S-bot mobile robot
Encyclopedia
The s-bot is a small differential wheeled
(with additional tracks) mobile robot
developed at the LIS (Laboratory of Intelligent Systems http://lis.epfl.ch/) at the EPFL in Lausanne
, Switzerland
between 2001 and 2004. Targeted to swarm robotics, a field of artificial intelligence
, it was developed within the Swarm-bots project, a Future and Emerging Technologies project coordinated by Prof. Marco Dorigo
. Built by a small team of engineers (Francesco Mondada
, André Guignard
, Michael Bonani and Stéphane Magnenat) of the group of Prof. Dario Floreano
and with the help of student projects, it is considered at the time of completion as one of the most complex and featured robots ever for its size. The s-bot was ranked on position 39 in the list of “The 50 Best Robots Ever” (fiction or real) by the Wired magazine
in 2006.
Of course, all other sensors and actuators, also found on other robots, can be used to do team work such as food foraging.
distribution. All sensors and actuators are easily accessible through a simple C
API
.
Differential wheeled robot
A differential wheeled robot is a mobile robot whose movement is based on two separately driven wheels placed on either side of the robot body...
(with additional tracks) mobile robot
Mobile robot
A mobile robot is an automatic machine that is capable of movement in a given environment.-Overview:Mobile robots have the capability to move around in their environment and are not fixed to one physical location...
developed at the LIS (Laboratory of Intelligent Systems http://lis.epfl.ch/) at the EPFL in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
between 2001 and 2004. Targeted to swarm robotics, a field of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, it was developed within the Swarm-bots project, a Future and Emerging Technologies project coordinated by Prof. Marco Dorigo
Marco Dorigo
Marco Dorigo is a research director for the Belgian Funds for Scientific Research , a professor in the computer science department of the University of Paderborn and a co-director of , the artificial intelligence lab of the Université Libre de Bruxelles.He is the proponent of the "ant colony...
. Built by a small team of engineers (Francesco Mondada
Francesco Mondada
Francesco Mondada is a Swiss researcher in artificial intelligence and robotics. He is one of the creators of the Khepera, the S-bot and the e-puck mobile robots. He got a Master's degree in Microengineering at the EPFL in 1991 and a Ph.D. degree in 1997.He was the director of from its creation...
, André Guignard
André Guignard
André Guignard is a Swiss engineer initially educated as a watchmaker. He is the creator of the mechanic of the Khepera, the S-bot and several other mobile robots....
, Michael Bonani and Stéphane Magnenat) of the group of Prof. Dario Floreano
Dario Floreano
Dario Floreano is director of the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. He is one of the pioneers in evolutionary robotics, a research field in which robots are evolved using artificial evolution.Floreano received an M.A. in visual...
and with the help of student projects, it is considered at the time of completion as one of the most complex and featured robots ever for its size. The s-bot was ranked on position 39 in the list of “The 50 Best Robots Ever” (fiction or real) by the Wired magazine
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
in 2006.
Purpose and use of the s-bot
This is a research robot, aimed at studying team work and inter-robot communication. To do this, the s-bots have several special abilities:- Using their gripper (red in the photos), they can connect together. Then they can, for instance, pass over gap and steps where a single robot would have failed.
- Using their integrated forceForceIn physics, a force is any influence that causes an object to undergo a change in speed, a change in direction, or a change in shape. In other words, a force is that which can cause an object with mass to change its velocity , i.e., to accelerate, or which can cause a flexible object to deform...
sensorSensorA sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury-in-glass thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated...
, they can coordinate to retrieve an object to a certain location without the use of explicit communication. This is the way ants bring preys to the nest.
Of course, all other sensors and actuators, also found on other robots, can be used to do team work such as food foraging.
General
- 12 cm diameter
- 15 cm height
- 660 g
- 2 LiIon batteries
- 1 hour autonomy moving
Control
- 400 MHz custom XScaleXScaleThe XScale, a microprocessor core, is Intel's and Marvell's implementation of the ARMv5 architecture, and consists of several distinct families: IXP, IXC, IOP, PXA and CE . Intel sold the PXA family to Marvell Technology Group in June 2006....
CPU board, 64 MB of RAMRam-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
, 32 MB of flash memoryFlash memoryFlash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data... - 12 distributed PIC microcontrollerPIC microcontrollerPIC is a family of Harvard architecture microcontrollers made by Microchip Technology, derived from the PIC1650 originally developed by General Instrument's Microelectronics Division...
for low-level handling - Custom LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
port running Familiar - WifiWIFIWIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
Actuators
- 2 treels
- turret rotation
- rigid gripper elevation
- rigid gripper
- 3 axis side arm
- side arm gripper
Sensors
- 15 infraredInfraredInfrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
sensors around the turret - 4 infraredInfraredInfrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
sensors below the robot - position sensors on all degrees of freedom except gripper
- force and speed sensors on all major degrees of freedom
- 2 humiditiy sensors
- 2 temperature sensors
- 8 ambient light sensors around the turret
- 4 accelerometerAccelerometerAn accelerometer is a device that measures proper acceleration, also called the four-acceleration. This is not necessarily the same as the coordinate acceleration , but is rather the type of acceleration associated with the phenomenon of weight experienced by a test mass that resides in the frame...
s, which allow three-dimensionalDimensionIn physics and mathematics, the dimension of a space or object is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it...
orientation - 1 640x480 cameraDigital cameraA digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
sensor. Custom optic based on spherical mirrorMirrorA mirror is an object that reflects light or sound in a way that preserves much of its original quality prior to its contact with the mirror. Some mirrors also filter out some wavelengths, while preserving other wavelengths in the reflection...
provides omnidirectional vision - 4 microphones
- 2 axis structure deformation sensors
- optical barrier in grippers
LEDS
- 8 x RGB Light-emitting diodes around the turret
- red Light-emitting diodes in grippers
Special abilities
S-bots can connect to other s-bots to create a bigger structure known as the swarm-bot. To do so, they attach together using their rigid gripper and ring. An s-bot has sufficient force to lift another one.Integrated software
The s-bot features a custom Linux port running the Familiar GNU/LinuxFamiliar Linux
Familiar Linux is a Linux distribution for iPAQ machines and other personal digital assistants , intended as a replacement for Windows CE on these machines. It can use OPIE or GPE Palmtop Environment as graphical user interface...
distribution. All sensors and actuators are easily accessible through a simple C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
API
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
.
External links
- Swarm-bots project homepage - The project in which the s-bot was developed.
- Future and Emerging Technologies - The IST program in which the swarm-bots project takes place.
- Information Society Technologies - The European Union research activity in which the FET program takes place.
- LIS - The lab where the s-bot was developed.
- Swarmbots page at LIS - Pictures and video of the s-bot