Five
Years of Boeing Engineering while pursuing a BS in Computer Engineering"
“Automated
Hydroponic Garden using a
Phoenix-Contact NanoLC PLC”
by Jacqueline Westman and Dan Fenton
“The
Robotics and Machine Intelligence (RMI) Club”
Faculty supervisor: J. WUNDERLICH Ph.D.