Valentino is an autonomous self-driving robot built with the Powder Of Life framework.
The design of Valentino is inspired by a long line of research in simple analog robotics. I like to begin this line in the 1940s with William Grey Walter's robots Elmer and Elsie. For me, the line continues through Valentino Braitenberg's Vehicles, and Mark Tilden's BEAM robotics. Valentino has two BEAM-style gear motors (one driving each wheel) and two ultrasonic distance sensors. One sensor drives one wheel. The behavior emerges purely from the relationship between the sensor and the wheel. If the distance is far, the wheel moves forward, if the distance is close, the wheel reverses. This simple setup allows Valentino to navigate the environment and avoid obstacles.
Powder Of Life provides auto-tuning of neurons, and this allows Valentino to have behavior that modulates depending on the nature of the input. So it will act differently in a constrained environment than it will in a more open one.
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