Egr100
Fall 1999
Ileana Streinu
Doreen Weinberger

Topics

• From Summer 1999 Smith Alumnae Quaterly, p. 22:
  
  The recent announcement that three women are heading the exploration of Mars by a robotic spacecraft should surely dispel any lingering stereotypes about women and science. For women who pursue their passion for scientific research, the opportunities and rewards today are enormous.
  
  
• A few administrative issues. "Work-on-your-own" lab, one evening a week, under TA's supervisions. Tuesday or Wednesday nights, 7-10. Discuss options. Office hours, discuss options: Th 4-5? 5-6? Tu 10:30-11:30?
• Format of the lab: all gather in B01 at 7:00 for an overview of the lab. Then with your lab partner pick up your kit and go to the same table each time. When done, put back the kit on the same shelf each time. All gather in B01 for wrap-up session at 9:45 (or earlier, if so told by Ileana).
• How lab reports will be prepared: web pages with robot images. Show SSSP students ' daily reports. Remember: these are 13-14-15 year olds who have never done web pages before! So you can do it, too - even if you do not know yet how!!!
• Cleaning up class accounts:
  • It is not a breach of security, you are indeed using the class accounts previously used by other students: the summer students.
  • The accounts were meant to be used only for class purposes, so there shouldn't be any "personal" email that you've been accidentally given access to. You should just go ahead and delete it, then start using the class accounts.
  • The summer students were completely inexperienced with Unix, and we were afraid they might forget their passwords. Therefore, they were not told how to change them. Also, we wanted to have access to their project pages, to show them to you as models.
  • If you know Unix and pine, remove all email from summer students. You may keep the lab reports for a while, if you want to use them as a model of what can be done. Otherwise, just delete them! (We saved them elsewhere meanwhile).
  • If you do not know, please ask Ileana, Jessi or Shana how to do it. Or, wait until next week, when you will be taught the basics of Unix needed for these projects and you will be able to do it yourself.
• Students who didn't get their Unix accounts(grendel), see Ileana. Remember NOT to change the password yet. Remember to send Ileana an email from whatever account you are regularly using, to get on Ileana's e-mailing-list for the class. A "tutorial" on Unix and pine will be presented in Lab 2, so do not worry if you do not know yet what to do with your class account.
• Getting started with Lego robots.
  • Using the CD-ROM from the Mindstorms kit:
    • Do the Tutorial, Part 1. 30-45 minutes.
      • Assemble the RSX. Put batteries.
      • Add motors and sensors.
      • Start the RSX. Run programs in the 5 program slots.
    • 10 min break around 8:30.
    • Assemble Robo 1, the first robot in the book. 1 hr.
    • When done, take a short break (5 minutes), then do the Tutorial, Part 2 and Programming the RSX, Training center. 45-60 min. Along the way:
    • Assemble Pathfinder 1 and use it with the tutorial 1 hr.
      • Basic programming.
      • Turning on and off motors.
      • Adding sensor watchers.
    • If done: do some other robot project from the book (your choice!). Try to match it with one of the pre-defined programs. Or try some simple, basic programs of your own.
  • Do not worry if you do not manage to do everything that is on this list. The first lab is designed for all levels of backgrounds and previous knowledge with computers. After I'll get feedback from you, I will design labs that would match more closely your current skills.
  • Wrap-up at 9:45. Questions. Lessons learned. Discuss Homework 1. Preview of next week's lab.

Homework 1

• Send an email to Ileana at 100e@cs.smith.edu (NOT at streinu@cs.smith.edu), describing in an informal way, in about half a page or so, what you did in lab today. I want to hear especially about what you couln't do, didn't have time to do, was too fast, was too much, you didn't know how to do, you feel I should have explained you more about that particular topic, you didn't want to ask because your lab partner seemed to know it, etc. etc.
• This homework is graded: 100 points if you send the email and do a thorough job at touching or exceeding the points listed above. Zero points if you do not do it :-)
• Due: Friday Sept. 10, by midnight. Warning: I intend to have Friday night as the deadline for most of the lab reports. Please give me feedback (in the hwk1 email) about this. I'd rather not extend it, because a few days after the lab was completed, you'd have forgotten what you did. I want your feedback, nonetheless :-)
• Optional recommended reading: Robokitty.