ECE 4550 Section 3 Spring 2016

Mariobots

What is the course about?

Students will use a graphical dataflow programming paradigm to develop a simulated traffic management system.   Individual autonomous robots will play the roles of vehicles that obey basic traffic laws (stay in lane, stop at red light, maintain adequate distance).   The iRobot Create systems are controlled using the myRIO platform programmed in LabVIEW using interacting state machines.   There will be paper assignments, programming assignments, lab assignments and modeling assignments.

What topics will we cover?

• Dataflow programming: students will learn LabVIEW, a graphical dataflow programming language developed by National Instruments (NI).
• State machine concepts:  Students will learn how to specify and analyze interacting state machines for controlling the robot  and its interactions with the environment.
• iRobot navigation, sensing and actuation: Students will learn the specifics of controlling the iRobot using the LabVIEW interface to sensors and actuators.

What is a mariobot ?

The mariobot is an iRobot Create which is controlled by a National Instruments myRIO.

The mariobot can "see" using a USB WebCam as well as several built-in sensors (an IR sensor, cliff sensors, bump sensors).   Movement can be effected by controlling the 2 wheels.   You can also generate some sound using the speaker.

What textbook will we use?

Effective LabVIEW Programming is available as an ebook ($31.20) or as a softcover text ($70 but the shipping is expensive)