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November 7, 2005 Vol. 77, no. 11F
Coming this spring: A robotic trek from North Gate to Sather Gate, brought to you by Cal RoboticsIn the spring of 2003, several EECS students taking EE 40 built a robot. It was nothing fancy, but it got them thinking. “We liked doing robotics so much, we wanted to continue,” says EECS senior Sridhar Balasubramanian. “We thought, ‘This is Berkeley. There has to be at least one robotics club.’” They were amazed to discover that there wasn’t, so like most resourceful Berkeley students, they started their own. Last year, Cal Robotics created its first robot in two weeks. “It did pretty well on Cal Day,” says Balasubramanian. “It only broke down towards the end of the day.” They named the six-legged robot, Milton, after the hapless “stapler guy” from the movie Office Space. This year is different. The club’s goal is to build a new robot that, by the end of spring semester, successfully “walks” the paved paths from North Gate to Sather Gate. Members were inspired by the DARPA Grand Challenge, in which autonomous vehicles traverse a course with varied terrain. While the club’s robot won’t go off paths, it will negotiate hills and turns on legs. “Frankly, an autonomous vehicle with wheels is boring,” says Vincent Howard, an integrative biology junior. “A walking robot is more of a challenge.” The five or six members of Cal Robotics pride themselves on their autonomy from faculty. “We can implement our own ideas and not have faculty tell us, ‘This is what you should do,’” explains Balasubramanian. The club envisions that the new robot will include a GPS /Vision system, sonic sensors, Linux, an ITX motherboard, and Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. To pay for the upgraded systems, the club is currently soliciting companies for donations.
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