Above:  Scale of increasing intelligence from left to right.  We progress from the lowly brainless Amoeba upward
to the most sophisticated animal on the right.  Along the bottom are some of our robots we have built at approximately
the level of intelligence that they are demonstrating.
 

      
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 Here is our gallery
            of home built Robotic projects we have built over the past years,
            highlighting the technical challenges, architectural design,
            and programming goals. Our robots are of the fully autonomous
            type, reacting to their environment with their own sensors, and
            with minimal outside control or human intervention. All of our
            PIC based robots are hand made in our home workshop / electronics
            lab.


 

            

This is NavBot 3

            
Navigation Robot NavBot 3
Indoor Navigation and Homing 

            
This is an extension
            of the NR-1 project, which was to primarily develop the hardware.
            Here we are wiping the program clean, and developing an autonomous
            robot which uses the tools we developed in the NR-1 program.
            Additional hardware will be added as needed, with an emphasis
            on indoor house hold navigation methods which can be used for
            daily tasks.

            
Project Started January, 2013

GO TO PROJECT PAGE




Past Project Standard PIC Processor  Based Robots:
 

            

  NR-1 main page

            
Navigation Robot NR-1
Household indoor navigation of autonomous robots 

            
This project will
            study the various aspects of indoor robot navigation. A small
            8 inch sized robot will be used to test encoders, optical navigation
            and localization and dead reckoning. Advancing the Vision Logic
            series, this new bot will extend that research and include insect
            like higher resolution imaging for later navigation experiments.

            
Project Started July, 2010

GO TO PROJECT PAGE



            

  Sweepbot Main Page

            
Floor Cleaning Robot Sweepbot 1A
Household indoor autonomous robot 
Project Started May, 2011

            
This is an update
            to the allready very sucessful robot. The sweep module has worn
            out from use several times, and has now been replaced with a
            brand new suction type vacuum module. Now it actually SOUNDS
            like a real vacuum cleaner when it runs! Check out this new change:

            
GO TO PROJECT PAGE



            

  VLR main page

            
Vision Logic Robot Series
An Open-File Vision Study Autonomous Robot  

            
Here
            we present a series of in depth articles on using only vision
            to navigate a robot in a household enviornment. The study will
            evolve the number of eyes upward from one to compound eyes and
            beyond in a step by step fashion.

            
Project Started January , 2009

Finished July, 2010

GO TO PROJECT PAGE




      


            

  Sweepbot main page

            
Sweep Bot 1
A Floor Sweeping Autonomous Robot  

            
This
            robot was designed to fill a practical household need: To keep
            the bathroom floor swept clean of the cat litter that escapes
            from the cats litter box. It will live and work entirely within
            the bathroom, and using the experience gained in the entire PICbot
            Logic series, we will build on that knowledge to create a mostly
            self sufficient worker drone.

            
Project Started August 24, 2007
Robot Finished December 14, 2008

The robot is still sweeping every day - Jan 2011....

GO TO PROJECT PAGE



            


            
Picbot
            V main Page

            
 PICbot V
A Docking Logic Development Robot 

            
This is part
            four in our in depth series on developing more advanced A.I.
            for a household robot. The PicBot V is used to develop several
            beacon docking methods and setting the stage for autonomous charging
            of the robots batteries.

            
Project Started Feb 1, 2007
Project Ended August 11, 2007

            
Docking Logic Final Report



            


            
Picbot
            IV main Page

            
 PICbot IV
A Stasis Logic Development Robot 

            
This is the third
            part of a larger program to greatly improve the Artificial Intelligence
            (AI) of my successive robotics projects. The small PICbot IV
            will be used to develop, analyze and detect navigation sensing
            failures which may result in robot stasis.

            
Project Started December 1, 2006
Finished January 29, 2007

            
Final Report HERE



            


            
Picbot
            III main Page

            
 PICbot III
A IR Prox Logic Development Robot 

            
This is the second
            part of a larger program to greatly improve the Artificial Intelligence
            (AI) of my successive robotics projects. The small PICbot III
            will be used to develop, analyze and perfect navigation principles
            using modulated infrared proximity sensors.

            
Project Started November 1, 2006
Finished December 1, 2006

            
Final Report HERE



            

PicBot II

            
 Finished
            October 2006


            
A Bumper Logic Development Robot 

            
This
            was the first part of a larger program to greatly improve the
            Artificial Intelligence (AI) of my successive robotics projects.
            The small PICbot series will be the vehicles to develop each
            level of subsumtion separately to a level beyond what I have
            done previously. The final goal of this program is to complete
            the design for a Priority Arbitration Architecture PCB, which
            can be adapted to all future robots. This should make it possible
            to exceed the Beetle level of intelligence and push onward. The
            first project was the bumper imact module. We were able to optimise
            the reactions and behaviors on a generic sense on both a reflexive
            and chronometric level. The result, is will be a huge article
            on bumper logic.


            
And here is the
            complete Article: Uploaded 10/12/06



            

Geobot I

            
 Finished
            August 2006


            
Geobot
            I was our first outdoor robot, and was designed to go out on
            distance specific missions and collect rock and soil samples
            and return them to base. We accomplished this, and the Final
            Report can be read HERE. The main Geobot project
            Pages start HERE



            

VacBot 1

            
 Finished
            October 2005


            
VacBot
            I was a research project for developing a set of specifications
            to a abetter understanding of how to construct an autonomous
            home roving vacuuming robot. You can jump to the main page HERE and the Final Report
            can be found HERE.



            

 P.A.A.M.I.

            
Finished June 2005 

            
PAAMI stands
            for Priority Arbitration Machine Intelligence. She is
            one of very few robots in existence that uses a totally hardware
            approach to Priority Arbitration Architecture, with 8 levels
            of Subsumption. Her primary function at this time is to self
            charge, and not get stuck in a household environment not specially
            prepared for a robot in any way - which includes stairwells and
            sharp drop offs. she can collect items such as cans and tennis
            balls and stack them at a known location with her gripper. PAAMI
            makes very amusing sounds depending on which level of subsumption
            is currently being arbitrated. Mostly beeps, chirps and ramping
            tones.



            

PicBot I

            
Finished April 2004 

            
PicBot was our
            first robot built with PIC processors, and mulit processor subsumption
            architecture. It was a great deal more advanced in behavior than
            the standard Boe Bot type with a BS2 processor.



            
 
Ostracode

            
Finished March 2004 

            
Ostracode is
            a small single processor robot that has one mission: Don't get
            stuck no matter what in an unmodified household environment.
            He can also sleep at night when darkness falls, and makes sounds
            like a cricket. It uses a BS2SX processor.



            
  Aurora Cam 1

            
Finished December 2003 

            
Aurora Cam is
            a robotic film camera system that works hard all night long taking
            pictures of the night sky, patrolling for meteors, aurora and
            sky phenomenon. It has been extremely successful.



 

      


Mindstorms Based Robots:

 

            

SkidBot

            
 Finished
            December 2005


            
SkidBot is the
            bumper prototype for our big Geobot project, allowing us to rapidly
            develop a mechanical model of our dual pushrod design. Skidbot
            also was our first outdoor roaming bot made from Mindstorms technology,
            in which the traction and ground clearance was paramount.



            

ODObot 1

            
Finished
            August 2005


            
Odo 1 is my first
            experiments in precise odometry demonstrated here by navigation
            of a maze from start to finish by using odometry alone.



            

Digital Aurora Cam Control

            
Finished
            July 2005


            
This robotic
            device activates its program when the start button is pressed,
            and operates the electronic cable release for my Canon 10D for
            astrophotography.



            

X-Bot

            
Finished
            June 2005 


            
Here is our first
            Mindstorms robotic project in which we get the basic feel for
            the technology of the kit, and the outrageous cult like worship
            that these kits possess.



            

RSR

            
Finished
            June 2005


            
Here is a very
            slow dual worm gear driven line follower, using tank treads as
            well for a touch of interest. (RSR = Really Slow Robot)


Commercial Robots in our Collection Include:
 

            

Robotic
Pterodactyl

            
 
Voice Controlled
Verbot

            
 
Radio Controlled
R2D2

            


            
Robotic
Tribble

      


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