Robotics

To use a photodiode in its photoconductive mode, the photodiode is reverse-biased; the photodiode will then allow a current to flow when it is illuminated.

LEDs can be used as photodiodes

FLEDs are light-sensitive, and so flash faster in brighter light

Reverse bias induces only little current (known as saturation or back current) along its direction. But a more important effect of reverse bias is widening of the depletion layer (therefore expanding the reaction volume) and strengthening the photocurrent. Circuits based on this effect are more sensitive to light than ones based on the photovoltaic effect and also tend to have lower capacitance, which improves the speed of their time response. On the other hand, the photovoltaic mode tends to exhibit less electronic noise.

Photodiodes can be used under either zero bias (photovoltaic mode) or reverse bias (photoconductive mode)

智能不仅仅局限于大脑。在整个控制过程中，大脑，执行器以及传感器都对产生我们认为是智能的行为有着非常重要的意义。这就意味着，在定义机器人的行为时，你机器人的尺寸也要被考虑进去

在Nordin博士的实验室里，机器人已经开始像婴儿一样开始学习爬行，慢慢开始学会平衡以及走路，甚至爬楼梯。而且机器人还开始研究放在它们面前的物体，甚至会归纳出物体的属性，并且开始玩弄它们，就像小孩一样。一个4足机器人在不小心损坏一只脚的情况下，能够慢慢学习如何使用3只脚来保持平衡并且有效的行走。在实验室里，类似的项目还有很多。

The robots do not build a model of their world they simply act in response to the things they encounter whilst existing there.

This form of robotics has proved to be successful in environments that are unknown to the robot, environments that are busy or noisy such as a place with moving objects or people

An important part of the behaviour based theory is "embodiment" This means that a robot must be embodied, have a presence (it is an entity in itself).  In order to react the robot must be surrounded by the real world.

A flashing LED is just an LED with a built-in microcircuit to cause it to flash periodically.

Like other LEDs, FLEDs are light-sensitive, and so flash faster in brighter light.

Like other LEDs, FLEDs are light-sensitive, and so flash faster in brighter light.

LEDs can be used as photodiodes (tho' their sensitivity is relatively low, so they're only useable this way in very bright conditions). When light is applied to an LED the anode sources current and becomes positive.

The algorithm used here is a simple Q-learning algorithm

Motor drivers are essentially little current amplifiers

the control signal is likely on the order of 10 mA, and the motor may require 100's of mA to make it turn

robot learning

variable delay

short-term memory

It's simply a Phototropic BiCore driving two small motors

I had to add resistors across the motor leads to slow them down! I got this idea from Ben Hitchcock's Fred Troubleshooting Page -- "D) If the motor fires strongly once..."