Oh I don't know, seems to me tracks might work all right too. A lot of the technology is already there. The new AFB Kurzweil, GPS, ultrasound and laser distance finding and the big final plus, a human for decision making beyond the capability of the machine or where that sort of intervention is needed. Although it would need charging from time-to-time it wouldn't poop or require dragging along a bag of food and all that.
Then why couldn't it also be equipped to operate the lawn mower and perform a number of other automated functions? Many years ago now about 1982 I had the chance to play a bit with Hero, a Heath Kit robot. Hero didn't have video and the manipulator arm was not strong and a little primitive. It did have voice, a Votrax and it did have some sensors, ultrasonic distance detectors, a light detector and it had a microphone. Hero had an executive programme which would allow it to randomly move about. In that mode it would strike out in one direction and when it approached an obstacle it would stop, look for a clear path and turn and embark on that route. Not unlike one of those old toys which changed direction when bumping into something only it didn't bump into things because it sensed them before that. Hero also had a learning mode with a pendant control device plugged into the back. Hero could then be guided through a course during which it would learn the trip based on counting revolutions of the wheels and other sensory information and could then repeat the course. There was a breadboard on the top you could build circuitry into so, It could be equipped to sense things like light, water, smoke, sound, temperature and telephone or alert in some other way an alarm system. Remember that this was before the advent of cell phones, civilian GPS and hard disk drives were very new and expensive. Hero II had a pair of 5.25 floppy drives in his chest I seem to remember with a capacity of 360K per drive. It also had a full alphanumeric keyboard where as the first one had a hex pad on the top of it's head. Of course Hero was never intended as a working bot, it was an educational device intended to teach any number of things from the principles of robotic design and function to the electronic skills of wiring to the joys of assembly language programming and the interfacing of a variety of peripherals including a arm and pincher hand capable of lifting up to about 2 lb. The Kurzweil Personal Reader of the time was about the size of a dish washer and digital imagery limited to applications like the explorer satellites. Dale Leavens, Cochrane Ontario Canada [EMAIL PROTECTED] Skype DaleLeavens Come and meet Aurora, Nakita and Nanook at our polar bear habitat. ----- Original Message ----- From: cheetah To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 6:52 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] guide bot hi dale what we need is the robotic guide dog. it would have legs and paws not wheels to walk over anything and do stairs. also the body would be large enough to hold computers and the gps stuff. it would be able to recognize doors and sidewalks to make up for the little bit the gps is off. using terrain recignision software. it could have bluetooth to get directions and to talk back to you. also it could have a higher power cell phone in it so it wouldn't loose contact as it wouldn't have to be nere your head, something like the bag phones used to be about 3 wats or so. of course it would cost about 3 million dollars grin. i'll take a blue grate dane please. jim in minnesota At 04:23 PM 11/15/2007, you wrote: >My point was that one reason I don't prefer using a taxi is that I >can never be certain exactly where they drop me off. I can of course >enlist the assistance of the driver because the taxi has a driver. I >suppose the car could tell me that it is parked behind two other >vehicles which have arrived before and so the door is about 40 feet >forward and off the sidewalk by another ten feet. > >Now a guide bot! That would be something. A device with optical >recognition capable of reading signs, notices, bus labels along with >all those other guidance mechanisms. Something strong enough to >carry a box of beer or two, now that would be useful. > >Dale Leavens, Cochrane Ontario Canada ><mailto:DLeavens%40puc.net>[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Skype DaleLeavens >Come and meet Aurora, Nakita and Nanook at our polar bear habitat. > >----- Original Message ----- >From: Dan Rossi >To: <mailto:blindhandyman%40yahoogroups.com>[email protected] >Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 2:54 PM >Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] DARPA Urban Grand Challenge > > > Just wait until your new automated automobile parks you in the far > > corner of the mal parking lot or you have to try finding your way from > > the secured parking area on the 24th level of the airport parking garage > > to the departures lounge in the third airport terminal. > > >You are not thinking robotic enough. Why should the car park in the lot >while you fly off to wherever? The car drops you off at the main door, >then either drives home, or drives itself to the lot. You then just make >a phone call, punch in a code, and the car comes and picks you up. > >-- >Blue skies. >Dan Rossi >Carnegie Mellon University. >E-Mail: <mailto:dr25%40andrew.cmu.edu>[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Tel: (412) 268-9081 > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > >No virus found in this incoming message. >Checked by AVG Free Edition. >Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.33/1133 - Release Date: >11/15/2007 8:57 PM [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
