Wall-E -project studies robots and controllers for them.
Robot-project is newest and most ambitious. It models human cognitive-capabilities as application ones. Why? Because I can model things like this and it is fun.
Nerv, axons, muscle, sense
Architecture idea is mimic human structure, model a human. We are built from stem cells that specialize in their tasks. Robot is build Architecture is planned to work in a network and to be *fully configurable, so that Robot is buid by same kind elements - called Robots - that can be in same computer or in another computer in the network and there can be as many Robots in the network as you want, communicating with each other and with human beings also.
Sounds scifi? Yes, this project was my hobby project to implement all kind scifi-films nightmare. Basic lines in the films are individual very capable robots or networking robot that is everywhere and controls everything and of course tries to destroy all humans, because humans try to destroy it. This the was case in the first beginning of Robot-scifi from 1968: A Space Odyssey.
OK, Robot from this project can't destroy anyone, but it can be fun and if you take it seriously, it can be scientifically valuable.
Robot represents and models our senses and muscles. Robot can hear, see, move, speak, ect. Robot can own other Robots, so one of them is main Robot. All Robots including one logical main Robot know their main name which is same, so main Robot can be build logically in one computer or using many computers. There can be many main Robots in the network and they can communicate each other if they wan't. Main Robots can also share sub Robots if they wan't. Robots have always very tiny API.
def process(self, sensation)
Robot can always process sensations. Sensation gives information to a Robot what to do and Robot perform actions needed. Robot can also create new sensations given to other Robots.
def route(self, transferDirection, sensation)
Called inside process. This routes sensation to those Robots that are capable to process it.
def sense(self)
Frameworks calls this if this is sense-type Robot, like hearing-Robot. If this is muscle type Robot like speking Robot, this method does nothing and method canSense return False.
Each Robot advertices in it capabilities what kind sensations they are interested of. If Robot is a logical main Robot it defines its subRobots, meaning senses and muscles that will be started in this computer for it. For networking main Robot also defines computers in the network that it connects. With capabilies same Robot-components can be used in many kind configurations.
Sensation can transfer all information about seen or heard things, what their names are etc. Sensations are transferred by axons, same way as humans do, but we use direct transfer from Robot to Robots, because we do so and it is more efficient way.
Sensations have Memory levels that mimics cognitive process of a human. When Robot senses something, it creates a sense level sensations. This includes low level data and Robot does not know what it means. Sense-type Robots create this kind sensations. The human brain is a machine of vision. Brain is the sense where what we see takes on meaning and how we know what we see. This processing takes place in working memory and therefore the robot also has working level sensations. The third level of remembrance is long-term memories. They will remain in our minds for a long time, some forever.
Sensation has also Robot type information, is it muscle or or sense sensation.
Last tking is sensation information, including sensation type - for inctance voice for hearing, image for seeing, item for identified objects, etc - and of cource sensation parameters depending of sansation type, so voice type sensation carries voice data. If voice sensations Robot type is sense, this means that our Robot has heard this voice and opposite, it Robot type is muscle, thi means that our Robot will be speaking out this voice.
Main Robot owns a memory. Memory consist of Sensations connected with associations, same way than in human's memory. Association has a feeling element so our Robot can also feel. This makes fun for our project. Robots can fall in love! If Robots gets responses what it says, it likes more of the object and of responses it uses, so feelings guide Robot what to do with different kind of objects.
In practice remembering function needs also forgetting function. We human beeings can remember important things only because we can forget less important things. Human memory capacity is not limitless as previously thought and the same applies to computers and robots built with them. This is implemented using feelings. The Robot tries to gain pleasure and forget about sensations where it has not been liked.
Main prinsiple is not to help any way a Robot to observe world and what are objects names and what they say etc. Nothing is build in. But we mimic human being giving to Robot a directory with basic imges of itself and basic phrases it says. Little baby starts to study itself and Robot does the same.
Next thing baby does is study the world. Robot gets also directory where are images and voices Robot sees and hears first. With humans this thing is mother. With this project that can be anything you want Robot to react certain way. Robot tries to speak voices it has got and hears responses so those are associated in its memory with positive feelings.
That is all we help our robot and each run of the Robot(s) are different, depending what they see and what they hear.
Read enought to be raady and prepared to see Robots in love?
Robot implementation based on research domains including developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and cognitive psycology, very popular areas stydy with robotics.
Robot can notice events using its sensories.
Robot has goals, it makes decisions what actions are it makes to reach its goals. Implementation uses circle of event-decision-action to make tasks to reach goals. Some Goals are more important than others, so we implement Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to guide robots actions, but robot itself has higher needs, its thinks is most important.
This comes from Wall-E film. Wall-E likes to watch people dancing and thinks it would be nice to hold on hands with a girl robot. One day it see Eve, very graceful being, it can't set eyes off her. Here we gat most important goal of Wall-E, hold Eve's hand. OK, we must build a robot that can find out Eve. So we must build at least hearing and seeing as a start.
We must have sensorys. Project implements sensory framework for simultaneous percertions like we human can do, Axons to carry these percetions from internal sensorys and from external sensorys to the brain. Framework is very flexible so Wall-E can use all suitable devices we can offers (cheap devices we allready have or buy).
WalleRobotController is a legacy projecticluding same basic elements as Robots-projects has, but it is more contrete. It works with robots car run by arduino, Car can be controller by a mobile device. Anorher one is put in the cat. Controil-mobile and device-mobile are connected by wlan and device-mobile in connectoted to arduini by usb.
It is based on Adruino Pirate 4WD car, which carries Raprberry-PI to control it. Remote controller is mobile phone like Android one or Maemo one or E7 ... All parts are cheap and we use everything we already own.
All devices are programmed with their own native programming language.
Role as Robot device, its "muscles"
This device is run by Romeo. Romeo is microcontroller and runs programs that are originally written in C, compiled in host computer and uploaded by USB to the device. On this project we want control Arduino by Raspberry PI computer, which native programming language is Python, so we load pyfirmata sketch 1) to it.
Role as Robot logic, it's "brains".
Raspberry PI computer is very small and very cheap. But is real computer running Linux. We connect Raspberry PI and Arduino Romeo board by USB and set up Python server listening command that come from WLAN from remote controller. We need a cheap WLAN USB-stick. Python has fine libraries to read WLAN connections and handle serial line devices that Romeo is seen in USB connection. Raspberry PI has two USB connection and we use them both, but we don't need USB-HUB.
Raspberry PI carries also some integrated capabilities. We have two usb-microphones connected in 180 degrees angle, so we have implemented position hearing, capability to know in what angle sound comes. We have learned Wall-E to turn to that direction. It is very interested of it'sd environment, hoping to meet and see Eva, hoping to hold her hand one day (I haven't duid hands to Wall-E yet but please don't tell that to Wall-E, maybe one day he has hands.)
Raspberry PI also has it's official camera, so we can see in remote controller what Wall-E sees. Later we can use camera to recognize objects.
Role as remote controller
N900 is Maemo mobile phone which runs Linux. It's native programming language is Qt C++, which is ideal to make applications with graphical UI and WLAN-client. We study fancy logics how to control devices, so this as fine platform to make them.
Role as remote controller
Role as external Senses or remote controller
Android phone has many sensors we can use. Now position sense is ready. Wall-E carries Android cheap and little phone, which t tells what is device's angle from north (azimuth). This capability is needed to turn Wall-E toward the sounds it hears.
Android Phone's role can also same than N900, we can use it as remote controller. Android is programmed by Java and it has fine graphic libraries and it can use WLAN connections. Unfortunately remote controller is not programmed for Android yet.