Autonomous Behaviour

Considering future products, I believe that the interaction between product and user will become more 'humane'. I feel that the interaction with products will become more like a conversation. Both user and product listen to each other and respond to each other and to events occuring in the environment.

This means that products need develop behaviour. Such behaviour can take complex forms, through sensors installed in the environment and connected to a computer. However, behaviour can also be constructed by directly coupling sensors to actuators.

In this one week project, the project team explored how to construct such behaviour with simple sensors and actuators. The result is a small robot that behaves like a chameleon: it searches for a sunny spot, by wandering around the environment. When a possible threat appears the robot stops moving and takes the colour of the surface it is on. When the possible threat nears the robot, it runs away.

By coupling light dependent resistors directly stepper motors, the robot moves towards the place with the most light. A distance sensors determines objects approaching and can stop the stepper motors. Or make them go forward when the threat is too close. A color sensor is directly coupled to light emitting diodes to represent the colour of the surface.