Scavenging with a laptop robot

Abstract

This paper overviews the hardware and software com-ponents of a robot whose computational engine uses only commodity laptop computers. Web cameras, sonar, and an inexpensive laser-pointer-based ranger provide sensing. By shifting emphasis from engineer-ing precision to computational heft, the robot succeeded at several tasks in the 2005 AAAI scavenger hunt. As a result, this “robot-as-computer-peripheral ” design con-firms that capable, low-overhead robots are within the price range of a large group of educators and enthusi-asts.