tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72613493978468672452024-03-13T17:06:43.227-04:00Brassfield Robotics ClubBrassfieldBotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03186606220072451099noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7261349397846867245.post-64240517217279768952015-10-06T15:54:00.001-04:002015-10-06T15:56:26.737-04:00It's design review time...<div class="MsoNormal">
Today during the robotics meeting we did a mini design
review of the robots that the kids created. We went over the design
features of their robots and gave them feedback on things that they could do to
improve their designs. Most of the robots used 1 connector per beam,
which caused their attachments to pivot. So we explained how putting two
connectors per beam would strengthen the structural integrity of the design and
make it more robust. We also cover the “KISS” concept:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->K – eep<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->I – t<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->S – uper<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->S – imple<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and went over the advantages of having a simpler design over
a more complex one, assuming that both achieved the required goal (simpler is
cheaper to make, faster to design and easier to debug).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This week concluded our section on motors. Next week
we’ll teach the kids about the ultrasonic sensor (what it is, how it works and
how to use it), and we may even start learning about loops and switches.<o:p></o:p></div>
BrassfieldBotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03186606220072451099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7261349397846867245.post-26320003957183245552015-09-29T15:52:00.000-04:002015-10-06T15:55:02.010-04:00Lost your pet... don't worry, we have a robot for that!<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is an update on what has happened on the last couple of
club meetings. Last week we gave every team a small challenge to put in
practice all of what they have learned so far. We created a scenario
where their favorite pet (a cat or a dog) go stranded in a place far away (24
inches away), and they had to create an attachment for their robot and program
it to go get their pet for them. Everyone did great! I believe that
at the end of the meeting on Tuesday, every team had successfully rescued their
pet at one time or another (thanks to our parent volunteers, Scott and Ken, for
spending one-on-one time helping the kids with the challenge). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next week, we’ll review every robot creation individually
and make suggestions on how to improve their design. We will treat their
creations as product development prototypes and thus, cover topics on
structural integrity, ways to improve consistency of results and cost
analysis. <o:p></o:p></div>
BrassfieldBotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03186606220072451099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7261349397846867245.post-5064138722293832322015-09-15T09:00:00.000-04:002015-09-15T12:51:23.597-04:00Measuring time...<div class="MsoNormal">
Today we started by splitting everyone into permanent pairs
and assigning each pair a particular robot. Our goal was to figure out
how far the robot moves per rotation of each wheel so that we can predict where
the robot will end up as we program it to go places. We used three
different methods to find out this information. First, we used the
formula for the perimeter of a circle (P):<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
P = π * D<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
where:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
π = 3.14159<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and D is the wheel’s diameter (diameter is a straight
imaginary line that passes through the center of the circle and cuts it in
half). So each pair got a tape measure and proceeded to measure the
diameter of the wheel. Almost everyone arrived at 1 5/8 inches for the
diameter of the robot wheels. Which created the following issue.
How do we convert 1 5/8 inches to a decimal value that we can plug into a
calculator? So we explained that to do this, we did the following:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5 ÷ 8 + 1 = 1.625 inches<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and when we plug this value into the perimeter equation we
get:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
P = 3.14159 * 1.625 = 5.1 inches<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next, we asked everyone to program their robots to turn both
wheels 1 rotation and asked them to measure how far the robot moved.
Almost everyone measured 5 1/8 inches. Finally, we asked everyone to
program their robots to turn both wheels 5 rotations and measure again.
This time some kids got measurements of 25 inches, 25.5 inches and others 26
inches. So now we know how far the robot moves per each wheel rotation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next week, we’ll put all of what we have learned so far into
practice. We will give the kids a “Rescue” mission, where the robots
start from base and should be programmed to fetch a stranded Lego
figure/pet from a given location and bring it back to base. It should be
lots of fun. Also, if you can, go over some of these concepts with your
kids at home. We went over them very quickly during the meeting, but this
is where they get to apply the theoretical knowledge that they learn in school
to real life situations. Try asking them to figure out how far your car
moves for each rotation of your car’s wheels.<o:p></o:p></div>
BrassfieldBotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03186606220072451099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7261349397846867245.post-85948778929796445592015-09-08T09:00:00.000-04:002015-09-15T12:53:54.762-04:00The 5 Minute Robot<div class="MsoNormal">
Let me first start by acknowledging Ken Rothwell and Scott
Wheeler. They have graciously volunteered to help out with the Robotics
Club for this school year. I was not able to be there for the meeting
today, so Ken and Scott stepped up to the plate and led the club. Today,
the kids built the base robot. Everyone was able to finish building their
robot, and some were even able to put in practice what they learned last week
and programmed their robots to go places. I think that the
following quote from Ken pretty much summarizes how the meeting went today:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">It was hard to get the kids to stop and go to class. The bell
rang but everyone stayed until 9. The tracked out kids wanted to do even more.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Just in case you are curious, the base robot
should look something like this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xFOi3ROGtespFPfUN-HoZm7IpkJ1atvq5X02u9zMdEmxsoBuUYv9U5it7UDTm2u01cq3X3jebeO1gobNT2JZ61LNsVgEW0iy76ZkmRcVTkzDY8ysiGWj_azQMg7rM767nk7gt4PdQEk/s1600/5minbot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xFOi3ROGtespFPfUN-HoZm7IpkJ1atvq5X02u9zMdEmxsoBuUYv9U5it7UDTm2u01cq3X3jebeO1gobNT2JZ61LNsVgEW0iy76ZkmRcVTkzDY8ysiGWj_azQMg7rM767nk7gt4PdQEk/s400/5minbot.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /><!--[endif]--></span>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For more projects like this, check out this website:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.nxtprograms.com/" target="_blank">http://www.nxtprograms.com</a></span>BrassfieldBotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03186606220072451099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7261349397846867245.post-61337003886542206832015-09-01T09:00:00.000-04:002015-09-15T12:54:40.071-04:00Avoid the mines!!!<div class="MsoNormal">
We had a great turn out at the club today, all 20 members
were present. We started with a brief conversation about how you cannot
just talk to the robot and instruct it to do things. Instead someone had
to invent a new way of communicating with the robots (computers) and this is
how programming languages came to exist. So, to drive this point home,
the we had the kids do an activity similar to “Mine Hunt”, except that it is
more like “Avoid the Mines”. We asked them to divide into 4 groups,
and each group had to designate 1 member to be “the robot”. Then, we
asked the teams to invent a way to control “the robot” so that it would
navigate through a mine field and avoid stepping on any mines (pieces of paper
on the floor). The catch is, they cannot use any kind of verbal
communication. All of the teams did great, an all of them were able to
make it through the mine field safe and sound. Most of the teams used
some form of clapping communication scheme, and one of them actually used a
whistle command to have their robot skip over a mine! You may want to ask
your child what kind of communication method did they use.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then, on the second part of the meeting we introduced the
actual programming environment. Everyone broke up into pairs again,
powered up a laptop and we showed them how to start the programming
software. Each group was given a brick, a motor and some wires, and they
learned how to download a program into the robot and control the motor.
This was a great stopping point for this week. Next week we are actually
going to build the base robot that we’ll use for the rest of the year.<o:p></o:p></div>
BrassfieldBotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03186606220072451099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7261349397846867245.post-26274629414888265992015-08-25T09:00:00.000-04:002015-09-15T12:54:59.518-04:00First Meeting of the 2015-2016 School Year!<div class="MsoNormal">
First, let me say that it was great to meet all the kids and
some of the parents. There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm in the
room. We started by introducing ourselves to everyone in the club.
Some of the girls and boys had to be encouraged to speak a bit louder, but
other than that, they did great. Then we showed one of my favorite videos
from NASA. Here is link to it:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki_Af_o9Q9s">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki_Af_o9Q9s</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know it is a bit dated by now, but I still find myself
fascinated by it every time I watch it. The video is a great example of
what makes a robot different than other machines. Robots have sensors and
can be programmed, thus they can react accordingly to the environment they are
in. That’s why they can land themselves in Mars.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, to wrap up the meeting, we split the group into
pairs, and let them explore how to use the “brick” (this is the main part of
the robot where the processor is housed) and the motors and ultrasonic sensor.<o:p></o:p></div>
BrassfieldBotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03186606220072451099noreply@blogger.com0Brassfield Elementary School, 2001 Brassfield Road, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA35.933593 -78.62892499999998110.411558500000002 -119.93751899999998 61.455627500000006 -37.320330999999982tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7261349397846867245.post-28992469516433758582015-08-04T11:24:00.001-04:002015-08-04T11:29:22.744-04:002015-2016 Robotics club application forms are available now... Are you in 4th or 5th grade? Interested in joining the Robotics Club? Well, then fill out the following application form:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-kzHZptFxyGR3E1U0pNaktuTU0">2015-2016 Robotics Application Form</a></li>
</ul>
Make sure that you turn it in before August 21, 2015 at the school's front desk, or the PTA mailbox located at the front door of the school. Also, don't forget to include your essay.BrassfieldBotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03186606220072451099noreply@blogger.com0