Ohlone College Robotics In the News

Students bring robots to life in Hyman Hall

By Andrew Cavette, Staff writer.

Thursday, September 20, 2007 — Monitor.

Computer Studies Instructor David Patrick holds ‘Malfoy,’ one of the many robots being programmed by Ohlone students in Hyman Hall this semester. — Photo by Andrew Cavette.

Move forward and stop. It’s a simple task for most of us, but for a robot, that simple task takes a lot of programming and even then there is no guarantee.

Instructor David Patrick pressed a button on his laptop and looked over his students to the back of the room. Nothing happened. After a short delay, one of the many robots that lined the back of Room 120 in Hyman Hall spoke. “I am turning left,” it explained and then, to prove a point, it did.

“I’m pleased when anything works in this place,” Patrick said in amused displeasure.

Introduction to Robotics and Automation (CNET-115) is not about robot construction; it is an introduction to JavaScript programming, put together by Carnegie Mellon University (CMU also helps fund the program at Ohlone). Students meet either Monday-Thursday at Irvington High School or in Hyman Hall on Fridays. The course was first offered in the Fall of 2005 and continues to satisfy the Physical Science General Education requirements of the college.

The course is a first step in what will ultimately develop into a Robotics Program at the newly completed Newark Health, Science and Technology campus. According to a summary of the December 2004 Robotics Planning Meeting, the Robotics Program is seen as a potential flagship for the Newark technology programs because it employs skill sets that are applicable across many other technologies.

The robots are an enticement for the students. Patrick picked up one of the round, white machines, “Robots are a very visual way of seeing how a program works,” he remarked. Having also taught the intermediate Linux course, Patrick joked, “You can only get so excited about drawing answer squares on the screen.”

Ted Long is a student who already has some programming experience, but said he is taking the course because he wants to get into the field of robotics. The Friday class has only met three times this year, and so far Long has been learning the programming code which allows the robots to speak. “I want to build one,” Long said. He plans to buy a robotic kit available at places like Fry’s Electronics.

The robots, which use the iRobot Create platform, cost about $550. They are assembled ahead of time by Patrick with help from Professor Margery Segraves.

All of the robots have names: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, Voldemort among them. “One of the advantages of teaching the class is you get to name the robots,” Patrick said with a smile.

The company, iRobot, is most famous for creating the robotic Roomba vacuum cleaner. The robots in Hyman Hall look similar to those self-propelled vacuums. According to the manufacturer, the iRobot Create platform also has an open cargo bay and a 25-pin expansion port which allows the user to add sensors, wireless connections, computers or other hardware like web cams.

The robots have some limited, built-in programming. “It can check out the wheels and (also) see if the power is low,” Patrick noted. The complicated programming is done by the students utilizing a Linux-based central processing unit called QWERK. The robots in Hyman Hall are controlled through a USB adapter, which is wirelessly connected to a router in the classroom. The robots can be controlled from anywhere within the range of the wireless connection.

This is the first semester the iRobot Create platform has been used. Previously, the students worked with the LEGO Mindstorm Robot Invention System. Professor George Wong, who worked with the LEGO system, is donating the Mindstorm robots to the Engineering department for use in Introduction to Engineering (ENGI-101).

If all goes well with the student’s programming, Patrick hopes to have the robots compete in an obstacle course by the end of the semester. As a glimpse of what may be in store for the robotics program, the 2004 meeting summary also states Ohlone may be developing curriculum which will incorporate a model of the Mars Rover on loan from NASA.