Personal and ubiquitous robotics Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 1

Robots everywhere for everyone “No need to build good robots” Jason O'Kane We need to build bad robots simple functionality negligible robustness limited reliability Any automation is better than no automation Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 2 2

Application space Unspecified problems Constrained resources Home automation Personal assistance Custom orthotics Research tools Prototyping Education Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 3 3

A circuit analogy ASIC: Fully specified design from ground up Digital standard cells? Breadboards? FPGA / SOC: Single all-purpose device Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 4

User-driven robotics Enable the on-demand creation of custom printable electromechanical systems Design intuitively Fabricate inexpensively Control autonomously Iterate rapidly Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 5 5

Pervasive personal robotics “There’s a robot for that.” Ubiquitous Broad userbase Diverse functionality Personal Application specific On demand Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 6 6

User-in-the-loop design automation Questions Design Answers Questions Design Answers Specification Design Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 7

Robot compiler vision Autonomously design, manufacture, and control robotic systems from a high-level task specification Big picture goal: $ vim myrobot.rbt “I want a robot to play chess with me” $ make myrobot Parsing specification …done. Determining behaviors …done. Generating mechanisms …done. Assembling components …done. Printing …done. Success! Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 8 8

A world full of robots? Design systems (c.f. app engines, EDA) High level definition (Domain specific languages) Printable manufacturable designs Full-stack verification, validation, and optimization? Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 9

A world full of robots? Hardware Integrated manufacturing tools Structures Circuits Sensors and actuators Components and building blocks Processing Communications Control Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 10

A world full of robots Algorithms and applications Control Systems Distributed Underactuated Secure / fault tolerant Systems Application-aware integration Human interfacing Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 11

Software-defined hardware Structural building blocks Software building blocks Electrical building blocks UI elements Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 12 12

Common object-oriented interface Component Library Sub- components Parameter constraints Input parameters Exposed interfaces Composition algorithms Components generated from the composition of modules can be encapsulated with the same modular API, allowing us to recursively build up ever more complex structures, defining new higher-order components from the modular composition of lower order components. The composition algorithms now include constraining subcomponent parameters based on port connectivity, ensuring that designs assembled from valid subcomponents are consistent and therefore also valid. Implementation algorithms Fabricable specifications Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 13 13

Hierarchical composition algorithms We can go further and use the fact that the modules across the various subsystems all use a common API, and thereby allow users to simply and intuitively assemble integrated electromechanical mechanisms. In this case, we can design a controlled, mounted motor by connecting the mechanical mounting interface of a servomotor device to a face of a mechanical beam, then connecting the electrical input of that motor through a firmware driver to a UI widget. This new assembly can in turn be used in higher order designs, connecting the mechanical output of the motor to a beam through a four bar linkage to create a controlled, actuated, moving leg. Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 14 14

Co-design implementation Robot creation pipeline Functional decomposition Structural constraints Behavioral constraints Input: Functional specification Output: Mission accomplished! Modular composition Structural specification Co-design implementation 2x Parameterized model Realization Fully specified design Fabrication Operation Robot Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 15 15

Custom on-demand robots! Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 16 16

Integrated single-chip robot? Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 17

UCLA Laboratory for Embedded Machines and Ubiquitous Robots Electromechanical design automation Integrated electromechanical manufacturing Wireless communication circuits and protocols Distributed sensing, actuation, and control Robotics in education Obligatory plugs – I'm looking for: Research collaborators Talented postdocs Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 18

Internet of things (and robots) Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 19

Motivational quotes The perfect is the enemy of the good Just do it Move fast and break things If at first you don't succeed, try try again We'll fix it in post Ankur Mehta mehtank@ucla.edu 20