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Lab 2 Cliff Sensor Experiments1. How does transparency affect the sensor signal?--->Daniela Garcia 2. Can cliff sensors recognize different colors? and if they can what does that mean?--->Taylor Gendron 3. Can cliff sensors recognize different surfaces?--->Mark Troutt 4. What effect does color have on the readings of cliff sensors?---> Chris Arndt 5. Does a shiny surface have any effect on the intensity?--->Casey Judge Name: Daniela Garcia (red cohort) Cliff Sensors work by sending and reflecting an infra-red laser. When reflected back, the information is processed and the state of the create is determined. The main function of the cliff sensors is to detect ground below the robot. The create can also read the strength of the signal which canges due to transparency, color, texture, and distance. Purpose/Description of Experiment: Modifying the cliff sensors by covering them with different materials will change the sensors’ strength reading. The transparency will affect the strength of the signal. Each cliff sensor is modified/covered in a different way: nothing, paper, clear packing tape, and eletrical tape. The experiment was done on a white surface to minimize experimental error (white poster board). Hypothesis: By modifying the transparency of the cliff sensors, the strength of the sensor will also be modified. Averages from experiment:
For complete lab results please click here: http://www.cs.uml.edu/teams-academy/uploads/Lab2/garcialab2datachart Results/Conclusions: The less transparent a material is, the stronger the signal strength. This is due to the fact that the create needs a stronger signal to get a reading. Not only does the create need to get a signal, it needs to pass through the given material. The sensor with covered by the white computer paper was the weakest because it took the create the least amount of work to achieve a reading while the sensor with the electrical tape had the strongest reading because it was the least transparent material and the hardest material for the infrared to pass through. The reason I believe the paper had the weakest signal is due to the fact that the paper has many fibers which make it easy for the IR to pass through. The reason that the sensor with no covering was not weaker than the sensor with the paper is because it is reading the surface, the poster which is not letting in as much light. Name: Taylor Gendron (Blue Cohort) Purpose/Description of Experiment: The purpose of this lab was to experiment on the robot's cliff sensors by altering the environment of the robot in order to see how the cliff sensors work.The cliff sensors get a reading by shooting IR light at a surface and based on the strength of the signal that gets reflected back the create percieves whether of not a cliff is present(the create can also measure the specific strength of the signal).More specifically I measured the effect of different colors (construction paper) on the strength of the signal received by the robot. I also measured the strength of the cliff sensor signal when the same colors were covered with a shiny cover.
Results/Conclusions: If you look at the table and bar graph above you will see variance in the signal strength between different colors. The greatest variance occurred with the color black. The signal strength of the black construction paper was 1196, and the next lowest signal strength was brown at 1445(a difference of 249)! All the other colors were within a range of 221. The colors Yellow,Red,and Orange had extremely similar signal strengths( within a range of 29). The White paper had the second greatest signal strength only to blue, but the it was White printer paper rather than construction paper. I infer however that white construction paper would have a higher signal strength because it reflects more light than any other color. Next, I measured the signal strength when the papers were placed under a shiny cover. The signal strengths were about doubled but they maintained the same relationship between the colors. In light of the results of my experiments I can conclude that a create could definitely identify different colors and materials. For example if a length of colored tape or material was ran along the ground, the create could measure the signal strength and stay within a range of signal strengths which represent a certain color. Name: Mark Troutt (Blue Cohort) Purpose/Description of Experiment: The purpose of question 1 was to figure out how the cliff sensors work. I decided to see how the signal strength would change with different texture surfaces. I was almost done but then I read Taylor's lab about how much color could effect results so I've redone everything with the same color, white. Results/Conclusions:  Cliff Sensor Signal Strength:
As can be easily seen on the graph most of the different surfaces had similar signal strengths with the two huge exceptions being paper and styrofoam. It made sense to me that paper would have a higher signal than carpet and cloth, but I hadn't realized how reflective styrofoam was. I was also a bit surprised by the plastics because I thought they would have given a higher strength. I conclude from this information that the cliff sensors could be used to detect changes between certain surfaces, like onto or off of styrofoam or paper. This wouldn't really work for the others though because the strengths were too close together. Name:Chris Arndt (Red Cohort?)
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