Home > Store

Robot Programming: A Guide to Controlling Autonomous Robots

Register your product to gain access to bonus material or receive a coupon.

Robot Programming: A Guide to Controlling Autonomous Robots

eBook (Watermarked)

  • Your Price: $15.99
  • List Price: $19.99
  • Includes EPUB and PDF
  • About eBook Formats
  • This eBook includes the following formats, accessible from your Account page after purchase:

    ePub EPUB The open industry format known for its reflowable content and usability on supported mobile devices.

    Adobe Reader PDF The popular standard, used most often with the free Adobe® Reader® software.

    This eBook requires no passwords or activation to read. We customize your eBook by discreetly watermarking it with your name, making it uniquely yours.

Description

  • Copyright 2016
  • Dimensions: 7" x 9-1/8"
  • Pages: 400
  • Edition: 1st
  • eBook (Watermarked)
  • ISBN-10: 0-13-417665-0
  • ISBN-13: 978-0-13-417665-9

 

Start programming robots NOW!

 

Learn hands-on, through easy examples, visuals, and code

 

This is a unique introduction to programming robots to execute tasks autonomously. Drawing on years of experience in artificial intelligence and robot programming, Cameron and Tracey Hughes introduce the reader to basic concepts of programming robots to execute tasks without the use of remote controls.

 

Robot Programming: A Guide to Controlling Autonomous Robots takes the reader on an adventure through the eyes of Midamba, a lad who has been stranded on a desert island and must find a way to program robots to help him escape. In this guide, you are presented with practical approaches and techniques to program robot sensors, motors, and translate your ideas into tasks a robot can execute autonomously. These techniques can be used on today’s leading robot microcontrollers (ARM9 and ARM7) and robot platforms (including the wildly popular low-cost Arduino platforms, LEGO® Mindstorms EV3, NXT, and Wowee RS Media Robot) for your hardware/Maker/DIY projects. Along the way the reader will learn how to:



  • Program robot sensors and motors
  • Program a robot arm to perform a task
  • Describe the robot’s tasks and environments in a way that a robot can process using robot S.T.O.R.I.E.S.
  • Develop a R.S.V.P. (Robot Scenario Visual Planning) used for designing the robot’s tasks in an environment
  • Program a robot to deal with the “unexpected” using robot S.P.A.C.E.S.
  • Program robots safely using S.A.R.A.A. (Safe Autonomous Robot Application Architecture) Approach
  • Program robots using Arduino C/C++ and Java languages
  • Use robot programming techniques with LEGO® Mindstorms EV3, Arduino, and other ARM7 and ARM9-based robots.


Downloads

Downloads

Download the source files (71 KB .zip)

Sample Content

Sample Pages

Download the sample pages (includes Chapter 3 and Index)

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

    Robot Programming Boot Camp 2

    Ready, Set, Go! No Wires or Strings Attached 2

    Boot Camp Fundamentals 3

    Core Robot Programming Skills Introduced in This Book 4

        BURT–Basic Universal Robot Translator 4

        BRON–Bluetooth Robot Oriented Network 6

    Assumptions About the Reader’s Robot(s) 6

    How Midamba Learned to Program a Robot 7

1    What Is a Robot Anyway? 9

    The Seven Criteria of Defining a Robot 10

        Criterion #1: Sensing the Environment 11

        Criterion #2: Programmable Actions and Behavior 11

        Criterion #3: Change, Interact with, or Operate on Environment 11

        Criterion #4: Power Source Required 11

        Criterion #5: A Language Suitable for Representing Instructions and Data 12

        Criterion #6: Autonomy Without External Intervention 12

        Criterion #7: A Nonliving Machine 13

        Robot Categories 13

        What Is a Sensor? 16

        What Is an Actuator? 17

        What Is an End-Effector? 18

        What Is a Controller? 19

        What Scenario Is the Robot In? 23

    Giving the Robot Instructions 25

        Every Robot Has a Language 25

        Meeting the Robot’s Language Halfway 27

        How Is the Robot Scenario Represented in Visual Programming Environments? 30

        Midamba’s Predicament 30

        What’s Ahead? 32

2    Robot Vocabularies 33

    Why the Additional Effort? 34

    Identify the Actions 38

    The Autonomous Robot’s ROLL Model 39

        Robot Capabilities 41

        Robot Roles in Scenarios and Situations 42

        What’s Ahead? 44

3    RSVP: Robot Scenario Visual Planning 47

    Mapping the Scenario 48

        Creating a Floorplan 49

        The Robot’s World 52

        RSVP READ SET 53

    Pseudocode and Flowcharting RSVP 56

        Flow of Control and Control Structures 60

        Subroutines 64

    Statecharts for Robots and Objects 66

        Developing a Statechart 68

        What’s Ahead? 72

4    Checking the Actual Capabilities of Your Robot 73

    The Reality Check for the Microcontroller 76

    Sensor Reality Check 79

        Determine Your Robot’s Sensor Limitations 81

    Actuators End-Effectors Reality Check 84

    REQUIRE Robot Effectiveness 87

        What’s Ahead? 89

5    A Close Look at Sensors 91

    What Do Sensors Sense? 92

        Analog and Digital Sensors 95

        Reading Analog and Digital Signals 97

        The Output of a Sensor 99

        Where Readings Are Stored 100

        Active and Passive Sensors 101

        Sensor Interfacing with Microcontrollers 103

        Attributes of Sensors 107

        Range and Resolution 108

        Precision and Accuracy 108

        Linearity 109

        Sensor Calibration 110

        Problems with Sensors 111

        End User Calibration Process 112

        Calibration Methods 112

        What’s Ahead? 114

6    Programming the Robot’s Sensors 115

    Using the Color Sensor 116

        Color Sensor Modes 118

        Detection Range 119

        Lighting in the Robot’s Environment 119

        Calibrating the Color Sensor 119

        Programming the Color Sensor 120

    Digital Cameras Used to Detect and Track Color Objects 124

    Tracking Colored Objects with RS Media 124

    Tracking Colored Objects with the Pixy Vision Sensor 128

        Training Pixy to Detect Objects 129

        Programming the Pixy 130

        A Closer Look at the Attributes 134

    Ultrasonic Sensor 135

        Ultrasonic Sensor Limitations and Accuracy 135

        Modes of the Ultrasonic Sensor 139

        Sample Readings 140

        Data Types for Sensor Reading 141

        Calibration of the Ultrasonic Sensor 141

        Programming the Ultrasonic Sensor 143

    Compass Sensor Calculates Robot’s Heading 153

        Programming the Compass 154

        What’s Ahead? 157

7    Programming Motors and Servos 159

    Actuators Are Output Transducers 159

        Motor Characteristics 160

        Voltage 160

        Current 161

        Speed 161

        Torque 161

        Resistance 161

    Different Types of DC Motors 161

        Direct Current (DC) Motors 162

        Speed and Torque 165

        Motors with Gears 167

    Motor Configurations: Direct and Indirect Drivetrains 177

    Terrain Challenge for Indoor and Outdoor Robots 178

        Dealing with Terrain Challenges 179

        Torque Challenge for Robot Arm and End-Effectors 182

        Calculating Torque and Speed Requirements 182

        Motors and REQUIRE 183

    Programming the Robot to Move 184

        One Motor, Two, Three, More? 185

        Making the Moves 186

        Programming the Moves 186

        Programming Motors to Travel to a Location 191

        Programming Motors Using Arduino 198

    Robotic Arms and End-Effectors 200

        Robot Arms of Different Types 201

        Torque of the Robot Arm 203

        Different Types of End-Effectors 205

        Programming the Robot Arm 208

        Calculating Kinematics 212

        What’s Ahead? 216

8    Getting Started with Autonomy: Building Your Robot’s Softbot Counterpart 219

    Softbots: A First Look 222

        Parts Section 224

        The Actions Section 224

        The Tasks Section 224

        The Scenarios/Situations Section 224

    The Robot’s ROLL Model and Softbot Frame 225

        BURT Translates Softbots Frames into Classes 227

        Our First Pass at Autonomous Robot Program Designs 239

        What’s Ahead? 240

9    Robot SPACES 241

    A Robot Needs Its SPACES 242

        The Extended Robot Scenario 242

        The REQUIRE Checklist 245

        What Happens If Pre/Postconditions Are Not Met? 248

        What Action Choices Do I Have If Pre/Postconditions Are Not Met? 248

    A Closer Look at Robot Initialization Postconditions 249

        Power Up Preconditions and Postconditions 251

        Coding Preconditions and Postconditions 252

        Where Do the Pre/Postconditions Come From? 257

    SPACES Checks and RSVP State Diagrams 262

        What’s Ahead? 263

10    An Autonomous Robot Needs STORIES 265

    It’s Not Just the Actions! 266

        Birthday Robot Take 2 266

        Robot STORIES 268

        The Extended Robot Scenario 269

        Converting Unit1’s Scenario into STORIES 269

        A Closer Look at the Scenario’s Ontology 271

        Paying Attention to the Robot’s Intention 282

        Object-Oriented Robot Code and Efficiency Concerns 304

        What’s Ahead? 306

11    Putting It All Together: How Midamba Programmed His First Autonomous Robot 307

    Midamba’s Initial Scenario 307

        Midamba Becomes a Robot Programmer Overnight! 308

        Step 1. Robots in the Warehouse Scenario 310

        Step 2. The Robot’s Vocabulary and ROLL Model for Facility Scenario #1 312

        Step 3. RSVP for Facility Scenario #1 313

        Visual Layouts of a Robot POV Diagram 315

        Midamba’s Facility Scenario #1 (Refined) 316

        Graphical Flowchart Component of the RSVP 317

        State Diagram Component of the RSVP 324

    Midamba’s STORIES for Robot Unit1 and Unit2 325

        Autonomous Robots to Midamba’s Rescue 338

    Endnote 342

        What’s Ahead? 342

12    Open Source SARAA Robots for All! 343

    Low-Cost, Open-Source, Entry-Level Robots 344

        Scenario-Based Programming Supports Robot Safety and Programmer Responsibility 345

        SARAA Robots for All 346

        Recommendations for First-Time Robot Programmers 348

        Complete RSVPs, STORIES, and Source Code for Midamba’s Scenario 349

A    BURT’s Gotchas 351

TOC, 9780789755001, 4/19/16

    

Updates

Submit Errata

More Information

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020