APPENDIX B
 STAIR COUNTER MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

 The ability to count the number of steps the Andros has passed is critical to the ability

of the Intelligent Primitive Driver to perform its designed task. As discussed in Chapter

3, the current location on the stairs of the Andros is used to trigger controlled events

during the stair climbing procedure. To ensure that this was done as accurately as

possible, the optimum deployment angle for the infrared sensors needed to be determined

so that the stair peaks and their corresponding second derivative impulses were easily

observable by the system.



 Y


 Sensor Line of Action

 offset
 /7 I --X


Figure B-l: Stair representation


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