| JDroid
= Real-time Java-powered robots... | | .. but the URLs 'jrobot.com'
and 'jbot.com' are not available, so here we are with jdroid
instead. JDroid is our effort to apply the stunning real-time,
native Java execution capability of JStamp
to small robots and droids. | | Why use Java, especially for embedded systems? | | We think robots can be a lot more
interesting if small, easily programmed, powerful nodes of computation,
sensing and control are available - and that's precisely what JStamp is.
So many things in the 'real world' lend themselves to object
oriented analysis (subsumption
architecture, for example). Java is a wonderfully rich language,
and real-time native Java execution makes a whole universe of
applications possible. | | Confession: we are blissfully ignorant (we don't know it can't be done this way) when it comes to robotics,
so please tell us
and forgive us, if some of what we say here goes against
well-known convention or mangles some terminology. If it sounds
like we are making all this up as we go, you're right - we are. It's a lot of fun. | | Distinguishing JDroid characteristics |
| Autonomous | No "man
behind the curtain" as in the Wizard of OZ. Remote control
models are not robots! JDroids are capable of fully autonomous
useful or interesting behavior. | | Communicative | JDroids can
communicate with each other and with people. This is not essential
for their operation (i.e. they are autonomous), rather it enhances
their usefulness. Initially this will be via RF and IR (infrared). |
| Audacious | We have the
audacity to believe that robots can be a lot smarter and more
interesting than they generally are, by applying new technologies,
thinking small, and - sometimes - defying conventional wisdom.
How big a brain does a bee have? Yet look what it can do... somewhow,
racks and racks of computers with ever more complex software
don't seem to be the best answer to making robots better. |
| Distributed | JDroids can
utilize distributed control locally, i.e., they are implemented
with multiple intelligent modules communicating over local networks
such as CAN (Control Area Network). | | Collaborative | JDroids can
collaborate with each other in order to complete a task or provide
a service. | | Mobile | JDroids can navigate intelligently thorugh
their environment with some sense of where they are in relation
to their surroundings. | | Affordable | Massively expensive robots
make for interesting reading, and are a necessary part of the
R&D cycle, but are out of reach of most of us. We will try
and use available and affordable technology wherever possible.
Lego Mindstorms and K'nex are examples. | | Fun | We want to
have some fun with all this, so we will focus on interesting
aspects of robotics, rather than struggling to solve some classical
problem or other. We're trying to create some interesting trade
show demos - and some fun toys for our kids to share. |
| Useful | Last on this
list is utility. We don't have a business plan for JDroid, other
than to use and sell a lot of JStamps and related hardware. |
| Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics |
| First | A robot may not injure
a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come
to harm. | | Second | A robot must obey orders given it by
human beings except where such orders conflict with the First
law. | | Third | A robot must protect its own existence as long
as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second
laws. |
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