RoadNarrows
Robotics
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Shop Online: RoadNarrows SkewlZone Phone: 1.800.275.9568 Fax: 1.800.275.9534 |
RoadNarrows SkewlZone™ Products About SkewlZoneThe RoadNarrows SkewlZone™ is a suite of products designed to augment legged robots. Essentially, SkewlZone is an electronic brain and sensor pack. Many of the popular legged robots operate almost entirely in open-loop. That is, the robots have no or limited sensory input from the environment outside of servo position and speed data. A manufacturer's supplied robot controller is dedicated for the real-time control of 17+ servos. It has little access capacity to process more complex sensory input from the environment and integrate these input streams with the current set of desired robot behaviors and high-level goals. Augmenting a legged robot with the SkewlZone endows it with far greater potential. A Linux, easier-to-program single board computer (SBC) connects to SkewlZone add-on sensors, such as hand and foot tactile sensors, an inertial measurement unit, and a USB color camera. The Linux SBC is also connected to the the manufacturer's servo controller to issue commands and receive timely servo state updates. Taken altogether, the robot with SkewlZone provides a platform with capabilites of motion, touch, balance, eyesight. Finally, a Wi-Fi conection is included for monitoring and for even more intense off-target AI applications. RoadNarrows in partnership with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), has received a Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create a "Brain & Sensor Pack" for walking two, four, and six legged robots for teaching science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses.
SkewlZone components:
By design, SkewlZone products are a generalized system that can be used on many legged robots, providing these robots with sensors and computing power that walking robots on the market currently do not have. For each specific robot, a set of custom-built mechanical attachments are provided. Initially custom mechanical attachments are provided for the Kondo KHR-2HV and Kyosho MANOI AT01 humanoid robots. The product line will be expanded to support more robots, such as the KumoTek KT-X humanoid plus yet-to-be-identified four and six legged robots. The Robotis Bioliod system is also in consideration. About SIUESouthern Illinois University at Edwardsville has been using robots in classrooms and outreach programs since 1999. The SIUE computer science department use robotics to teach computer science and engineering courses. In addition, it conducts middle and high school robot demonstrations, workshops, and competitions to help get students interested in pursuing careers in computer science and engineering.About the NSF GrantThe Phase I grant is supported by the National Science Foundation Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Program under Grant No. 0711909 is titled. "General Robot Controller for Legged Mobile Robots with Integrated Open Source Software".For more information, go to: NSF Grant 0711909 
Each SkewlZone™ foot contains eight pressure sensors - six on the sole of the foot and two on the toe. For each pressure sensor there is an awesome bright blue LED that activates at a configureable pressure threshold. There are only two electrical interfaces:
The SkewlZone™ Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) provides an analog to the biological vestibular balance system for your robot. The IMU is a 3-axis accelerometer with a range of ±1.5g with a resolution in the µg's. For each accelerometer axis there is a crazy blue LED that activates at a configureable acceleration threshold. There are only two electrical interfaces:
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The RoadNarrows SkewlZone™ is the commercial application of the
derived technology effort.