Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems pp 597–609Cite as

A Low-Cost Multi-robot System for Research, Teaching, and Outreach

  • Chapter

Part of the book series: Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics ((STAR,volume 83))

Abstract

We describe a new low-cost robot design that enables large-scale multirobot research, innovative new curriculum, and multi-robotics outreach to younger students. There are four main parts to the system: the r-one robot, a Python development environment, a camera tracking system for ground-truth localization, and server software to connect all the pieces together. This paper presents our preliminary work on the robot design and our experience using it to teach an introductory engineering class. The hardware can support classes in computer science, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering. The low-cost and small size will enable more research groups to perform multi-robot experiments on physical hardware. The Python development environment greatly simplifies programming and will make robotics more accessible to a larger group of educators, students, and researchers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Abramson, N.: The aloha system: Another alternative for computer communications. Technical Report B70-1. University of Hawaii, Honolulu (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Das, A., Fierro, R., Kumar, V., Ostrowski, J., Taylor, C.J.: A vision-based formation control framework. IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation 18(5), 813–826 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Dodds, Z., Libeskind-Hadas, R., Alvarado, C., Kuenning, G.: Evaluating a breadth-first cs 1 for scientists. In: SIGCSE 2008: Proceedings of the 39th SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, pp. 266–270. ACM, New York (2008), doi: http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1352135.1352229

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  4. Feddema, J., Lewis, C., Schoenwald, D.: Decentralized control of cooperative robotic vehicles: theory and application. IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation 18(5), 852–864 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Gutierrez, A., Campo, A., Dorigo, M., Donate, J., Monasterio-Huelin, F., Magdalena, L.: Open e-puck range and bearing miniaturized board for local communication in swarm robotics. In: Proceedings of the 2009 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 1745–1750. IEEE Press, Kobe (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Howard, A., Parker, L.E., Sukhatme, G.S.: The SDR experience: Experiments with a Large-Scale heterogenous mobile robot team. In: 9th International Symposium on Experimental Robotics, Singapore (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Howard, A., Parker, L.E., Sukhatme, G.S.: Experiments with large heterogeneous mobile robot team: Exploration, mapping, deployment and detection. International Journal of Robotics Research 25(5), 431–447 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Lochmatter, T., Roduit, P., Cianci, C., Correll, N., Jacot, J., Martinoli, A.: SwisTrack - A Flexible Open Source Tracking Software for Multi-Agent Systems. In: Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ 2008 International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2008), pp. 4004–4010. IEEE (2008), doi: http://iros2008.inria.fr/

  9. Mataric, M.J.: Interaction and intelligent behavior. Ph.D. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  10. McLurkin, J.: Stupid robot tricks: A Behavior-Based distributed algorithm library for programming swarms of robots. S.M. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  11. McLurkin, J.: Analysis and implementation of distributed algorithms for Multi-Robot systems. Ph.D. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  12. McLurkin, J.: Experiment design for large Multi-Robot systems. In: Robotics: Science and Systems, Workshop on Good Experimental Methodology in Robotics, Seattle, WA, USA (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  13. McLurkin, J., Smith, J., Frankel, J., Sotkowitz, D., Blau, D., Schmidt, B.: Speaking swarmish: Human-Robot interface design for large swarms of autonomous mobile robots. In: Proceedings of AAAI Spring Symposium (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Michael, N., Fink, J., Kumar, V.: Experimental testbed for large multirobot teams. IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine 15(1), 53–61 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Olson, E.: Apriltag: A robust and flexible multi-purpose fiducial system. Tech. rep., University of Michigan APRIL Laboratory (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Payton, D., Estkowski, R., Howard, M.: Compound behaviors in pheromone robotics. Robotics and Autonomous Systems 44(3-4), 229–240 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Pedersen, R.U., Nørbjerg, J., Scholz, M.P.: Embedded programming education with lego mindstorms nxt using java (lejos), eclipse (xpairtise), and python (pymite). In: WESS 2009: Proceedings of the 2009 Workshop on Embedded Systems Education, pp. 50–55. ACM, New York (2009)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  18. Priyantha, N.B., Chakraborty, A., Balakrishnan, H.: The cricket location-support system. In: Proceedings of the 6th Annual International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking, pp. 32–43. ACM, Boston (2000)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  19. Pugh, J., Martinoli, A.: Relative localization and communication module for small-scale multi-robot systems. In: Proceedings 2006 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, ICRA 2006, pp. 188–193 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Radenski, A.: “python first”: a lab-based digital introduction to computer science. In: ITICSE 2006: Proceedings of the 11th Annual SIGCSE Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, pp. 197–201. ACM, New York (2006), doi: http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1140124.1140177

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  21. Shannon, C.: Another breadth-first approach to cs i using python. In: SIGCSE 2003: Proceedings of the 34th SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, pp. 248–251. ACM, New York (2003), doi: http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/611892.611980

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  22. Veloso, M.M., Bowling, M., Achin, S., Han, K., Stone, P.: The CMUnited-98 Champion Small-Robot Team. In: Asada, M., Kitano, H. (eds.) RoboCup 1998. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 1604, pp. 77–92. Springer, Heidelberg (1999)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rice University, Houston, TX, USA

    James McLurkin, Andrew J. Lynch, Scott Rixner, Thomas W. Barr, Alvin Chou, Kathleen Foster & Siegfried Bilstein

Authors
  1. James McLurkin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrew J. Lynch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Scott Rixner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Thomas W. Barr
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Alvin Chou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Kathleen Foster
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Siegfried Bilstein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to James McLurkin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. EPFL ENAC IIE DISAL, Station 2, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland

    Alcherio Martinoli

  2. EPFL STI IMT LSRO, Station 9, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland

    Francesco Mondada

  3. 430 UCB, Engineering Drive 1111, Boulder, 80309, Colorado, USA

    Nikolaus Correll

  4. EPFL ENAC IIE DISAL, Station 2, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland

    Grégory Mermoud

  5. , Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, 30332, Georgia, USA

    Magnus Egerstedt

  6. , Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics, Drexel University, Randell 115, Chestnut St. 3141, Philadelphia, 19104, Pennsylvania, USA

    M. Ani Hsieh

  7. , Department of Electrical Engineering and, University of Tennessee, Middle Drive 1520, Knoxville, 37996, Tennessee, USA

    Lynne E. Parker

  8. Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, Odense, 5230, Denmark

    Kasper Støy

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

McLurkin, J. et al. (2013). A Low-Cost Multi-robot System for Research, Teaching, and Outreach. In: Martinoli, A., et al. Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems. Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics, vol 83. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32723-0_43

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32723-0_43

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-32722-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-32723-0

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation