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BulbRobot – Inexpensive Open Hardware and Software Robot Featuring Catadioptric Vision and Virtual Sonars

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Robot 2019: Fourth Iberian Robotics Conference (ROBOT 2019)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 1092))

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Abstract

This article proposes a feature-rich, open hardware, open software inexpensive robot based on a Waveshare AlphaBot 2. The proposal uses a Raspberry Pi and a chrome plated light bulb as a mirror to produce a robot with an omnidirectional vision (catadioptric) system. The system also tackles boot and network issues to allow for monitor-less programming and usage, thus further reducing usage costs. The OpenCV library is used for image processing and obstacles are identified based on their brightness and saturation in contrast to the ground. Our solution achieved acceptable framerates and near perfect object detection up to 1.5-m distances. The robot is usable for simple robotic demonstrations and educational purposes for its simplicity and flexibility.

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Acknowledgements

This research was partially supported by LIACC - Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Laboratory of the University of Porto (FCT/UID/CEC/00027/2019).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. FEUP - Faculty of Engineering, UP - University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    João Ferreira, Filipe Coelho & Armando Sousa

  2. INESC TEC - INESC Technology and Science, Porto, Portugal

    Armando Sousa

  3. LIACC/UP - Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Laboratory, UP, Porto, Portugal

    Luís Paulo Reis

  4. DEI/FEUP - Informatics Engineering Department, FEUP, Porto, Portugal

    Luís Paulo Reis

Authors
  1. João Ferreira
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  2. Filipe Coelho
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  3. Armando Sousa
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  4. Luís Paulo Reis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to João Ferreira .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Manuel F. Silva

  2. Department of Electrical Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Bragança, Portugal

    José Luís Lima

  3. Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Luís Paulo Reis

  4. UPC, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

    Alberto Sanfeliu

  5. Centro Universitario de la Defensa (CUD), Zaragoza, Spain

    Danilo Tardioli

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Ferreira, J., Coelho, F., Sousa, A., Reis, L.P. (2020). BulbRobot – Inexpensive Open Hardware and Software Robot Featuring Catadioptric Vision and Virtual Sonars. In: Silva, M., Luís Lima, J., Reis, L., Sanfeliu, A., Tardioli, D. (eds) Robot 2019: Fourth Iberian Robotics Conference. ROBOT 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1092. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35990-4_45

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