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Linux Powered Robots

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the stuff-to-read dept.

Al writes "We all remember RoboCup2000. LinuxWorld.com.au has an article on how Linux was used by different teams to optimise communications, hackup wavelan ethernet and build in sensory and visual intelligence to the Robots. Is it too early to ask for christmas presents?" Anyone else digging on Comedy Central's Battle Bots? I wish they'd ditch the lame sports comentary and replace it with purely technical stuff. And then watch robots smash each other. Somehow I doubt that you could build a winning battle bot based on Linux: it just strikes me that things like hard drives don't respond well to axes and chain saw blades.

2 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. Why OS? by zi11a · · Score: 5
    Why would a battlebot type mobot (as opposed to robot) need an OS? Call me old-fashioned, but I think a microprocessor based control system for something that's essentially a fancy remote controlled car is serious overkill. This is right up there with M$ wanting your toaster to run Windows CE!!

    Now the right :) way to do it would be to give each part of the bot a simpler controller (ROM-register, or even analog design). For example, the chainsaw system would be independent of the propulsion system. Advantages would be:

    • No central 'brain' to take out. Chainsaw would still be useful if the bot was sitting in one place because the propulsion got smashed.
    • Simple controllers would be robust and allow redundancy.
    • Greatly reduced power requirements. This means power could be redirected to lugging around heavier arms and armor.
    • Cheaper. This means money could be redirected to bigger and better arms and armor.
    • This may allow the use of the coolest anti-bot weapon of them all: EMP. Crack the armor, pulse, and your opponent is disabled, or at least reset. Since your simple analog designs are basically EMP-proof, and simpler digital designs are easier to shield if they need it, you come out on top.
    The only disadvantage I can see is:
    • Need to know how to design closer to the hardware. We're talking about circuit design and control theory as opposed to C programming. EE background as opposed to CS background.
    Come to think of it, this would be a cool way to design a real robot, too.
  2. My only prob with BattleBots by Misfit · · Score: 5

    is that they are not robots. They're just remote controlled machines. It's still a great show, but I'd be more impressed if they had a mind of their own and not controlled by a human.

    Misfit