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| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/E06308X/1 |
| Title: |
One Man and his Bot |
| Principal Investigator: |
Dr ME Studley |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-investigator: |
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| Project Partner: |
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| Department: |
Faculty of Environment and Technology |
| Organisation: |
University of the West of England |
| Scheme: |
Partnerships for Public Engagement |
| Starts: |
10 April 2007 |
Ends: |
09 July 2007 |
Value (£): |
30,400
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Public Engagement - Direct Interaction |
Public Engagement - Engaging Young People |
| Public Engagement in Engineering |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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| Related Grants: |
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| Panel History: |
| Panel Date | Panel Name | Outcome |
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14 Mar 2007
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PPE Responsive Panel
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Announced
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Summary |
The TV show 'Robot Wars' has done a lot to make 'robots' exciting to the public. Unfortunately, their robots aren't robots at all, but are in fact remote-controlled vehicles. A true robot should be autonomous, and control itself.
This project aims to explain the difference between robots and remote-controlled vehicles in a fun and interactive way. The activity will invite participants to try to herd a flock of robot 'sheep' into a pen by driving a remote-controlled 'sheepdog' around an arena. The sheep try to stick together, and when left to themselves will wander around gently, avoiding the arena walls and obstacles. However, when the sheepdog comes into range they will try to run away from it. The person controlling the sheepdog has a minute to try to get as many sheep into the 'pen' as possible, in a manner similar to the old TV favourite, 'One Man and his Dog'.
Although the rules that control the sheep are simple, the behaviour of the flock is complicated and life-like, especially when the sheepdog chases them!
An autonomous 'sheepdog' will then be let loose in the pen, to demonstrate the comparative ability of robots to manage this type of task.
We intend that the audience will experience for themselves that autonomous robots can - at least in this simple example - compete successfully with humans. The audience will also be introduced to some of the ways in which researchers in the field of robotics are inspired by biology to create machines which have a little spark of life...
'One Man and his Bot' will be delivered at the Imagineering Fair at the Bath & West Show, as well as the Discover Zone at Cheltenham Science Festival. It is anticipated that further dates and locations will be incorporated in the future.
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| Final Report Summary |
The TV show 'Robot Wars' has done a lot to make 'robots' exciting to the public. Unfortunately, their robots aren't robots at all, but are in fact remote-controlled vehicles. A true robot should be autonomous, and thus control itself.
This project aims to explain the difference between robots and remote-controlled vehicles in a fun and interactive way. The activity will invite participants to try to herd a flock of robot 'sheep' into a pen by driving a remote-controlled 'sheepdog' around an arena. The sheep try to stick together, and when left to themselves will wander around gently, avoiding the arena walls and obstacles. However, when the sheepdog comes into range they will try to run away from it. The person controlling the sheepdog has two minutes to try to get as many sheep into the 'pen' as possible, in a manner similar to the old TV favourite, 'One Man and his Dog'.
Although the rules that control the sheep are simple, the behaviour of the flock is complicated and life-like, especially when the sheepdog chases them!
We intend that the audience will experience for themselves that autonomous robots can - at least in this simple example - compete successfully with humans. The audience will also be introduced to some of the ways in which researchers in the field of robotics are inspired by biology to create machines which have a little spark of life...
'One Man and his Bot' was delivered at the Imagineering Fair at both the Bath & West Show and the Royal International Air Tatoo, as well as the Discover Zone at Cheltenham Science Festival. It is anticipated that further dates and locations will be incorporated in the future, and may also be rolled out by other groups at venues across the UK.
'One Man and his Bot' has had a very warm reception from both event organisers and the members of the public who participated in herding robot sheep. All the venues have invited us back next year, and some audience members enjoyed the experience so much at one venue that they brought their friends along a week later at the second!
Whether measured by the overwhelmingly positive reactions of the audience, or by the feedback from the event organisers and the researchers themselves, 'One Man and his Bot' has been a tremendous success in providing not only a stimulating encounter with robots, but also a platform on which we can discuss some important issues about the nature of robots and what they really are.
The team have learned a lot from this event... knowledge that is being put to use in designing the event's successor which will pit teams of robots against human teams in a very familiar and popular context! We have shown young people that science can be fun, and that even simple robot sheep can be more than a match for a human and his robot dog!
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.uwe.ac.uk |
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