The Development of a Low-Cost and Robust Autonomous Robot Colony Using LEGO Mindstorms

dc.contributor.advisorDr. Edward Grant, Committee Chairen_US
dc.contributor.advisorDr. John F. Muth, Committee Memberen_US
dc.contributor.advisorDr. H. Troy Nagle, Committee Memberen_US
dc.contributor.advisorDr. Mark White, Committee Memberen_US
dc.contributor.authorBraly, J. Chrisen_US
dc.date.accessioned2010-04-02T18:02:03Z
dc.date.available2010-04-02T18:02:03Z
dc.date.issued2003-04-15en_US
dc.degree.disciplineElectrical Engineeringen_US
dc.degree.levelthesisen_US
dc.degree.nameMSen_US
dc.description.abstractThe late twentieth century marked the birth of urban search and rescue robots. The act of rescuing victims from collapsed or damaged buildings is extremely dangerous for the humans involved. After the attacks on the World Trade Center, researchers recognized the need for small robots with limited capabilities to be used in conjunction with more advanced robots for urban search and rescue. This research has developed a low-cost, autonomous robot colony with limited sensor capabilities using the LEGO® Mindstorms™ development platform. The study of this colony will provide insight into the group behavior of a marsupial robot colony used for urban search and rescue. A microphone sensor was developed to facilitate communication among the robot agents that comprise the colony. The incoming analog signal was amplified using a standard non-inverting operational amplifier configuration. This amplified signal was input into a tone detection circuit. This circuit was designed to provide a digital output to the LEGO® robot if a single tone of a specific frequency was detected. Other frequency tones have no effect on the circuit. Using this sensor, the robots could be controlled with different frequency tones. The task undertaken by the robots was a shepherding mission. The goal of the sheepdog robot was to herd the sheep robot into a pen located at a fixed location. A helper dog robot was added to assist the sheepdog when needed. The interaction, as well as communication, between the sheepdog and helper dog was studied.en_US
dc.identifier.otheretd-04142003-193043en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.16/1208
dc.rightsI hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to NC State University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report.en_US
dc.subjectLEGOen_US
dc.subjectroboticsen_US
dc.subjectmarsupial robot colonyen_US
dc.titleThe Development of a Low-Cost and Robust Autonomous Robot Colony Using LEGO Mindstormsen_US

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