Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2007 Repurposing a Roomba: Evaluating and training behavior in a simple agent Donald Samuel Abbott-McCune Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the Computer Sciences Commons © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1077 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 2ii © Donald Samuel Abbott-McCune, 2007 All Rights Reserved Repurposing a Roomba: Evaluating and training behavior in a simple agent A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University By Donald Samuel Abbott-McCune Director: Dr. David Primeaux Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia May 2007 3iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr. David Primeaux for his mentorship, advising, and for introducing me to new horizons of education. I would also express much thanks to the professors that guided me and taught me valuable lessons in Computer Science and to Deanna Pace for helping with scheduling and general counsel. Much appreciation goes to fellow graduate students whose bond and idea sharing helped create an ideal learning environment. To my wife Valerie and my daughter Rebecca, I cannot express the gratitude I have for your support while many hours were exhaustively used to research. To Ralph and Janie, my in- laws who treat me like their own son, your support during this time has been immeasurable. I finally would like to express appreciation to all the Soldiers in the U.S. Army who have pushed me and recommended for teaching at West Point Military Academy. I only hope to stand on the shoulders of the giants that have come before and serve admirably. iv4 Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. 7vii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................. 10 Roomba, what is it: ....................................................................................................................... 10 The SCI how it works: .............................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 2: Research Hardware ..................................................................................................... 15 Interface to the Roomba: ........................................................................................................... 15 Research Platform: .................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 3: Research Software ...................................................................................................... 18 Programming Platform: ............................................................................................................. 18 SCI Modes: ................................................................................................................................ 21 Roomba Drive Control: ............................................................................................................. 23 Roomba sensor data: ................................................................................................................. 25 Virtual Wall: .............................................................................................................................. 27 Bump Sensors:........................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 4: The Roomba task: ....................................................................................................... 30 Experiment 1: ................................................................................................................................ 30 Experiment 1 enhanced ......................................................................................................... 33 Results ................................................................................................................................... 34 5v A moment of reflection based on Experiment 1 ........................................................................... 35 Environmental factors: .............................................................................................................. 35 Electronic and mechanical factors: ........................................................................................... 36 Battery Issues: ........................................................................................................................... 38 Experiment 2: Calibration ............................................................................................................ 39 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 39 Experiment 3: ................................................................................................................................ 40 Testing Environment: ................................................................................................................ 40 Results: ...................................................................................................................................... 43 Experiment 4: ................................................................................................................................ 43 Test Track A: ......................................................................................................................... 44 Experiment 4 Expanded ............................................................................................................ 45 Track C: ................................................................................................................................. 47 Track D: ................................................................................................................................. 47 Experiment 4 results and conclusions ....................................................................................... 50 Chapter 5: Conclusion................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 6: Future Work ............................................................................................................... 53 Appendix A: HEX conversion table. ........................................................................................... 54 Appendix B: C# Source Code for RoombaSCI:Types ................................................................. 58 Appendix C: A Simple Agent ..................................................................................................... 248 vi List of References………………………………………………………………………………249 VITA……………………………………………………………………………………………251 7vii List of Figures Figure 1: iRobot Roomba Scheduler ............................................................................................. 10 Figure 2: SCI pin outs ................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 3: Standard 9 pin serial port ............................................................................................... 13 Figure 4: Serial Data Packet ......................................................................................................... 13 Figure 5: Todbot original Serial Tether ........................................................................................ 15 Figure 6: Robo Dynamics Rootooth adaptor ................................................................................ 16 Figure 7: Bluetooth interface showing the serial ports ................................................................. 17 Figure 8: Version 2.2 Roomba Control Program: Musical tab ..................................................... 18 Figure 9: Roomba Control Program Version 2.2: Serial Port Setup Tab ..................................... 19 Figure 10: Control Program Version 2.2: Drive Control Tab ....................................................... 19 Figure 11: Control Program Version 2.2: Free Willy Tab ............................................................ 20 Figure 12: Roomba-Term Start Page (A) Packet Page (B) ........................................................... 21 Figure 13: OPCODE for the Roomba ........................................................................................... 22 Figure 14: SCI Bumps and Wheel Drops Byte Breakout ............................................................. 27 Figure 15: Virtual Wall beam representation (A) Roomba sensor (B) ......................................... 28 Figure 16: Location of Roomba Bump Sensors ............................................................................ 28 Figure 17: Expected results (A) and actual results (B). ...............................................................