® Engineering entertainment program on
Discovery Channel

® Four guys building prototypes of crazy things

® Followed the design/test/ refine process

® Limited time & budget per episode

® Premiered October 2008 (US), ^February
2009 (World), 2012 (Netflix)

® Thirteen episodes total

® Original fan site:

~ http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/

pro to type -this /pro to type -this . html

® Engineering documentation & details:

~ www . grandide a studio . com/pro to type -
this/

® Traffic Busting Truck

® Fire Fighter PyroPack

® Virtual Sea Adventure

® Waterslide Simulator

® Flying Lifeguard

• 1st official build • Controlled by players outside the ring

• ~2 weeks • No $$$ for real mocap solution

• Camera/AR + accelerometers

Freescale ZSTAR Wireless 3-Axis Reference Design (MMA7260QT
+ MC 1 3 1 9 1 2.4GHz transceiver) on gloves
Highest sensitivity setting (6 Gs max)

• The boxing game: C/Windows due to camera drivers
- IDS uEye LE compact CMOS industrial cameras

• Shape filter for punch detection & classification

• ARToolkit tracking for body orientation

• Assembled motion queue and sent via UDP to pneumatics controller

• Health-o-Meter/Scoring System

• BASIC Stamp 2

• EFX-TEK RC-4 + Crydom D2W203F SSRs

• Magnet + hall effect sensor in neck to determine a "hit"

• Serial port l/F to communicate w/ Zoz's control S/W

A

• Anger Management Demolition Derby

• Measure EKG, GSR, heart rate

• Must stay calm/relaxed in order for car to move

• Playstation 2 driving controller

• BASIC Stamp 2sx

• Lantronix XPORT

• BOB-4-H OSD

• Piezoelectric shockerator to make driver angry (unused)

• Data from each unit sent to Zoz's PC for processing

Mind Controlled Car

• Headset evaluation

• Neurosky: single electrode, attention/meditation

• Emotiv: multi electrode, facial expressions,
engagement/excitement, "mind control" classifier

• Emotiv loaned us a few of their only prototypes

• Event-driven Emotiv API -> Spoon bending test

■ I
Mind Controlled Car

Heartbeat detection: FIR bandpass filter & threshold
PCTX USB interface to Futaba R/C controller
- Windows USB hell
Multithreaded 4-car derby game system

COMPUTER
MEMORY

• Gigantic, bio-inspired off-road robotic vehicle

• Human controlled

• ~2 weeks (twice!)

• Synchronized alternating tripod gait

• Based on RHex robot (UPenn Kod*lab/Sandbox Innovations)

• System dynamics depend on materials properties

- Leg springiness for forward locomotion

- Ground slip for turning locomotion

• Chassis engineering by Speck Design & manufactured by Top of
the Hill Performance Center

- Chromoly tube = heavy!

• Custom carbon fiber "legs" manufactured by Finish Line
Advanced Composites

Extremely strong and flexible.

• Drive train

- Motor: Custom DC MagMotor

- Gear Box: 40: 1 reduction planetary (Parker Bayside)

- Encoder: Dynapar industrial shaft encoder

- 3x RoboteQ DC motor controller (1st try)

- 6x Sevcon Millipak electric vehicle controller (2nd try)

• 48V @ > 1 000A (!)

• Control software on laptop running Linux

• Arcade-style joystick and buttons

• USB HID Joystick via PICI8F2550 (based on Joe's Stelladaptor
Atari 2600 l/F design)

• Trigger serves as "dead man's switch" for safety

7T

Diadiaije Monitor

T

Hipli-Uriuhn:

"Futuristic" sleeping pod

Wake, feed, shower, groom, dress

HVAC

Projection system
~2 weeks

Public debut in Union Sq., San
Francisco

Biggest challenge:

- Fitting everything in there!

• Sensor control board

• BASIC Stamp 2sx

• Photo interrupters (optical
encoder)

• Servo controller

• Lantronix XPORT

• Communicates to Zoz's Mac
Mini & HVAC system

• Mac Mini drives GUI & Color
Kinetics lighting system

- iColor Cove MX Powercore

- Ethernet Data Enabler

• Pay no attention to the man
behind the curtain...

• Autonomous pizza delivery to hungry engineers

• Original version requested by network: Blimp (WTF?)
- Weighing the pizza

• Final versions: Robot (city streets) & vehicle (longer distances)

• Pizza Pie Pack

• BASIC Stamp 2px

• Optrex 4x20 LCD

• Magtek 2 1 040082 mag. stripe
reader

• 12-button keypad

• HB25 motor controllers

• Optical detectors for tray limits

ie

■■■■■■■■■■■iiiaHiliii

• Marathon Robotics (now Marathon Targets)

• Intended as military live-fire target for sniper training
- Also good for delivering pizza!

• Marathon Live-Fire Target

- Mobility platform: Segway RMP + bulletproof steel armor

- Principal sensor: SICK LIDAR

• Urban challenges

- Steep inclines (SF streets!)

- Low obstacles & discontinuities: ex: curbs!

• Project by Anthony Levandowski

- Differential GPS

- 2x SICK linescan LIDAR

- I x omnidirectional LIDAR

- 2x wheel encoder odometry

• First bridge crossing of an autonomous vehicle

- Rolling roadblock on San Francisco's Bay Bridge

• Turned into Google's Self-Driving Car (thanks to Prototype This!)