In the summer semester 2000, I applied for the Robotikpraktikum organized by the Robotics workgroup of Prof. von Puttkamer. As the first part, we had to implement a real time control system for an arm manipulator, the Mitsubishi Move Master EX. About 0.8m large and equipped with a gripper, it had to automatically accept wooden blocks presented to it, store them, measure their length, and pile them in output stacks. We couldn't decide on the language of the messages and the variable names, so we settled for a combination of Lëtzebuergesch and Polish. In the end, neither Michel nor me were able to comprehend the program in its full beauty, but it was sure worth it... have a look. As this arm is motor-controlled and we had to implement the control, it is only natural that, in the process, we produced some dust and all... below there's an image of some of the by-products of our work. The second part was about mobile robots (so-called Rug Warriors) that were able to drive around, measure distances, sense objects and grip them with a magnetic holder. They had to be programmed to collect Coke cans in a maze-like environment and bring them "home" (towards a light bulb). Of course, we couldn't refrain from giving this project a very different touch as well, so it got known as the "Toro Del Carpeto" that had to collect "dosas" at different "angulos" and "distancias" with a subsequent "buscanda de la luz" and so on... have a look as well. Maybe we didn't collect the highest number of cans, but instead we qualified for a higher mark in the "B-Note" - i.e. we got a creativity bonus for the sound effects our Toro made. Besides, we were the only ones who had developed dedicated fail-safe sensor failure detection procedures, which saved us from total competitive annihilation - the light sensors gave out.

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