Object Recognition Update

Primarily Pertaining to Object Perception and Object Navigation

Author:  James Butler

Affiliation:  Temple University, CS 203

Address:  Temple University                                         

Date:  11/28/04

Table of Contents

1. How to Use

2. Current Issues

3. Remaining Development

1. How to Use

1)    Start the application program.

2)    Select Do Laundry or Do Dinner from the Command panel

        ·                    The Do Laundry option can be selected by pressing the Enter key.

        ·                    The Do Dinner option can be selected from the Space bar.

3)    The Do Laundry key Do Dinner key changes to Learn New, to learn a path to the required room.
       The best path is saved to an array in a linked list, Robot Memory, where linked nodes are referenced by mission names.

4)     Select the Learn New to learn a new path for the requested assignment or mission.

        ·                    The Do Laundry Learn New option can be selected by pressing the Enter key.
        ·                    The Do Dinner Learn New option can be selected from the Space bar.

5)    If the robot was successful in locating the correct room, then the best path so far to room required to complete the
        requested assignment or mission can be selected from the Run Best option off the Command pane.

6)    Optionally, the robot can continue to learn new paths, by reselecting the Learn New option. The best path for the
        requested assignment or mission is saved in the robot’s memory.  Once the shortest path to the room is found, then
        it will be permanently recorded in the robot’s memory, until the simulator is restarted.

7)    If the robot finds the wrong room for the mission – for example, the kitchen when it needs the washroom – a new screen
        is displayed to indicate the robot was not successful, and to inform users to try again.  However, currently the new screen
        is not displaying so the robot just stays in the wrong room, waiting for a new selection from the Command panel.

8)    If the robot finds the wrong room, select a new assignment or mission from the Command pane, and then select the Learn
        New option again.   

9)    To run an assignment for the first time, select the new assignment and then select the Lean New option.

2. Current Issues

1)    The screen informing users the robot was unsuccessful and to try again is not displaying.

3. Remaining Development

1)    Have a screen display when the robot is unsuccessful, informing users to try again.

2)    Set the background of the robot to a transparent color, if I can learn the correct way to do it and it looks better that way,

        as it should.

3)    Optionally, I may have the robot continue to search for the correct room until it finds it or until the number of turns exceeds

        the minimal number of turns found so far, but this will be a lot more complicated and my time may run too short to get to it.

4)    Optionally, I may use Prolog for the data structure, instead of the linked list in Java which it currently uses, but this will also

        require linking the Prolog and Java programs and may require too much time to learn and implement.

5)    Paper discussing Object Recognition and how my simulation program relates to it, and how it does not.