Zig bee technology being used here.

It is a specification for a suite of high level communication protocols using small, low-power digital radios based on the IEEE 802.15.4-

2003 standard for Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks (LR-WPANs), such as wireless light switches with lamps, electrical meters with in-home-displays, consumer electronics equipment via short-range radio. The technology defined by the ZigBee specification is intended to be simpler and less expensive than other WPANs, such as Bluetooth. ZigBee is targeted at radio-frequency (RF) applications that require a low data rate, long battery life, and secure networking.

ZigBee is a low-cost, low-power, wireless mesh networking standard. First, the low cost allows the technology to be widely deployed in wireless control and monitoring applications. Second, the low power-usage allows longer life with smaller batteries. Third, the mesh networking provides high reliability and more extensive range. It is not capable of powerline networking though other elements of the OpenHAN standards suite promoted

by openAMI and UtilityAMI deal with communications co-extant with AC power outlets. In other words, ZigBee is intended not to support powerline networking but to interface with it at least for smart metering and smart appliance purposes. Utilities, e.g. Penn Energy, have declared the intent to require them to interoperate again via the openHAN standards.

There are three different types of ZigBee devices:

ZigBee coordinator (ZC): The most capable device, the coordinator forms the root of the network tree and might bridge to other networks. There is exactly one ZigBee coordinator in each network since it is the device that started the network originally. It is able to store information about the network, including acting as the Trust Centre & repository for security keys.

ZigBee Router (ZR): As well as running an application function, a router can act as an intermediate router, passing on data from other devices.

ZigBee End Device (ZED): Contains just enough functionality to talk to the parent node (either the coordinator or a router); it cannot relay data from other devices. This relationship allows the node to be asleep a significant amount of the time thereby giving long battery life. A ZED requires the least amount of memory, and therefore can be less expensive to manufacture than a ZR or ZC.

Capacitive Humidity Sensors are also used to measure the Relative Humidity. Capacitive relative humidity (RH) sensors are widely used in industrial, commercial, and weather telemetry applications. They consist of a substrate on which a thin film of polymer or metal oxide is deposited between two conductive electrodes. The sensing surface is coated with a porous metal electrode to protect it from contamination and exposure to condensation. The substrate is typically glass, ceramic, or silicon. The incremental change in the dielectric constant of a capacitive humidity sensor is nearly directly proportional to the relative humidity of the surrounding environment. The change in capacitance is typically 0.20.5 pF for a 1% RH change, while the bulk capacitance is between 100 and 500 pF at 50% RH at 25C. Capacitive sensors are characterized by low temperature coefficient, ability to function at high temperatures (up to 200C), full recovery from condensation, and reasonable resistance to chemical vapors. The response time ranges from 30 to 60 s for a 63% RH step change.

Introduction to Robots
For many people it is a machine that imitates a humanlike the androids in Star Wars, Terminator and Star Trek: The Next Generation. However much these robots capture our imagination, such robots still only inhabit Science Fiction. People still haven't been able to give a robot enough 'common sense' to reliably interact with a dynamic world. However, Rodney and his team at MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab are working on creating such humanoid robots.

The type of robots that you will encounter most frequently are robots that do work that is too dangerous, boring, onerous, or just plain nasty. Most of the robots in the world are of this type. They can be found in auto, medical, manufacturing and space industries. In fact, there are over a million of these type of robots working for us today. Some robots like the Mars Rover Sojourner and the upcoming Mars Exploration Rover, or the underwater robot Caribou help us learn about places that are too dangerous for us to go. While other types of robots are just plain fun for kids of all ages. Popular toys such asTeckno, Polly or AIBO ERS-220 seem to hit the store shelves every year around Christmas time. And as much fun as robots are to play with, robots are even much more fun to build. In Being Digital, Nicholas Negroponte tells a wonderful story about an eight year old, pressed during a televised premier of MITMedia Lab's LEGO/Logo work at Hennigan School. A zealous anchor, looking for a cute sound bite, kept asking the child if he was having fun playing with LEGO/Logo. Clearly exasperated, but not wishing to offend, the child first tried to put her off. After her third attempt to get him to talk about fun, the child, sweating under the hot television lights, plaintively looked into the camera and answered, "Yes it is fun, but it's hard fun."

But what exactly is a robot? As strange as it might seem, there really is no standard definition for a robot. However, there are some essential characteristics that a robot must have and this might help you to decide what is and what is not a robot. It will also help you to decide what features you will need to build into a machine before it can count as a robot. A robot has these essential characteristics:

Sensing First of all your robot would have to be able to sense its surroundings. It would do this in ways that are not unsimilar to the way that you sense your surroundings. Giving

your robot sensors: light sensors (eyes), touch and pressure sensors (hands), chemical sensors (nose), hearing and sonar sensors (ears), andtaste sensors (tongue) will give your robot awareness of its environment.

Movement A robot needs to be able to move around its environment. Whether rolling on wheels, walking on legs or propelling by thrusters a robot needs to be able to move. To count as a robot either the whole robot moves, like the Sojourner or just parts of the robot moves, like the Canada Arm.

Energy A robot needs to be able to power itself. A robot might be solar powered, electrically powered, battery powered. The way your robot gets its energy will depend on what your robot needs to do.

Intelligence A robot needs some kind of "smarts." This is where programming enters the pictures. A programmer is the person who gives the robot its 'smarts.' The robot will have to have some way to receive the program so that it knows what it is to do.

So what is a robot? Well it is a system that contains sensors, control systems, manipulators, power supplies and software all working together to perform a task. Designing, building, programming and testing a robots is a combination of physics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, structural engineering, mathematics and computing. In some cases biology, medicine, chemistry might also be involved. A study of robotics means that students are actively engaged with all of these disciplines in a deeply problem-posing problem-solving environment.

Robotics Design Process

Defining the Problem

identifying the purpose of a construction identifying specific requirements

You are confronted with a situation. Here are two examples:

A community wants to construct a robot zoo in which the "animals" move their heads, open their mouths and make appropriate sounds when they sense that someone is coming towards them. Design and build a prototype device which could satisfy this need. A local pet shop wishes to sell a range of devices which automatically feed small cage pets (such as rabbits, gerbils, mice etc.) when their owners are away for the weekend. Design and build a prototype device which could satisfy this need. You need to determine what problem you are trying to solve before you attempt to design and build a robot to solve a problem. Take the time to study a number of different situations and once you have decided what the situation is and you understand exactly what the problem is then write a design brief in a log book (this will be your working document as you work on your robot. This log book can be a paper notebook or an electronic document.) This is a short statement which explains the problem that is to be solved.

Researching and Designing

gathering information identifying specific details of the design which must be satisfied identifying possible and alternative design solutions planning and designing a appropriate structure which includes drawings

Having written a brief, you are now ready to gather information which will help you to produce a successful design. First you will need to decide what information you require. This will be different from project to project and will also depend on the amount of information and knowledge you already have. A useful step will be to use the following chart. Ask the five questions, then read the column headed Gathering Information. This will help you plan the type of information you will need to gather.

Gathering Information
A design's practical functions can include:

movement How will the robot move within its environment? If it were put in a different environment, would it still be able to move within this new space?

manipulation How will the robot move or manipulate other objects within its environment? Can a single robot move or manipulate more than one kind of object?

energy How is the robot powered? Can it have more than one energy source? intelligence How does the robot "think?" What does it mean to say that a robot "thinks?"

sensing How will my robot "know" or figure out what's in its environment? If it were put in a different environment, would it be able to figure out this new environment

Shape and form are important to a design's aesthetic qualities, ergonomics, strength, stability, rigidity, safety Surface texture, finish and colour can be appropriate to a designs: aesthetic qualities, mechanical, optical and thermal properties, durability, etc. The properties of a material will determine its suitability for a design. For our work with robotics we have chosen to work with LegoT. However, there are many different types of materials that can be and are used in the construction of robots.

strength, hardness, toughness, density durability and the aesthetic qualities determined by colour, surface texture, pattern, etc.

The materials cost and availability is also important factor.

Construction techniques fall into the categories of:

cutting and shaping fabrication - the assembly of the parts using screws, bolts, glues, solder, etc moulding - by the application of a force on the material casting - using a mould to form the shape of a solidifying material

A particular material can only be worked in a limited number of ways. The method of construction therefore will be determined by the chosen material, the availability of manufacturing facilities, the skills of the work force and the production costs. The manufacture, use and disposal of any product will have both beneficial and detrimental effects upon people, wildlife and the environment. The designer therefore, has an enormous responsibility to consider very carefully the potential effects of any new design. This will include: health and safety factors, noise, smell, pollution, etc.

Gathering information can involve reading, listening, conducting interviews and observing. A specification is a detailed description of the problem to be solved. It should 'spell out' exactly what the design must achieve.

Creating a Prototype

testing the design troubleshooting the design

You should ideally think of at least three different ways to solve the problem before you concentrate on any one in particular. Sketches and notes are required at this stage. You can also create prototypes using lego for this step. Once you have created a lego prototype, take a digital picture of it. Print out the picture and jot your notes below the picture in your log book. Once

you have settled on one solution, go back over the list of specifications you have made. Make sure that each specification is satisfied. Determine a working schedule for yourself. Draw up a timetable showing how much time you expect to spend on each part of the design process. Your planning should also ensure that you have all the necessary materials and equipment that you need to complete your project.

Building your Robot

Construction work can now begin. Here are some sites that help with:

structure gear combinations arm mechanisms placing sensors hints and tricks The Art of LEGO Design by Fred Martin - an excellent resource for building very strong structures

Programming and Testing your Robot

Now it is time to program your robot. This can be achieved in many different ways. Use can achieve rudimentary intelligence in your robot by using only relays, potentiometers, bump switches and some discrete components. You can increase complexity in intelligence in your robot by adding more sensors and continuing in the same vein of using hardwired logic. By introducing a more sophisticated control element, the microprocessor, you introduce a significant new tool in solving the robot control problem. For our robots we used the RCX Brick that was first developed by Fred Martin at MIT as the Programmable Brick.

Once you have written your program and downloaded into the RCX brick using the Infrared Sender, it is time to test your robot to see if it truly does what you want it to do.

Evaluating your Robot

evaluate the design evaluate the planning process

As building and programming work progresses, and the design begins to take shape, you will automatically carry out tests on the design. You will also need to complete systems tests at various stages of the construction. If any of the tests show that you have failure in a joint, or that part of your structure is not meeting specifications, then you will have to make modifications in your plan. When building and programming is complete, the entire project must be tested to see if it does the job for which it was designed. An evaluation needs to then be written. This should be a statement outlining the strengths and weaknesses in your design. It should describe where you have succeeded and where you have failed to achieve the aims set out in the specifications.