Course Racers with
Automated Obstacle Avoidance


This is an example of a practical implementation of Behavior-Based Robotics, called subsumption architecture. This architecture decomposes complex behaviors into smaller, simple behaviors that consume very little memory. Each behavior consists of a set of conditions and a set of actions. A behavior  takes over the control of the robot when its conditions become true. The robot will then perform the set of preprogrammed actions for that behavior. To avoid confusion (which behavior should take over?), the behaviors are prioritized and controlled by an arbitrator.
This video recorded a race between 6 behavior-based robots, which travelled back and forth between two light beacons avoiding the obstacles in the path. They needed two behaviors to accomplish the task: seek light and avoid obstacle. When you see a robot backing up or changing its directions, it is being controlled by the "avoid mode". The greatest advantage of this programming structure is that all behaviors are independent, which makes adding other types of actions to the robot become much easier.

Robot was built with the LEGO Mindstorms.
Programming language: Java
Operating system: Lejos
Teams:
Team #1 (white flag on the side)............. Anthony Bui and Aaron Leiner
Team #2 (flashing lights)......................... Theresa Lin and Trang Nguyen
Team #3 (Campanile on the side)........... Willson Deng and Bryan Clark
Team #4 (no weird stuff on body).......... Tuan Bui and Steven Hung
Team #5 (longest neck)......................... Erin Palermo and Brian Loo
Team #8 (most messy wires).................. Charles Kwong and Danny Chia

Under Prof. Roger Glassey's guidance
Similar project: Mars Explorer Prototype

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