Robots in the laboratory

Abstract

A $70 toy robot has been successfully used in Computer Science undergraduate laboratory courses in real-time programming and advanced operating systems to provide students with hands on experience. A custom designed interface card connects a Radio Shack Armatron toy mobile robot with an IBM PC. To provide sensory input and hence introduce feedback, the robot is shackled to a track filled with sensors. Extra sensors in the robot's environment allow challenging experiments such as picking up an object from a moving belt. While programming the robot and its environment in Turbo Pascal, the students learn how to write software drivers to control low level hardware that requires real-time response. This experimental design obviates the need to use sophisticated test equipment or special software development tools, and so the robot has transformed potentially routine courses into a exciting and fulfilling learning experiences.