Page 24 - The Definitive Guide to Building Java Robots

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CHAPTER 1 ■ A PRIMER 5

Figure 1-5. A CubeBot

Summary
Hopefully you have everything you need to get started. I’m now going to start by explaining the
thought process behind robotics programming (in other words, getting your robot to do stuff).
Then I’ll talk about some concepts in Java you should know about before embarking on a
robotics project. Finally, I’ll show you an example of how to begin modeling your software in
a way that’s both easy to use and effective.

1.1 Organizing Your Behavior

What does your robot do? This is the number one question people ask when I tell them I have
a robot. My answer five years ago would be something like, “It moves around a room and
avoids the furniture.” Then people would say “Oh…,” and I would afterward talk about the
technology or the software, which never kept their attention.
Thus, I wanted something for my robot to do besides these basic things. I wanted it to do
something that would be cool, something like a simple human task, something I could tell
people about and not get blank stares in return. So, I picked the chore of getting a beverage
from the refrigerator.