A Crash Course in LEGO Robotics - Getting Started

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A Crash Course in LEGO Robotics - Getting Started

• Meri V. Cummings, Ph.D.
• NASA-sponsored Classroom of the Future
• Center for Educational Technologies
• Wheeling Jesuit University
• 316 Washington Ave.
• Wheeling, WV 26003
• Phone [phone]
• E-mail meri_at_cet.edu
• URL http//www.cet.edu/robotics/

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Why Study Robotics?

• Robotics is an excellent way to introduce the
  students to integrated STEM areas (science,
  technology, engineering, and mathematics)
• Students participating in robotics learn about
  STEM careers and experience the same activities
  as professionals solving real-world problems
• Everyone girls and boys alike should get a
  chance to see how much fun it is learning
  engineering skills this way!

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Organized Chaos Girl Scouts robotics team at the
West Virginia FIRST LEGO League tournament.
Were looking for volunteer judges for our next
competition on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007.
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The Least You Need

• One computer (ideally, a school computer lab with
  ROBOLAB installed)
• One robotics kit, such as LEGO Educations Team
  Challenge Set (219), per 2-10 youth. I recommend
  you start with a small group (e.g., 4 students)
  1 kit per 2 students is perfect
• ROBOLAB software to program the robot (69 single
  to 265 site license)

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The Least You Need (contd)

• Instructional materials I recommend the ROBOLAB
  Video Trainer CD, which has excellent programming
  video sequences (50 single or 100 site)
• Robotics kits can be shared in your school,
  county, or state in 6- to 8-week rotations they
  can be used all day for different school and
  afterschool activities

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Funding Sources

• Utility companies are required to provide
  educational grants some have utility robotics
  program partner grants (e.g., American Electric
  Power has an AEP-FLL partner award to customers
  in its service area)
• NASA Space Grant Consortiums fund outreach
  programs

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After youve learned the basics, then what?

• There are lots of robotics competitions kids can
  participate in, such as FIRST LEGO League (FLL)
  and Botball. Some are local, some statewide, some
  are regional.
• The tournaments tend to include multipart,
  real-world problems and research and occur over
  specific time periods (for instance, the FLL
  challenge is released in mid-Sept. each year.
  Competitions occur from Nov. through Feb.).

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The Problem-solving Process

• What is the robots task?
• What behaviors are needed to accomplish it?
• Create the program debug then download.
• Run the program.
• Is the bot behaving badly (doesnt do task)?
• Check the robot first. If theres a problem, can
  you fix it?
• Next, check the program. Problem? Can you fix it?
• Last, go back to the beginning and reread the
  task. Does your program really tell the robot
  what its supposed to do?

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Challenge 1 Line Program

• Create and test a program to make the robot go
  forward in a straight line for exactly 1 second
• Save your program as your first name and Line
  (e.g., File?Save as
• Maria Line?Enter)

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Challenge 2 Square Program

• Create and test a program to make the robot go in
  a square
• Save your program as your first name and Square

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Challenge 3 Light Dark Program

• Create and test a program to make the robot
• Go forward until it finds a dark line
• Stop for 1 second
• Go forward until it finds light
• Stop for 1 second
• Reverse for 4 seconds
• Save your program as your first name and Light
  Dark

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Challenge 4 Tracker Program

• Create a program to make the robot
• Go forward until it finds a dark line
• Move forward along the edge of the line
• Save your program as your first name and Tracker
• Hints You need a loop, and its easier if the
  robot starts at less than a 90? angle

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Challenge 5 Bump Program

• Create a program to make the robot
• Go forward until it finds a wall
• Turn moving backward for 2 seconds
• Repeat these behaviors for 5 wall bumps
• Save your program as your first name and Bump
• Hint Youll need to use wait until Touch in for
  the first step.

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Bonus Beep Challenge

• Create a program to make the robot
• Go forward until it finds a line
• Stop for 1 second and beep
• Repeat for 5 lines
• For fun, end with a different sound
• Save your program as your first name and Beep

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ROBOLAB Video Trainer

• The ROBOLAB Video Trainer CD has lots of video
  sequences showing you how to program ROBOLAB and
  how the robot responds to the program.
• The Team Challenge Robotics set and ROBOLAB and
  ROBOLAB Video Trainer software are available from
  LEGO education (www.legoeducation.com under LEGO
  Mindstorms)

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Robotics Web Sites

• NASA Robotics Alliance Project http//robotics.nas
  a.gov/home.php
• NASA Robotics Curriculum Clearinghouse
  http//robotics.nasa.gov/rcc/
• Mars Exploration Rover Mission http//marsrovers.j
  pl.nasa.gov/home/index.html
• Robotics Academy
• http//www-education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/
• Minnesota High-Tech Kids http//www.hightechkids.o
  rg
• FIRST LEGO League http//www.firstlegoleague.org
• Botball http//www.botball.org/
• BEST Robotics http//www.bestinc.org/MVC/

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To Get Tankbot Building Instructions, E-mail
meri_at_cet.edu

• After you get your Team Challenge robotics set
  from LEGO education, e-mail me requesting the
  tankbot pdf
• Ill e-mail you a color pdf file of step-by-step
  picture instructions to build tankbot, the robot
  we used in this workshop and the CD videos
• Tankbot is distributed courtesy of Robin Shoop at
  the Carnegie Mellon University National Robotics
  Engineering Consortium Robotics Academy

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Sample ROBOLAB Programs
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Want to Learn More?

• If you have a group of West Virginia educators
  that want to get started, contact me to schedule
  a workshop and design a program plan that will
  work for your situation courtesy of NASA West
  Virginia Space Grant Consortium!

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Hands-on Your Turn!

• Use ROBOLAB to program the robot to move in a
  square
• Think about the robots required behaviors to
  move in a square
• What motors have to do what for each behavior?
• Which behaviors repeat? You can loop them!

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ROBOLAB Basics

• Go to RCX settings in Administrator to unlock
  programs 1 and 2
• Single-click the silver Programmer button
• Double-click the Inventor 4 button
• Maximize the lower Block Diagram window
• Drag the Function bar to move the Functions
  palette to the lower right of the window
• If the Block Diagram window is accidentally
  closed, open it by hitting Window -gt Show Block
  Diagram
• Hit Tab key to switch from hand to cursor tool

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ROBOLAB Basics (contd)

• Hit spacebar to toggle between cursor and wiring
  tool
• Hit Esc to escape sticky wires
• Click on a wire or icon and hit Del to remove it
• Drag an icon within a cm of another, then with
  the mouse still down, tap the spacebar to shoot a
  wire between the icons
• Ctrl B removes broken or partially deleted
  wires
• Right-click an icon to replace it with another
  using a new popup Functions Palette

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ROBOLAB Basics (contd)

• Always break a wire instead of placing a new icon
  on top of the wire otherwise, the icon looks
  wired when it isnt
• Click on Help-Show context help, then on the icon
  itself in the block diagram to learn more about a
  ROBOLAB icon, including seeing what modifiers
  each icon requires and where to attach them and
  to see the icon in a sample program
• If the white download arrow under Edit is broken,
  click on the broken arrow for information about
  where the program is miswired