1912 Letter on Kinect
 

In response to:
"Speaking of input, Microsoft is looking for information about if and how teams used Kinect this season. If you’re going to the Championship, have used Kinect this season, and would like to share your feedback, please contact Alfred from Microsoft at Alfred.Thompson@microsoft.com. "
from Bill's latest blog, we decided to send in a letter based on our Beta Testing and competition experience with the Kinect. The body of the letter is pasted below-


Dear Mr. Alfred Thompson,
Hello, I am Rachel Holladay of FIRST Robotics Team 1912 Combustion from Slidell, Louisiana, United States. On my team I serve as the Webmaster, Beta Testing Lead and Controls Captain, responsible for all electrical and programming on the robot. Through Beta Testing and build season our team spent a considerable amount of time prototyping the Kinect for FIRST as well as using it for this year’s competition robot. It was definitely a learning experience for everyone involved and through it I have developed fairly strong opinions and conclusions on the Kinect-usage in FIRST robotics.

In the fall of 2011, our team was lucky enough to be chosen as Beta Testers for the Kinect with LabVIEW. Initially we experienced a lot of trouble and therefore frustration. As we were one of the first FIRST teams to be experimenting with the new hardware, our trouble was not wholly unexpected. Often times there was a lack of explanation or sufficient examples. Some testing days we left feeling more confused than ever. However, the FRC and NI support was incredible, resourceful and very understanding. We are very proud to say that we were able to work closely with both groups to finally get our Kinect functional. The resources for the Kinect definitely needed to be developed and we were glad to be part of the process. All of our Beta Testing documents can be found on our website at http://www.team1912.com/beta_testing.html. In one of our last formal reports on the Kinect (under task 4) we presented our initial reaction to the Kinect:

“While we do find that it is a very cool feature, we see it more as a novelty. We still feel safer and more comfortable driving our robot with joysticks. It really goes back to the fact that controlling a robot with human movements tends to be a bit more unstable. While the robot can be controlled with changes in a joint in degrees, humans do not move their joints in 10-degree increments. While the field of gesture controlled robotics is fascinating, within this scenario the human body is not exact enough to provide the kind of control you might want within a FIRST competition. We do, however, enjoy showing it to people as an example of the possibilities of robotics.”

We demonstrated our Kinect controlled robot at both our Beta Testing Presentation and our local FRC kickoff. At both, our robotics peers were very interested, but also cautious. At these events we had to go to great lengths to maintain safety. Each Kinect player must be trained, and many students were unwilling to try. Within a non-field environment, it was often difficult to maintain safe clearance around the Kinect player and the robot while giving the player a sufficient view of the robot. When we had first started with the Kinect we thought it would be great for demonstration because everyone could get involved. However, do to the safety factor and the intermittent problems often experienced; I doubt the Kinect will become part of our travelling robot kit. Our first success with controlling the robot with the Kinect can be seen in our Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYhxqsj70VY

When Kickoff rolled around we were very anxious to see the Kinect’s place in the 2012 FIRST game. We were pleased to see that it was an optional part of autonomous. As more and more people watched our Youtube video and wanted to learn more, I wrote an unofficial Kinect Manual (http://team1912.com/docs/kinectmanual.pdf) that included information that we had learned through Beta Testing and tidbits of information as well as examples that I wish I had known. Throughout the build season we continued to answer questions through email about the Kinect from teams across the globe. Most were basic setup questions that could be easily debugged.
As for our own Kinect usage, we created a dual autonomous mode that could be shifted between using a switch on the robot. One version of autonomous was controlled through timing while the other was with the Kinect. A similar strategy was used for both: fire two shots. However with the Kinect version we could decide when to fire and after we fired the shots we had the freedom to drive around with the possibility of collecting more balls. During competition we bragged to the judges that the Kinect control would allow us to bypass the normal barrier of autonomous, the fact that there is no human control. Our Kinect controlled autonomous was a sense, nothing truly special. We used the pre-given axis and joystick button control because it was easier, safer and more reliable. At the time, we had non real need or desire to do overly fancy Kinect processing.

During the course of build season, we were mildly disappointed, although not too surprised that most teams elected not to use or even touch the Kinect. Within the autonomous mode, no extra bonuses were given to Kinect controlled robots. Most teams could easily and effectively accomplish their autonomous tasks through timing or sensors, as they had done in the past. From their point of view, there was probably no need to fool around with this odd new technology, especially with the limited time. We used the Kinect because we had put so much time into it we wanted to be able to put that experience to good use. Also, since we were given the honor of being a Beta Test Team, we felt obligated to use the Kinect. As we looked through, it was rare that more than one team at a Regional would be using the Kinect and even then, it was not consistently used. At our competition, the Bayou Regional, we were the only ones to raise our hands for Kinect usage, although we did do so rather proudly.

During competition we had to spend several practice matches working with the field to get the Kinect operational because the first few times we experienced immense lag, to the point where it was unusable. It was very awkward that to get our camera image we needed the “Video Enable” button pressed on the dashboard but to reduce Kinect lag we had to unclick the button. Therefore, in the match one of our drivers had to stop and toggle the switch. During matches we elect to use the classmate clamshell because it is small and easily connects to the field. Unfortunately due the clamshell’s limited capacity, the Kinect image cannot be quickly processed, leading to a lag. In theory we could have used a regular laptop during matches, but we feel much safer using the clamshell. The placement of the Kinect station was also inconvenient for our human player because he was trying to control a robot that was across the field from him. It would have been much easier in the Kinect station was in front, or at least closer to, each team’s robot. At the end of the day we only used our Kinect controlled autonomous in one of our thirteen matches, and that one match was mainly to show off our hard work. Our driver team and strategists felt much safer with the timed non-Kinect autonomous because they saw it as being more reliable.

I believe the Kinect can become part of FRC. However, with any new product it will take time to integrate. It is not because people are opposed to anything new (although they might be) but because learning how to use new technology requires time and effort. Also it takes time to develop enough documentation and examples to give people the confidence to experiment. Most importantly, in order for usage to become more widespread, teams must see the Kinect as a necessary advantage. Once people think that using the Kinect will give them an upper hand or that using it is critical to success, then the population of users will explode. This year was not a game changer, more of a novelty.

Re: 1912 Letter on Kinect
 

You hit it on the head when you said novelty.

The kinect is a resource-intensive platform that introduces 1/4 second or more lag into a situation where lag is unacceptable. Many autonomous routines pack in as much action as possible - for instance shooting, driving to the bridge, picking up balls, driving back, and shooting again. Add in the inherent lag and the potential problems with the kinect and it's no surprise teams didn't use it. It's also one more thing to develop for when we're already stretched for time.

I'm certain they can find an auto where it would be useful - for instance unlit, uncolored, impossible to track moving targets that the robots have to put something in would be an example. In a situation where starting and end points are known and targets do not move, the kinect is not worthwhile.

Re: 1912 Letter on Kinect
 

Using the kinect would have been a cool/useful in a game like Overdrive.

I completely agree with what you said. For me, one of my biggest concerns with using the kinect was the lag time, consistency, and in a game like Rebound Rumble consistency is so key when it comes to hybrid mode. Missing your two balls is a loss in most matches.

Hopefully next year the kinect can be combined to really compliment the challenge.

Re: 1912 Letter on Kinect
 

We found that the kinect was not useful off the robot, but on it. It has an infrared camera and retro-reflectors just so happen to reflect just as well in the infrared spectrum as the visible one. And there isn't any infrared interference on the field. If only our shooter could shoot was well as we can tell our range from the backboard. Hopefully, we'll get to show our system to the Microsoft reps in St. Louis!

Re: 1912 Letter on Kinect
 

I just wanted to say thanks for taking what had to be a great deal of time to experiment with the Kinect and write a very constructive letter to Microsoft. Your feedback is very detailed and I am sure that it will be very useful to them as they evaluate it for use in future years.

Although very few teams actually used it, I enjoyed watching the ones that did. I hope to see it used again next year and think that it will be better integrated in with the game and easier for teams to use in the future.

Re: 1912 Letter on Kinect
 

I agree that for hybrid the kinect is not the best option, but the onboard kinect on our robot is the best sensor we have ever used. With it we have accomplised consistent RPM control and tracking using depth readings. I beleive the only setback was its ease of use - if there was some cRIO USB module that eliminated the extra computer needed onboard, I think we would see many more kinects on the field.

Re: 1912 Letter on Kinect
 

Ha, speak of the devil. Just had a conversation about the Kinect, one that changed my viewpoint a little. Yes, while I don't like the Kinect in Rebound Rumble, it could have its uses in a later on game. Rachel, this is an excellent letter, and, to say so myself, a very well-drafted business-like address to a widely spread concern (To me, business-like is a compliment). You have said what we have all been thinking, yet in a kind, constructive, and optimistic manner. I applaud you for this, and posting the letter on CD.

Great job!

Re: 1912 Letter on Kinect
 

The barrier I see in front of widespread Kinect usage is the fact that they only supplied one per alliance. No team with hopes of winning (so, pretty much all of them, however realistic those hopes might be) will design their strategy around something that they might not be able to use if someone else wants to as well. Since they can't rely on Kinect even being there to use, let alone rely on it being an accurate control system, they don't use it.

They'd have to develop a conventional autonomous mode as well, so why even bother with the Kinect? It ends up being extra effort for marginal returns.

Re: 1912 Letter on Kinect
 

We were expecting there to be lots of robots with it, so we had a whole system in place to stop others from interfering with it. Looks like it's going to just be you and us in the entirety of St. Louis. You should stop by our pit and I will definitely be bringing our programmers to yours so we can swap notes about Kinect on the robot.

Re: 1912 Letter on Kinect
 

Thank you for the kind words, I hope Microsoft reads my input. I really would like to talk to them at CMP and hopefully during the Beta Testing meeting on Thursday. When i sent it I actually got a vacationing reply saying the guy would be out in till March 24, which I'm pretty sure already happened..

I would be really interested in seeing the teams that put the Kinect on the robot. (especially since you seem to be correct in saying there aren't that many) Would either of you mind if I dropped by to take a look? It seems very interesting and I never really considered mounting my Kinect on the bot.