Cognitive Robotics: Lab 3 & Homework 2

The Mirage simulator allows you to run a virtual robot in a simulated environment. In the first part of this lab you will learn how to run Mirage and drive your robot around in a virtual world.

1. Follow the instructions on the Running Mirage page on the Tekkosu wiki, except:
   • Instead of using the tictactoe.mirage world, use VeeTags.mirage instead.

   • To start Tekkotsu in the middle tab, use the following command:

     ./tekkotsu-CALLIOPE5KP -c mirage.plist Drivers.Mirage.InitialLocation.0=-500
     

     The -500 parameter is necessary to prevent the robot from starting up at the origin, where its arm would be embedded in the wall.

2. Once you have Mirage running, review the Mirage keyboard commands.

3. Use the Walk Controller to drive the robot around. Note that Mirage's "r" command (for "reload") can be used to reset the robot to its initial position and orientation.

1. Run the VeeTags demo in Root Control > Framework Demos > Navigation Demos > VeeTags. VeeTags is a child of PilotDemo so you can use all the built-in PilotDemo commands.

2. Click on the "W" in ControllerGUI's Sketch row (not the Teleop row) to pop up the world map.

3. Try some PilotDemo commands ("F" and "L" are good choices) to drive the robot around. For example, to move forward by 500 mm you would type "msg F" to Tekkotsu's command prompt in your terminal window. You could also do this with the Walk Control, but on the real robot odometry is not accurate using the Walk Control due to wheel slip and acceleration errors at high speeds, and the Create's hardware odometry bug at low angular velocities.

4. Notice how the particle cloud in the world map spreads out as the robot moves, due to accumulated noise.

5. The floor of the Mirage world is a grid with tiles that are 1 meter square. As the Pilot moves the robot, it outputs the robot's estimated position and heading; you can also see this in the World SketchGUI display of the Agent shape. Compare the estimated position to the robot's true position on the grid.

1. When a Tekkotsu behavior starts up, the robot normally thinks it's at (0,0) and facing north. But we inserted it into the Mirage world at (-500,0). We can use visual landmarks to localize the robot and correct its position error. First type "r" in Mirage to reset the robot's position. Then stop the VeeTags behavior, and start it again. The robot now thinks it's at (0,0).

2. In the ControllerGUI, turn on the RawCam viewer, and use the Head Controller to tilt the camera down so the robot can see at least two AprilTags.

3. Use the PilotDemo's loc command (type "msg loc" to the Tekkotsu command prompt) to localize the robot. The first time you do this, it has no effect, but try it a second time. What is the robot's updated position estimate? Try "loc" a third time and see how the estimate changes.

4. Use the PilotDemo's B and L commands to back up by 500 mm and turn to the left. Then give the loc command again. Now that the robot knows where it is, it can automatically turn the head to look in the direction where the landmarks should be visible. Does the updated pose match the robot's actual pose?

1. This part should be done as a group for efficiency's sake. Move the robot to the playpen. It can run on battery power, but you'll want to hook up an Ethernet cable because WiFi doesn't work well in the lab. Fold up the arm so it doesn't bump into the walls.

2. Use the PilotDemo behavior in Root Control > Framework Demos > Navigation Demos > PilotDemo to drive the robot around in the playpen. Have it move forward by a meter. What is the robot's position estimate?

3. Use a tape measure to measure the actual distance the robot traveled. Do this several times. How accurate is the robot's translational odometry?

4. Have the robot turn 90 degrees left and then 90 degrees right. How close does it end up to its original heading?

Do this exercise for homework. You can do it in Mirage using an empty world (just run Mirage with no arguments).

1. Write a three-node state machine called StarLeg that causes the robot to first travel forward by 750 mm, then turn right by 144°; you can use the ForwardBy and Turn nodes for this. Finally your behavior should post a completion event by using a PostMachineCompletion node. You will need this completion event for the next step.

2. Write a state machine Star5 that calls the StarLeg state machine (nested inside it) five times, causing the robot to execute a trajectory in the shape of a five-pointed star. Make Star5 a child of PilotDemo, and name your first state node rundemo so it shows up in the PilotDemo menu. Note: you will need to #include the file Behaviors/Demos/Navigation/PilotDemo.h.

3. Start the Star5 behavior, then bring up the world map by clicking on "W" in the Sketch row of the ControllerGUI. Note that the Agent shape (the robot) starts out at (0,0) with heading 0.

4. Note the initial position and heading of your robot. Type "msg rundemo" to start the robot on its trajectory. If the robot moves perfectly, it should end up back at its starting pose. Where does the robot actually end up?

5. Look in the SketchGUI and record the Agent's estimated position and heading. How closely do they match the robot's actual pose? How far have the localization particles dispersed?

6. Double click on Star5 to stop the behavior. When you start it again, the robot's pose will again be initialized to (0,0) with heading 0°. Run the behavior four more times and record the robot's estimated position and heading at the end of each run. Report the values for all five runs in a table and also give the mean and the standard deviation. Hand in this table as part of your lab report, along with your code.