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BEAM robotics
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The word "beam" in BEAM robotics is an acronym for Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics. This is a term that refers to a style of robotics that primarily uses simple analogue circuits, such as comparators, instead of a microprocessor in order to produce an unusually simple design (in comparison to traditional mobile robots) that trades flexibility for robustness and efficiency in performing the task for which it was designed. Exceptions to the convention of using only analog electronics do exist and these are often colloquially referred to as "mutants". BEAM robots typically consist of a set of the aforementioned analog circuits (mimicking biological neurons) which facilitate the robot's response to its working environment.
Contents
1 Mechanisms and principles 2 BEAM robots 2.1 Disputes in the name 2.2 Microcontrollers 2.3 Types 2.4 General 3 Applications and current progress 4 Publications 5 See also 6 Cited references 7 External links
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designs, and meso-scale (palm-sized) robot construction techniques have been documented and shared by the BEAM community.[1]
BEAM robots
Being focused on "reaction-based" behaviors (as originally inspired by the work of Rod Brooks), BEAM robotics attempts to copy the characteristics and behaviors of natural organisms, with the ultimate goal of domesticating these "wild" robots. BEAM robotics also promotes the value of aesthetics in the design of the device, proving the adage "form follows function".
Microcontrollers
Unlike many other types of robots controlled by microcontrollers, BEAM robots are built on the principle of using multiple simple behaviours linked directly to sensor systems with little signal conditioning. This design philosophy is closely echoed in the classic book "Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology".[2] Through a series of thought experiments, this book explores the development of complex robot behaviours through simple inhibitory and excitory sensor links to the actuators. Microcontrollers and programming are usually not a part of a traditional (aka., "pure" ) BEAM robot due to the very low-level hardware-centric design philosophy. There are successful robot designs mating the two technologies. These "hybrids" fulfil a requirement needing robust control systems with the flexibility of dynamic programming, like the "horse-and-rider" topology BEAMbots (e.g. the ScoutWalker 3 [3]). The physical robot body (the "horse") is controlled by traditional BEAM technology, and the microcontroller and programming influences (and if needed, subsumes) the robot body from the "rider" position . The rider component is not necessary for the robot to function, but without it the robot will lose the important influence of a "smarter brain" telling it what to do.
Types
There are various "-trope" BEAMbots, which attempt to achieve a specific goal. Of the series, the phototropes are the most prevalent, as light-seeking would be the most beneficial behaviour for a solar-powered robot. Audiotropes react to sound sources. Audiophiles go towards sound sources. Audiophobes go away from sound sources.
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Phototropes ("light-seekers") react to light sources. Photophiles (also Photovores) go toward light sources. Photophobes go away from light sources. Radiotropes react to radio frequency sources. Radiophiles go toward RF sources. Radiophobes go away from RF sources. Thermotropes react to heat sources. Thermophiles go toward heat sources. Thermophobes go away from heat sources.
General
BEAMbots have a variety of movements and positioning mechanisms. These include: Sitters: Unmoving robots that have a physically passive purpose. Beacons: Transmit a signal (usually a navigational blip) for other BEAMbots to use. Pummers: Display a "light show". Ornaments: A catch-all name for sitters that are not beacons or pummers. Squirmers: Stationary robots that perform an interesting action (usually by moving some sort of limbs or appendages). Magbots: Utilize magnetic fields for their mode of animation. Flagwavers: Move a display (or "flag") around at a certain frequency. Heads: Pivot and follow some detectable phenomena, such as a light (These are popular in the BEAM community. They can be stand-alone robots, but are more often incorporated into a larger robot.). Vibrators: Use a small pager motor with an off-centre weight to shake themselves about. Sliders: Robots that move by sliding body parts smoothly along a surface while remaining in contact with it. Snakes: Move using a horizontal wave motion. Earthworms: Move using a longitudinal wave motion. Crawlers: Robots that move using tracks or by rolling the robot's body with some sort of appendage. The body of the robot is not dragged on the ground. Turbots: Roll their entire bodies using their arm(s) or flagella. Inchworms: Move part of their bodies ahead, while the rest of the chassis is on the ground. Tracked robots: Use tracked wheels, like a tank. Jumpers: Robots which propel themselves off the ground as a means of locomotion. Vibrobots: Produce an irregular shaking motion moving themselves around a surface. Springbots: Move forward by bouncing in one particular direction. Rollers: Robots that move by rolling all or part of their body. Symets: Driven using a single motor with its shaft touching the ground, and moves in different directions depending on which of several symmetric contact points around the shaft are touching the ground. Solarrollers: Solar-powered cars that use a single motor driving one or more wheels; often designed to complete a fairly short, straight and level course in the shortest amount of time. Poppers: Use two motors with separate solar engines; rely on differential sensors to achieve a goal. Miniballs: Shift their centre of mass, causing their spherical bodies to roll. Walkers: Robots that move using legs with differential ground contact. Motor Driven: Use motors to move their legs (typically 3 motors or less).
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Muscle Wire Driven: Utilize Nitinol (nickel - titanium alloy) wires for their leg actuators. Swimmers: Robots that move on or below the surface of a liquid (typically water). Boatbots: Operate on the surface of a liquid. Subbots: Operate under the surface of a liquid. Fliers: Robots that move through the air for sustained periods. Helicopters: Use a powered rotor to provide both lift and propulsion. Planes: Use fixed or flapping wings to generate lift. Blimps: Use a neutrally-buoyant balloon for lift. Climbers: Robot that moves up or down a vertical surface, usually on a track such as a rope or wire.
Publications
Patents U.S. Patent 613,809 (http://www.google.com/patents?vid=613809) - Method of and Apparatus for Controlling Mechanism of Moving Vehicle or Vehicles - Tesla's "telautomaton" patent; First logic gate. U.S. Patent 5,325,031 (http://www.google.com/patents?vid=5325031) - Adaptive robotic nervous systems and control circuits therefor - Tilden's patent; A self-stabilizing control circuit utilizing pulse delay circuits for controlling the limbs of a limbed robot, and a robot incorporating such a circuit; artificial "neurons". Books and papers
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Conrad, James M., and Jonathan W. Mills, "Stiquito: advanced experiments with a simple and inexpensive robot", The future for nitinol-propelled walking robots, Mark W. Tilden. Los Alamitos, Calif., IEEE Computer Society Press, c1998. LCCN 96029883 ISBN 0-8186-7408-3 Tilden, Mark W., and Brosl Hasslacher, "Living Machines (http://www.solarbotics.net/library/pdflib/pdf/living_machines.pdf) ". Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA. Tilden, Mark W. and Brosl Hasslacher, "The Design of "Living" Biomech Machines: How low can one go?" (http://downloads.solarbotics.net/pdf/living_biomech_machines.pdf) ". Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA. Still, Susanne, and Mark W. Tilden, "Controller for a four legged walking machine (http://www.solarbotics.net/library/pdflib/pdf/stirling97_still_tilden.pdf) ". ETH Zuerich, Institute of Neuroinformatics, and Biophysics Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory. Braitenberg, Valentino, "Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology", 1984. ISBN 0-262-52112-1 Rietman, Ed, "Experiments In Artificial Neural Networks", 1988. ISBN 0-8306-0237-2 Tilden, Mark W., and Brosl Hasslacher, "Robotics and Autonomous Machines: The Biology and Technology of Intelligent Autonomous Agents", LANL Paper ID: LA-UR-94-2636, Spring 1995. Dewdney, A.K. "Photovores: Intelligent Robots are Constructed From Castoffs". Scientific American Sept 1992, v267, n3, p42(1) Smit, Michael C., and Mark Tilden, "Beam Robotics". Algorithm, Vol. 2, No. 2, March 1991, Pg 15-19. Hrynkiw, David M., and Tilden, Mark W., "Junkbots, Bugbots, and Bots on Wheels", 2002. ISBN 0-07222601-3 (Book support website (http://junkbots.solarbotics.com) )
See also
People Mark Tilden: a robotics physicist. Brosl Hasslacher: a theoretical physicist. William Grey Walter: neurophysiologist and roboticist. Robotics Wired intelligence: a robot that has no programmed microprocessor and possesses analogue electronics between its sensors and motors that gives it seemingly intelligent actions. Behaviour-based robotics: branch of robotics that does not use an internal model of the environment. Emergent behaviour: the process of complex pattern formation from simpler rules. BEAMbot types Analogue robot: a robot that uses analog circuitry to go towards a simple goal Photovore: a robot that seeks light and uses it to power itself. Solarroller: a dragster robot run by solar light. Turtle (robot): early forms of the turtlebot were the beginning of BEAM work Stiquito: a hobbyist robot designed as a nitinol-powered hexapod walker Other
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List of protosciences: list of new area of scientific endeavour in the process of becoming established. Elements Nv network: Nv neurons connected in a loop. Monocore: This term can specifically mean one Nv neurons which is a simple oscillator. More generally, though, it is used to denote the connection of a pair of bicores. Bicores: Nv network loop-topology with two Nv neurons. There are grounded bicores and suspended bicores. Tricore: Nv network loop-topology with three Nv neurons. Microcores: Closed-loop implementation of a nervous net responsible for direct actuator control. Any Nv network greater than or equal to four, but specifically any multiple numeric prefixed cores (such as a Quadcore, Quincore, Hexcore, Septcore, Octacore, etc.) Braitenberg vehicles: robots that can exhibit intelligent behavior while remaining completely stateless.
Cited references
1. ^ BEAM community (http://www.solarbotics.net) 2. ^ Braitenberg, Valentino. Vehicles, Experiments in Synthetic Psychology (http://books.google.com/books? id=7KkUAT_q_sQC) . Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1984. Print. 3. ^ The ScoutWalker 3 (http://www.solarbotics.com/products/index.php?search_id=998) 4. ^ "BIODroid" Prototype gallery of the Robosapien (http://www.solarbotics.net/gallery/Wowwee-Robosapien? page=1) 5. ^ Institute of Neuromorphic Engineering (http://www.ine-web.org/) (INE) 6. ^ Bruce Robinson's Hider (http://www3.telus.net/rfws/beam/hider/m_hidr_00.html)
External links
MiddleCreekMerchants, Handmade Robots (http://robots.stonepile.org) - Many various types being designed and built today (2011). Solarbotics, BEAM robotics community server (http://www.solarbotics.net) - Many resources but not updated since 2003. BEAM Robotics Wiki (http://www.beam-wiki.org/wiki/Main_Page) "Robots (http://www.xs4all.nl/~sbolt/e-index.html) ". PiTronics (xs4all.nl), 9 October 2004. Van Zoelen, A. A., "The MicroCore (http://vsim.freeservers.com/amiller/microcore.html) ". BEAM Robotics (http://vsim.freeservers.com/robotics.html) . Robinson, Bruce N., "Hider (http://www3.telus.net/rfws/beam/hider/m_hidr_00.html) ". Robinson's Robots, 2005. Walke, Kevin,"Mark Tilden Interview (http://www.exhibitresearch.com/tilden/) ". Exhibit Research, March 2000. Fang, Chiu-Yuan, "BEAM Robotics (http://www.webcitation.org/query? url=http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/6897/beam2.html%3F200510&date=2009-1025+10:06:45) ". 1999. (Historical site) TomboT.net (http://www.tombot.net) D.Mancini, "BeamItaly (http://www.beamitaly.net) " - Robots and Community (IT), 1998.
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