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[DPRG] geocaching robot
Subject: [DPRG] geocaching robot
From: David P. Anderson
dpa at io.isem.smu.edu
Date: Sun Jan 8 20:18:11 CST 2006
Howdy,
I had an interesting experience on this beautiful Sunday
afternoon.
I was out running jBot, and we encountered a group of kids
playing in the park. A few came running over, and they often
do, and began asking questions, and I was answering them and
chatting as we followed the robot through the trees. This one
little 10-year-old (my guess) girl was particulaly inquisitive:
"What is it?"
It's a robot.
"Who's driving it"
It's driving itself.
"Really? How does it do that?"
Well, there's a computer on it. It has sonar, like a bat. Hear
that little ticking sound? Run out there in front of it and stand
there and see what happens.
So this little girl ran around and stood in the robot's path and it
maneuvered around her and continued on it's way. I'm not sure why
that is more impressive than maneuvering around the trees, but kids
alway seem to be enthralled when they realize that the robot will
interact with them.
"Wow that's AWESOME! Where is it going?"
Well, it started up the street in a driveway and it's trying to
get to the center of that basketball court around the corner across
the park over there.
"How does it do that? Is there a GPS on it? Or is that a cell-phone?"
she pointed to the GPS mounted on the robot.
It's a GPS. It's trying to get to a GPS waypoint. You know what that
is?
"Yes."
So 10 year olds in 2006 know what a GPS is. I feel so old!
She ran excitedly to her group of friends and told them the
news:
"You gotta come see this, it's AWESOME. He has a GEOCACHING ROBOT!"
A geocaching robot. What an interesting idea. Out of the mouths
of babes, as they say.
When working with the robot, I have always assumed that the human
(me) would know in advance where the destination waypoint(s) lie.
It had not occurred to me that the robot could be used to _find_
that destination waypoint for the humans. A robot for geocaching
--- what a great idea!
They all wanted one.
So they came and gathered round the robot, geocachers every one,
and asked "How much did your Geocaching Robot cost?" and "Where did
you get it?" and "Can I buy one?"
For the entrepreneurs among us, this might be something interesting
to comtemplate.
They chased the robot around for a while and tried to block its path
and giggled when it would find it's way through their tangle of legs,
until we got close to the basketball court and I asked them to
let it go.
But when we got there, a game was in progress. Hmmmm.
So as the robot approached the court I stepped up boldly and said,
"Hey, guys, this robot is trying to make it to the center of the court.
Can I get you to pause long enough for it to do that?"
I've actually done this before, and as before, everyone was so surprised
that there is a robot heading toward them that they just stand there
and let the robot pass. It found the center of the court, and turned
around and headed back toward the park.
Then as the robot and its entourage of now maybe 20 kids headed away from
the court, the little girl's friend or maybe older brother spoke over
his shoulder to the confused looking basketball players, who were still
watching us all disappear off into a drainage ditch.
"It's a Geocaching Robot," he offered matter-of-factly. Several of the
players nodded their heads, and they all went back to their game.
best regards,
dpa
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