Situation

To most people, a robot may seem like an incredibly sophisticated device and something that is too difficult to try to understand.  In reality, robots are often quite simple.  They have their physical parts and then they have the programs that run them from their computer 'brains'.  They are programmed to respond (output) in information they receive (input).  They may be given direct instructions (turn motors B and C for 10 seconds, then turn only motor #1 for 5 seconds) or they may be given instructions that only happen under certain conditions (if button A is pressed, turn motor A forwards, otherwise, turn motor A backwards.)  

Situation Specific

Students will design and create a moving robot that is able to respond to and avoid objects in its environments using a variety of sensory inputs.

Criterion A: Inquiring and Analysing

Blogging:

During this phase of the Design Cycle, we are spending a lot of time learning by doing.  We are using an iterative process, where we build something, test it out, then make modifications to improve it.  We have learned a lot this way.  It's a good idea to stop every now and then and reflect on what we have learned.  That is what we are doing now.  In today's class, we are taking the time to try to recall all of the things that we have learned over the past week and a bit with the LEGO Mindstorms Robotics kits.

But we may be able to pick up a few things from doing some more specific research.  There are many resources available online to help us better understand the principles of building stable structures that will help us build our robots.  We can also find some resources to help us understand how to write more efficient programs.  Here are some links to get you started.

I would like you to have a look at the following web pages to see if they help you get a better understanding of some of the underlying principles of structural design:

http://www.legoengineering.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=122

http://legoengineering.com/library/doc_details/150-nxt-constructopedia-beta-21.html (You will need to download a file from this one.)

Next, you can have a look at these pages to see if they help you get a better understanding of some of the underlying principles of programming:

http://www.legoengineering.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=124

http://legoengineering.com/library/doc_details/106-writing-efficient-nxt-g-programs.html

So, it seems that we focused our learning in two areas--building and programming.  This will be reflected in our written work.  You will write 2 entries in your blog about what you learned by doing and then you will write 2 entries in your blog about what you learned through your research.  

Learning by Doing:  Building with LEGO Mindstorms
Learning by Doing: Programming with LEGO Mindstorms

Learning through research: Building with LEGO Mindstorms
Learning through research: Programming with LEGO Mindstorms

Project Page:

Now, you will create a new page on your Weebly called 'Introduction to Robotics: LEGO Mindstorms'.  You can copy/paste the first few sections from this page to get you started.  Include the title, situation, situation specific sections and the Inquiring and Analysing title and the four assessment criteria.

Introduction:

You will write an introduction that will outline the task--to build a robot that can move autonomously around the room while avoiding other objects or, if it bumps into them, has the ability to back-up and change direction.  (You can use my 'Situation' and 'Situation Specific' sections above to help you get started.)

Then you will write two more sections:

Things to Consider: 

Write a couple of short paragraph that explain what principles that you learned so far that will help you build a robot that fulfuls these Design Specifications.  This is a summary of the most important things that you learned from your research and experiments, applied to this task.  What design elements did you learn about from your research and experience that you think will be of use?  What principals of programming and of structure building do you think will be important as you build?  Include some labeled images if you think it will help explain things more clearly.  

For example, when discussing construction techniques, you might highlight the importance of keeping your structure fairly simple.  In the case below, attaching the motors directly to the NXT brick rather than to a frame keeps the robot strong while also keeping it simple. This will likely cut down on the number of things that could possibly go wrong.

For example, when discussing programming concepts, you might mention the importance of conditional statements such as the case of a button press.  If the button is pressed, one thing happens but if the button is not pressed, something else happens.  In the picture below, we see that the block for the button press is inside of a loop.  A loop will check over and over to see if the button has been pressed.  If the button block was not inside of a loop, it wouldn't work.

Design Analysis: 

Good artists copy.  Great artists steal.  In this section, we will look at other people's designs and look for good ideas that we can incorporate into our own robots.  Complete an analysis of two or three designs that you have seen already (other people's robots, robots that you saw online etc...) that you think will help you make a good robot of your own.  (try to include a few images here to help make it easier for the reader to understand.)  Be sure to justify why you think that these design elements would be of use.  You can do this in bullet points or a paragraph,  Try to be succinct.  Include labels on the pictures if you think it will help.

For example, when discussing the robot design in the picture below, you may want to highlight the use of the ultrasonic sensor on the front which can be used to detect obstacles.  You may want to mention it's compact design.  You may also want to point out that with the brick upright, it has a higher center of gravity and and narrow wheel base which might make it more likely to tip over.

Criterion B: Developing ideas

Criterion C: Creating the solution