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BEAM robotics
BEAM robotics (from biology, electronics, aesthetics and mechanics) is a style of robotics that primarily uses simple analogue circuits, such as comparators, instead of a microprocessor in order to produce an unusually simple design. While not as flexible as microprocessor based robotics, BEAM robotics can be robust and efficient in performing the task for which it was designed.
BEAM robots may use a set of analog circuits, mimicking biological neurons, to facilitate the robot's response to its working environment.
The basic BEAM principles focus on a stimulus-response based ability within a machine. The underlying mechanism was invented by Mark W. Tilden where the circuit (or a Nv net of Nv neurons) is used to simulate biological neuron behaviours. Some similar research was previously done by Ed Rietman in 'Experiments In Artificial Neural Networks'. Tilden's circuit is often compared to a shift register, but with several important features making it a useful circuit in a mobile robot.
Other rules that are included (and to varying degrees applied):
There are a large number of BEAM robots designed to use solar power from small solar arrays to power a "Solar Engine" which creates autonomous robots capable of operating under a wide range of lighting conditions. Besides the simple computational layer of Tilden's "Nervous Networks", BEAM has brought a multitude of useful tools to the roboticist's toolbox. The "Solar Engine" circuit, many H-bridge circuits for small motor control, tactile sensor designs, and meso-scale (palm-sized) robot construction techniques have been documented and shared by the BEAM community.
Being focused on "reaction-based" behaviors (as originally inspired by the work of Rodney Brooks), BEAM robotics attempts to copy the characteristics and behaviours of biological organisms, with the ultimate goal of domesticating these "wild" robots. The aesthetics of BEAM robots derive from the principle "form follows function" modulated by the particular design choices the builder makes while implementing the desired functionality.
Various people have varying ideas about what BEAM actually stands for. The most widely accepted meaning is Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics.
This term originated with Mark Tilden during a discussion at the Ontario Science Centre in 1990. Mark was displaying a selection of his original bots which he had built while working at the University of Waterloo.
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BEAM robotics AI simulator
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BEAM robotics
BEAM robotics (from biology, electronics, aesthetics and mechanics) is a style of robotics that primarily uses simple analogue circuits, such as comparators, instead of a microprocessor in order to produce an unusually simple design. While not as flexible as microprocessor based robotics, BEAM robotics can be robust and efficient in performing the task for which it was designed.
BEAM robots may use a set of analog circuits, mimicking biological neurons, to facilitate the robot's response to its working environment.
The basic BEAM principles focus on a stimulus-response based ability within a machine. The underlying mechanism was invented by Mark W. Tilden where the circuit (or a Nv net of Nv neurons) is used to simulate biological neuron behaviours. Some similar research was previously done by Ed Rietman in 'Experiments In Artificial Neural Networks'. Tilden's circuit is often compared to a shift register, but with several important features making it a useful circuit in a mobile robot.
Other rules that are included (and to varying degrees applied):
There are a large number of BEAM robots designed to use solar power from small solar arrays to power a "Solar Engine" which creates autonomous robots capable of operating under a wide range of lighting conditions. Besides the simple computational layer of Tilden's "Nervous Networks", BEAM has brought a multitude of useful tools to the roboticist's toolbox. The "Solar Engine" circuit, many H-bridge circuits for small motor control, tactile sensor designs, and meso-scale (palm-sized) robot construction techniques have been documented and shared by the BEAM community.
Being focused on "reaction-based" behaviors (as originally inspired by the work of Rodney Brooks), BEAM robotics attempts to copy the characteristics and behaviours of biological organisms, with the ultimate goal of domesticating these "wild" robots. The aesthetics of BEAM robots derive from the principle "form follows function" modulated by the particular design choices the builder makes while implementing the desired functionality.
Various people have varying ideas about what BEAM actually stands for. The most widely accepted meaning is Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics.
This term originated with Mark Tilden during a discussion at the Ontario Science Centre in 1990. Mark was displaying a selection of his original bots which he had built while working at the University of Waterloo.