simon@engcon.marshall.ltv.com (SHSIMON) (02/05/91)
To WIllie Smith Could you post more information about WALDO ? Does it currently exist ? Does it work out of the line of sight? etc. Thanx, Hank
smith@sndpit.enet.dec.com (Willie Smith) (02/05/91)
In article <848@engcon.marshall.ltv.com>, simon@engcon.marshall.ltv.com (SHSIMON) writes... > >To WIllie Smith > >Could you post more information about WALDO ? > >Does it currently exist ? Does it work out of the line of sight? etc. > >Thanx, >Hank OK, I've probably gotten enough requests for my teleop documentation that it's worth posting it. The vehicle does exist, at least we've got a chassis that moves under conputer control (very very crude right now). In fact, I expect to be testing the RC-232 radio link tonite at 1200 baud, stay tuned for results. It doesn't work out of sight yet, but once I get my ham radio license (Technician class no longer requires morse code!), I expect to start gathering hardware together for TV links and command/ telemetry links with up to a one-mile range. Willie ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [This condensed version of TELEOP.DOC was generated 01/01/91 WPNS] Sunswick Engineering Teleoperations 1 Overview Sunswick Engineering (that's me, Willie Smith, with my OEM hat on, with lots of assistance from others) has been doing teleoperations research since 1987, focusing on modelling vehicles that might be used in support of a lunar colony. Tycho, the first generation machine, has been complete since mid-1988, and Waldo, the next generation machine, is currently in the assembly phase. The Tycho project was done in part for the semi-mythical Lunar Society, a volunteer organization promoting manned space exploration and colonization. 2 What is teleoperation? Teleoperation is basically remote control of a device from a separate (usually distant) location. Lunar teleoperation is the remote operation of a vehicle which is on the surface of the moon while the operator is on the earth. The general case of a lunar teleoperated vehicle is one which can be moved by radio controls (telecommand) and which sends real-time pictures (and other telemetry) back to the operator by means of a video camera. It has other features (such as a bulldozer blade, a manipulator arm, etc) that allow it to do useful work in support of a lunar colony. 5 Tycho 5.1 General The first generation vehicle was built using radio-control hobbyist equipment originally intended for use in R/C planes and cars. It is named Tycho after the prominent crater on the moon of that name, which in turn is named after the noted astronomer Tycho Brahe. 5.2 Hardware The basic vehicle is a highly modified Tamiya(?) Clod-Buster (TM) four wheel drive car-crushing pickup truck (model) chassis with a Futaba 7-channel radio control. A Sony Watchcam camera and a channel 14 UHF TV transmitter get a TV image back to the operator. An S-100 machine with a 7 MHz Z-80 running CP/M and a Commodore Amiga with genlock make up the computer gear. 5.3 Software Code written in Z-80 assembly reads the operator's controls, generates the 3-second delay, logs control positions, and drives a modified R/C transmitter. Amiga BASIC code provides a Heads-Up-Display to give the operator easily- assimilated information on control positions. The two machines communicate through an RS-232 link using a predefined protocol. 5.4 Goals The major goals of the Tycho project were to prove that teleoperated vehicles could be modelled 'on the cheap' and to build such a device. We planned to do some examples of useful work that would show a proof of concept that lunar teleoperations can be done, that they would be useful, and that operators could be trained to control vehicles with a 3-second delay. We also planned to gather data on a number of different operators with a number of different control schemes and massage the data to determine empirical answers to the questions: "What is a good way to set up the controls?" and "What makes a good operator?" 5.5 Sucesses We proved that modelling lunar teleoperations is possible by building the model, and we convinced ourselves that operators could indeed learn to cope with the 3-second delays. As a proof of concept, Tycho is a success. We also managed to build the project without a 'NASA' budget. 5.6 Failures 3 We didn't actually do any 'useful' work with Tycho, as the mechanical parts are too flimsy and the vehicle is too small to attach (say) a bulldozer blade and try to push some sand around. We also failed to answer the "goodness" questions above, due to lack of time and inconsistant data from a vehicle that's difficult to control. 5.7 Costs The total costs of the Tycho project were around $3,000. This does not include donated equipment, computer equipment we had on hand, or anyone's time. It was arrived at by adding up all the costs of the things that we wouldn't have bought if we weren't doing the project. 6 Waldo 6.1 General The second generation vehicle is being built using the lessons we learned while building Tycho. Most of them revolve around the theory that "Bigger is better", and "Keep It Simple, Stupid." The name was chosen because it more closely defines the project - a waldo is a remote manipulator used for handling objects at a distance. 6.2 Design goals The major problems with Tycho had to do with the small size. Waldo is going to be as large as possible, consistent with moving it through doorways and transporting it in a car. Steering control with Tycho was difficult at best, so the problems of steering and suspension will be eliminated at the source. There will be four (lawn-tractor sized) wheels with independent drive motors, and steering will be done by driving the wheels on either side at different speeds. An on-board computer (or two) will run the drive motors and other accessories, and will communicate with the base computer via a packet radio link. Dual ATV (Amateur TV) transmitters will send separate or stereo TV images back to the operator(s). A bulldozer blade will allow earthmoving experiments, and a manipulator arm will be used for more precise work. Other accessories will be added as time (and money) allow. The original goals of determining operator and control "goodness" remain in effect. Operating time must be at least an hour between recharges, and recharge should take no more than an hour. 6.3 Design non-goals We are not building something that will be expected to go to the moon, so we don't need to worry about vacuum, temperature, lunar soil composition, or gravitational effects. We are not building an all-terrain vehicle, 4 nor one that can operate more than 1/2 mile from the base. While we will attempt to make the base easily portable, it is possible that moving the base will require a small van and a day or so of packing/unpacking and setting up the control computers. While these are interesting topics of conversation, they aren't problems that need to be considered for Waldo. 6.4 Timetable Since we are doing this in our spare time and with a limited budget, there is no deadline or timetable. Tycho took about a year to get to the point where the hardware was reasonably stable, and we expect that the Waldo project may take 2-3 years to get to the same point. We would like to have a moving platform by the end of 1990, however, so that we can start using the basic vehicle while adding on features. Benchmark: Dec 11, 1990 The frame has been built, the platform, wheels, and motors have been fitted for the last time (lock-tight on all relevant fasteners), the motor source wiring has been completed, and the FET power-drivers are halfway to completion. The vehicle should be moving under control of the on-board computer by mid January. 6.6.B Pending work. A partial list of subsystems that need work: Cameras - stereo configurations, mounting and pointing Bulldozer blade - mechanical design and fabrication, electrical drive Radio gear - selection, operation, antennas, duplexers, packet, ATV Audio delay to simulate onsite workers 5 Operator's console - controls, telemetry displays Postprocessing - operator and control "goodness" Manipulator arm - programming, operator and computer interfaces Flux-Gate compass - computer interface and autopilot programming Sonar - rangefinding, "LORAN" positioning, collision avoidance Laser - pointing, position finding Batteries - chargers and state of charge determination Base computers - hardware interfaces, lots and lots of software(!) Operating personnel - see 6.7.3.5 Test pilots (once the vehicle is drivable) Documentation - written, photographic, schematic, CAD. 6.7 Current design concepts 6.7.1 General The following are our current ideas of how Waldo is going to be configured. They are subject to change at any moment. The two major parts of the project are the vehicle and the base station. 6.7.2 Vehicle 6.7.2.1 General The main constraints on the vehicle are that it be light in weight (two-person carry is our goal), be able to fit through doorways, and be transportable in a VW Golf. With those constraints in mind, it should be as large and sturdy as possible. The vehicle is a flat platform with four fixed wheels. Differential steering will be used (like a Bobcat), and suspension problems have been eliminated at the source (there is no suspension, the wheels are fixed to the chassis). 6 The main height constraint is that the vehicle can be carried through doorways sideways. This means that the vehicle must be less than 2 feet high, not counting removable subsystems like antennas. The width constraint is the size of the hatchback and trunk on a VW Golf - 39 inches. In order to steer easily, the vehicle should have an approximately square aspect ratio. The base is 29.5 inches long without plow blade. Weight should be kept below 100 pounds to allow two-person carry. Removable subsystems (manipulator arm, batteries, plow blade, etc) will allow us to keep the carry weight down while allowing the assembled weight to exceed the 100 pound limit. Total assembled weight should still be under 200 pounds. 6.7.2.2 Chassis The frame is made of 1.25-inch square aluminum "U" channel bolted together. Solid aluminum blocks are used at the corners to provide strength and prevent the channels from collapsing. The frame is 29.5 inches long and 25 inches wide, with a single stiffener in the middle between the wheels. Additional solid blocks are fastened to the bottom of the channels to provide mounting points for the shoulder bolts which function as stub axles. The wheels bring the total width to 36.5 inches. 6.7.2.3 Drive The wheels are Wheelhorse garden tractor front wheels with 13x5.00-6 tires, and are chain-driven from modified Makita and Sears cordless drills. The vehicle moves about 3 feet per second, or 2 miles per hour. More speed is not desirable, as it leads to less precise control over the vehicle. Worst case, Waldo may move as much as 9 feet before the operator can react! 6.7.2.4 Computer There will be at least two onboard computers, one for the drive subsystem and one to control the rest of the vehicle. The drive subsystem is run by a Micromint RTC-52 single-board computer with assembly language routines to control PWM motor drivers. While this computer has an onboard BASIC interpreter, we found that it couldn't generate the four PWM outputs fast enough. The main onboard computer has not yet been selected, but will probably be a Micromint RTC-180, a 64180-based single-board computer. It will control the radios, robot arm, autopilot, plow blade, and other systems. It will be 7 programmed in Z-80 (or 64180) assembly. 6.7.2.5 Radio The radio gear will operate on the amateur bands, and comprise packet radio command and telemetry links as well as two channels of ATV video feedback for the operator. The video channels will be switched between various cameras and other on-board video sources (computer terminal, etc). Exact frequencies and configuration of the radio gear have not yet been chosen. 6.7.2.6 Cameras The current plan for cameras is to have a full-color CCD camera on a pan/tilt mount with power zoom lens for the main operator to use while driving the vehicle. This will be supplemented by a stereo pair of tube-type Sony Watchcam cameras for use with the manipulator arm. There will also be 'overview' cameras positioned around the worksite. 6.7.2.7 Manipulator arm A Heathkit HERO-2000 robot arm modified for battery operation will be mounted on the back of the vehicle facing aft. Assembly of the arm was completed during the beginning of July, 1990. The arm will be used for fine-control experiments. As a 'graduation exercise', a teleoperator in training may have to stack glassware with a three-second delay! 6.7.2.8 Power Power will be provided by Gates Cyclon lead-acid batteries. Voltage regulators and/or converters will provide a number of common voltages (+5, +12, -12, etc) for onboard systems. Separate batteries will be used for drive, computer, arm, and radio gear to prevent interactions. If power to the computers or radio gear fails or drops below certain minimums, all power to the vehicle will be disabled to prevent uncontrolled movement. The drive battery is four 'BC' cells in series, giving 25 amp-hours at 8 volts to drive the four motors. Since the cordless drills the motors are based on run on 7.6-volt NiCad batteries, this is probably a good compromise. Since the Cyclon cells have a much higher current capacity than the original NiCads, the drive computer will have to monitor currents and limit drive if a wheel stalls. 6.7.2.9 Bulldozer blade There will be a blade on the front of Waldo that 8 will allow the operator to model some construction work, like leveling a landing field, excavating a habitat module foundation, covering a habitat, and so on. Digging in the sand at a beach will be a good test of these skills. 6.7.3 Base station 6.7.3.1 General The base station is where the operator sits, controls the vehicle, and views the telemetry. The other support personnel also sit here. We hope to be able to make the base reasonably portable, so that we can (for instance) go to a beach and dig in the sand or go to an SF convention and recruit 'test-pilot' operators. By monitoring the response of novice operators, we can get a better idea of control 'goodness'. 12 For more information: Please contact Willie Smith at one of the addresses below: Willie Smith P.O. Box 2452 Acton, MA 01720 SNDPIT::SMITH (on DEC ENET) smith@sndpit.enet.dec.com smith%sndpit.enet.dec.com@decwrl.dec.com w_smith@bix
ins_atge@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Thomas G Edwards) (02/05/91)
In article <771@sousa.enet.dec.com> smith@sndpit.enet.dec.com (Willie Smith) writes: About the Waldo teleop robot... >stay tuned for results. It doesn't work out of sight yet, but once I get >my ham radio license (Technician class no longer requires morse code!), I >expect to start gathering hardware together for TV links and command/ >telemetry links with up to a one-mile range. I'm sure that with proper ham equipment, you could get multiple-mile range on the links. The only limitation would probably be antenna height on the robot (especially if there is ground clutter). Actually, you could actually use a local ATV repeater a few miles from the robot, and have the command point be 10-20 miles further away! -Thomas Edwards N3HAU (just remember Ham bands are for purposes which do not include making money)
smith@sndpit.enet.dec.com (Willie Smith) (02/05/91)
In article <7481@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>, ins_atge@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Thomas G Edwards) writes... >In article <771@sousa.enet.dec.com> smith@sndpit.enet.dec.com (Willie Smith) writes: >About the Waldo teleop robot... >>stay tuned for results. Well, we had a blast churning up the snow in the back yard last nite, and Waldo did just fine! We measured some 4.2 ft/sec (2.8 MPH) on the flat concrete, though it slows down somewhat over broken ground. >Actually, you could actually use a local ATV repeater a few miles >from the robot, and have the command point be 10-20 miles further Only if the local ATV repeater can repeat dual FMTV channels, and then what do I do with the full-duplex 9600 baud command/telemetry links? But letting the vehicle get miles away isn't a very good idea anyway... >(just remember Ham bands are for purposes which do not include making > money) Is it OK to use them for purposes which include losing money? As I'm sure you noticed when you read the document I posted, Sunswick Engineering isn't a company as such, it's just me with my OEM hat on, which allows me to call large companies and communicate with them, instead of being brushed off as just an end-user or a (yuck) consumer. :+) I realize it's probably an unusual use of the ham bands, but I consider the radio gear a means to an end, not an end in itself. (Is that heresy? :+) Willie Smith smith@sndpit.enet.dec.com smith%sndpit.enet.dec.com@decwrl.dec.com {Usenet!Backbone}!decwrl!sndpit.enet.dec.com!smith
connolly@livy.cs.umass.edu (Christopher Connolly) (02/06/91)
In article <772@sousa.enet.dec.com> smith@sndpit.enet.dec.com (Willie Smith) writes: > >In article <7481@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>, ins_atge@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Thomas G Edwards) writes... >>In article <771@sousa.enet.dec.com> smith@sndpit.enet.dec.com (Willie Smith) writes: >>About the Waldo teleop robot... >>>stay tuned for results. ... >>(just remember Ham bands are for purposes which do not include making >> money) > >Is it OK to use them for purposes which include losing money? As I'm sure >you noticed when you read the document I posted, Sunswick Engineering isn't >a company as such, it's just me with my OEM hat on, which allows me to call >large companies and communicate with them, instead of being brushed off as >just an end-user or a (yuck) consumer. :+) I realize it's probably an >unusual use of the ham bands, but I consider the radio gear a means to an >end, not an end in itself. (Is that heresy? :+) It's not really unusual. Remote control hobbyists do have amateur licenses and use portions of the spectrum for that purpose. As long as your use is personal (i.e., of a home-hobbyist nature), then there should be no problem, as long as you observe power and frequency limits. If "Sunswick Engineering" is just a ruse, as you suggest, then this shouldn't be a problem. -CC (wa2ifi)
burgess@hpspkla.spk.hp.com (David E. Burgess) (02/08/91)
>/ hpspkla:comp.robotics / connolly@livy.cs.umass.edu (Christopher Connolly) / 2:27 pm Feb 5, 1991 / >In article <772@sousa.enet.dec.com> smith@sndpit.enet.dec.com (Willie Smith) writes: >> >>In article <7481@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>, ins_atge@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Thomas G Edwards) writes... >>>In article <771@sousa.enet.dec.com> smith@sndpit.enet.dec.com (Willie Smith) writes: >>>About the Waldo teleop robot... >>>>stay tuned for results. >... >>>(just remember Ham bands are for purposes which do not include making >>> money) >> >>Is it OK to use them for purposes which include losing money? As I'm sure >>you noticed when you read the document I posted, Sunswick Engineering isn't >>a company as such, it's just me with my OEM hat on, which allows me to call >>large companies and communicate with them, instead of being brushed off as >>just an end-user or a (yuck) consumer. :+) I realize it's probably an >>unusual use of the ham bands, but I consider the radio gear a means to an >>end, not an end in itself. (Is that heresy? :+) > >It's not really unusual. Remote control hobbyists do have amateur >licenses and use portions of the spectrum for that purpose. As long >as your use is personal (i.e., of a home-hobbyist nature), then there >should be no problem, as long as you observe power and frequency >limits. If "Sunswick Engineering" is just a ruse, as you suggest, >then this shouldn't be a problem. As long as "Sunswick Engineering" is not a registered company and is not selling Waldo I agree with Christopher. If, however, this work is part of an R&D effort for a registered company then it is technically illegal. By registered company, I am refering to a company that exists as a tax entitiy and which is registered with a public agency. The FCC rules spell it out. (you do need to learn them to get your liscence 8-) > >-CC (wa2ifi) >---------- David Burgess - N7IQQ #include <standard_funny_all_purpose_disclamers>
smith@sndpit.enet.dec.com (Willie Smith) (02/08/91)
In article <5420001@hpspkla.spk.hp.com>, burgess@hpspkla.spk.hp.com (David E. Burgess) writes... > [...] >As long as "Sunswick Engineering" is not a registered company and is not >selling Waldo I agree with Christopher. If, however, this work is part of >an R&D effort for a registered company then it is technically illegal. >By registered company, I am refering to a company that exists as a tax entitiy >and which is registered with a public agency. The FCC rules spell it out. >(you do need to learn them to get your liscence 8-) Take it easy people! Sunswick Engineering isn't real, isn't registered, and isn't there to make money. It's just there to get industrial distributors and electronics companies to talk to me. It's kind of fun to tell salesdroids I'm with Sunswick Engineering and have them nod sagely and act like they recognize the name. :+) Which brings up another point about RF links and hams: I believe ham radio in general needs to get away from ham radio as an end in itself and into ham radio as a means to an end. The ranks are going to grow not by adding people for who talking on radios is the neatest thing since sliced bread, but thru people like myself building RF links for use with teleoperated vehicles, computer networks, and other things not yet imagined. I've already had a couple people get interested in taking the new tech test who have no interest in rag chewing or DXing... Oh well, only time will tell. I passed Novice and Tech written Wednesday and my wife passed Novice, next month she'll finish up her Technocode and I'll take some more written tests just for the fun of it. C'mon people, give it a try, if you know anything about radios or electronics it's trivial, and if you have a brain it's pretty easy. The Technician class allows you to play with fast-scan TV, high-speed, error-corrected, packet radio links, and other things that tie right into robotics. You can't use ham bands for commercial purposes, but I'll bet that's not a problem for most people in this newsgroup. Willie Smith smith@sndpit.enet.dec.com smith%sndpit.enet.dec.com@decwrl.dec.com {Usenet!Backbone}!decwrl!sndpit.enet.dec.com!smith