2010-06-29 <br>

• Tilar interface Design
  • Need a good name
  • Main Goal: Make it so non-programmers can program robots
  • p. 91 in notebook for interview with ComDis
  • DATA LOGGING!!!!!!!
    • Show clock on robot's face to sync video with events
    • Save video from robot also, either all of it, or 5 seconds or so surrounding robot events
  • UNDO!!!!
  • Support multiple robot platforms
    • Use Sockets or TCP/IP to communicate btw server(interface) and client(robot)
      • Need detailed spec for network communications interface
      • Actually have separate programs for each robot that can be written in any language
      • Better for vision/CPU intensive
    • Support sending commands to robots and receiving output from robots (sensors)
  • Remote input devices for within session robot control
    • Maybe TCP/IP also
    • Global vs. local remote programming within the interface
    • Initiate action at any time, like sound, facial expression, change motion.
      • Need global remote listener at least
    • Also need to display to these devices (what do we need?)
      • Wiimote: vibration, LEDs, sound
        • Haptic signal for Troy to acknowledge command
      • iPhone: Graphics, etc.
    • Separate input/output channels for smart remotes (PDA, phone, etc.)
      • Inputs: camera (gestures, object locations), speech, remotes, etc.
        • Tellme studio for cellphone input?
          • Can do if we use TCP/IP and have a well-designed module interface
      • Outputs: vibration, sound, LEDs, images
    • Wii remote chording or other way to “add more buttons”
  • Remote input devices for between session robot programming
    • Honda's motion learner
    • Robot puppet programming by demonstration
    • Wii remote motion capture
  • UI Frontend
    • Get rid of tool modes, have everything as direct or proximal interaction.
    • Display animated previews of robot animations
      • With animated previews, fairly easy to do simulated runs without robot
      • Supply server with xml file for robot configuration and then can display any robot server side
    • Keep it simple, have limited number of choices at any time.
      • Hierarchical action selection
    • Draggable action creator
      • Timing will be an issue here too
      • Make more general by xml file to define DH parameters and constraints
      • Need xml file and geometry for each robot piece.
    • Record sounds within the interface
      • Need simple editing tools to crop ends, or maybe just crop silence.
      • Also allow to import sounds, and maybe that's all we need.
  • Robot animation support
    • Support head motion
    • See if Troy can move faster, more enthusiastically
    • Support animations that end in a non-zero position
      • Need to blend to start position of next animation gracefully
    • Pointing arm in particular direction (at person or object)
    • Support pause button
      • Robot should freeze, then resume what it was doing when resuming.
    • Support simultaneous sound and action and facial expression, etc.
      • Specifying when the sound should play
        • Slider on the arrow
        • “Junction” point along arrow that can slide and shows the simultaneous action
      • Marker in animation file for ideal sound trigger time
  • Intelligence support
    • Gaze direction detection
    • Robot needs to sing more songs
    • Joint attention, have robot look at object, maybe same object child is looking at
    • Sounds templates
      • “Hello <name>” becomes “Hello Alan”
      • Troy says “Troy push <object> to <name>” becomes “Troy push truck to Alan”