Statecharts modeling of a robot

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Statecharts modeling of a robots behavior
Silvia Mur Blanch Supervisor Professor Hans
Vangheluwe School of Computer Science
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The project

• Project based on
• Model-based design of a computer-controlled game
  character behavior
• Jörg Kienzle, Alexandre Denault, Hans Vangheluwe
• Modeling game AI at an appropriate abstraction
  level, using an appropriate modeling language
• Event-based approach modularity, efficiency,
  implementation independent
• Rhapsody Statecharts
• State/event-based
• Autonomous/reactive behavior
• Notion of (real) time

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Abstracting the Tank
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Tanks AI architecture
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Tanks statechartsEvent-based Vs. Time-based

• In the original designs, the statecharts are
  purely event-based

• In the final designs, we use time to force guards
  checks, which will trigger transitions

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Building a simple simulation environment

• Map defined in a plain text file using numbers
  walls (1), repair station(2), refuel station(3)
• Map drawn using Tkinter canvas rectangles

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Simulation using Statecharts
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The robot iRobot Create

• 32 built-in sensors
• Use serial port to send individual commands
• Store up to 100 Open Interface Commands on robot

• 8-bit microcontroller with 16Kbytes FLASH memory
• Provides on-board control with programs written
  in C/C

• High power Class 1 Bluetooth, 300ft (100m) range
• Provides remote communication with the Create
  robot

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Simplifying the tank, dealing with the robot

• Introduction to the robot getting to know how it
  works and its basic commands (10 built-in demos
  for testing)
• Model robots behavior based on tanks behavior
  simplify statecharts (robot is a lot simpler)
• Define statecharts models using AToM3, then
  compile into C/C and adapt to robots
  parameters
• Possibility of developing a Statecharts to
  iRobot Create compiler for AToM3 free and
  easy-to-use robot behavior modeling tool for
  everyone!

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Making the robot move
1st step
Communication with robot using BlueTooth
Sending one instruction at a time
2ndstep
int main() printf (Hello world!)
return 0
Load C code describing robots behavior
into Command module