Team: ASU TechPriests Members: Garret Walliman, Samantha Axtell, Riky Ringer, Hien Nguyen, Austin Noel Sponsor: Dr. Yinong Chen Arizona State University

Our goal is to improve the robot’s existing services and create new ones, to the end of connecting the robot’s services to the web and hooking them up to specially designed “algorithm-centric” user interfaces through which young students can easily program the robot. Project Abstract

The Problem: Today’s best tools for introducing students to programming are not good enough. Too much conceptual / technical overhead. Simple programming exercises are rarely interesting or enthralling. First programming assignments focus on language and not algorithm. Challenge Definition

The Solution: Create a new, simple UI used to program a robot, which: Eliminates all technical / language overhead. Focuses solely on the algorithm design! Provides immediate, interesting feedback (by controlling a large robot). Challenge Definition

The Intel Autobot: Hardware

The Autobot’s main functionality can be broken down into various services: Motor / Motor Commands Sonar Directional Sensor Kinect Depth Tracker (our service!) These services will be made available on the web and accessed through a simulator and algorithm-centric UI. The Intel Autobot: Software

“An ‘algorithm-centric UI’ is a high-level programming environment where the act of programming is reduced to manipulating predefined conditions and outcomes to accomplish some simple – although non-obvious – task”. This UI will allow students to remotely create an algorithm to control the robot. It can be used as either a simulator or to control the actual robot, which gives it flexibility enough for classroom use. What is an Algorithm-Centric UI?

1.Robot code cleanup – documented API for robot’s current code. 1.Investigated and documented legacy code. 2.Improved needed legacy code, jettisoned unneeded. 2.Developed Kinect Depth Tracker Service. 1.Added Microsoft Kinect to robot. 2.Created depth tracking service to improve path finding ability. 3.Developed patrolling algorithm. 1.Simple wall-following maze algorithm utilizing Kinect and Sonar sensors. 2.Developed as proof-of-concept of Kinect. What Have We Done?

As our first service, we created this to: 1.Improve the Autobot’s capability. 2.Familiarize ourselves with the robot and with SOA programming overall. How does it work? Service splits Kinect field-of-view into N sections (configurable). Each section’s depth values are consistently averaged. Averages are rounded and returned multiple times per second. Kinect Depth Tracker Service

Kinect Depth Tracker: Far Right

Kinect Depth Tracker: Middle

Kinect Depth Tracker: Far Left

1.Team has thorough understanding of robot code / functionality, and a decent understanding of SOA architecture / SOC paradigm. 2.Robot functions mechanically well, services are running bug-free. 3.Simulator / UI code has been written. Team is now ready to proceed with linking the robot with the UI. Current Project Status

January: Convert current DSS services to web services. Improve existing Motor / Motor Commands / DepthTracker services. Set up Windows Server 2008 on web server. We will use server to store simulator UI. February Document using server / SOAP. Gather knowledge for linking up simulator with robot. Cleanup/improve simulator code. Gain fuller understanding of how simulator works. Write and test controlling robot via web services. Project Timeline: January - February

March: Connect web services to simulator and test. Critical step! Develop small website to wrap simulator in. April: Develop new simulators with new tasks. Performance test simulator with students. We hope to use the primary audience – elementary or middle school students for this, but if this is not possible we will use classmates. Project Timeline: March - April

We hope to use our project to fill a void in CS education: Simple introductory projects are not interesting. Interesting projects are too hard. Our robot will aim to be both simple to use and highly interesting to young students. We have all but finished the hardware / service side of things. We now need only to: Link up the UI with the robot. Create new simulators / algorithm UIs to use with the robot. Test! Conclusion

Question and Answer