Transcript Document

Welcome to the
1st Interactive Science and
Technology Open House
at George School!
Chris Odom
www.basicxandrobotics.com
[email protected]
George School, Newtown, PA
Session I
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Introductions with personal/professional backgrounds
A plea for interactivity – too much material to cover
A Brief History of Computer Science at GS
The Evolution of Robotics Education at GS
What We Do Now
A Roundtable Discussion
– Success stories
– What’s possible with robotics education
• The Future
A Brief History of CS at GS
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The skill-level of the GS student
Desktop programming: Database applications
Desktop programming: Student driven applications
Kylan Turner, Brian Patton, Max, and ESRA
The birth of robotics at GS and the need for a textbook
Aim: Have fun with solid math and science education
Taking math and science for granted
Evolution of Robotics
Education at GS
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The bumps and bruises of the early years
The transition from teacher-centered to student-centered
The role of the teacher, student, textbook, website
How to skip around
Challenge Problems
The benefits of peer instruction
The role of competitions and collaborations
From technical to creative: building on simple tasks
The cost: Individual purchases vs Classroom Packs
A Self-paced Curriculum
BasicX and Robotics Student Progress 2006-7
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Jimmy
Clayton
Sam
Tori
Andy
Andrew Lew
Ryan
Cliff
Owen
Drew
Chris
Annie
Greg
Michael
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Task
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8
6
4
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0
31-Aug
10-Sep
20-Sep
30-Sep
10-Oct
Date Completed
20-Oct
30-Oct
9-Nov
19-Nov
The BX-24 microcontroller
• The BX-24 is a 24-pin
microcontroller made by
NetMedia
• Small and Fast
• Floating-point math
• 16 I/O pins (8 built-in A-to-D
converters)
• EEPROM storage
• About $45
• Programmed with BasicX, a high-level language
compatible with Visual Basic. BasicX is free.
Exciting Technology
The BX-24 can be used to:
• Autonomously control nearly any mechanical device
such as robots, vehicles, airplanes, vacuum cleaners,
etc.
• Output electrical signals to (thereby controlling) motors,
speakers, LCD panels, lights, LEDs, etc.
• Read data such as temperature, light intensity, magnetic
field strength, force, distance, flame (IR), conductivity,
etc.
• Record data in space, underwater, your back yard
Personal Computer vs BX-24
The PC:
• Is faster
• Has more computing power
• Is larger, heavier and therefore more stationary
• Is more expensive
• Is dependent on AC power
• Is better suited for gaming and desktop programming
Why BX-24?
The BX24:
• Is smaller and therefore transportable
• Is cheaper
• Has no moving parts: data a programs are burned in to
the chip. Can be removed from power
• Runs on a 9V battery
• Is better suited for remote and mobile applications
• Students love it!
Creating a Program
• The program is written on the PC
in the BasicX language
• BasicX can be downloaded for free
at www.basicx.com
• The code is saved as a simple text
file. (New programs start with a
blank page.)
• When the program is ready to run,
simply press one button to compile
the program into a language the
BX-24 can understand
• The compiled program is sent to
the BX-24 via a serial cable
The Robodyssey Motherboard
• Robodyssey Systems in
Trenton, NJ designed and sells
the RAMB
• Makes programming the BX-24
easy
• About $45
• Could do it yourself but why?
Wheeled Robots (My
students use the Mouse)
Expressive Robots
(ESRA)
Walking Robots
Kits
Just Toys?
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Fun, but not a toy
Learn a real computer language
Learn logic skills
Learn electronics
Research universities are now using the BX-24 to teach
computer science
• Microcontrollers allow the average person to do what
only NASA could do just a few years ago
• Springboards into other “serious” fields such as
electronics, aerospace engineering, manufacturing,
automotive and medical applications, etc.
BasicX and Robotics
• Textbook written for novices and
beginners ages 12 and up
(especially for high school and
college)
• Only one of its kind
• A teacher by your side to walk you
through material
• Over 300 problems and 400 full
color images. 365 pages.
• A complete and rich curriculum
• $44.95 textbook
• Who has it?
Retail $499 (20GB), $599 (60 GB)
http://www.us.playstation.com/News/Editorials/38
Robots in Action
Let’s take a look at a few robots controlled by the BX-24.
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Tori’s Morse Code
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– Brute force vs. elegance
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– Used in psychological research
labs across the country including
Yale
– Autistic research in high school?
Robot Dance
– Art in motion
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Line Following Mouse
– Not dead-reckoning but not so smart
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Follow Me
– A bit smarter, but still constrained
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Obstacle Avoidance/Tabletop Rover
– Human & robot intelligence are
required
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Clean Sweep with Live Video!
– Smart and useful (sort-of)
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Thor: Firefighting Robot
– Smart and useful (sort-of)
ESRA Expressive robot
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The Roach
– A walking robot
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RoboSapien Hack
– Brain surgery
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The E-Bot and Crawler
– H-bridge technology
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RC Toys and Car Hack
– H-bridge technology
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Robot Soccer Junior
– 2050 Challenge
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Mini Grand Challenge
– 2015 Congressional Mandate
Scientific and Other BX-24 Apps
Robotics isn’t all that the BX-24 can do. Take a look:
• Relays
– The itty-bitty BX-24 can control household
appliances
• Spirit II
– The BX-24 takes GS payload into space
• Environment Sensing Station
– Inexpensive, robust, remote in situ data
collecting
• Helium Balloon Payload
– Another in situ scientific platform
It can be rocket science!
In 2003, NASA, Penn State, and Clemson
University launched a Terrier-Orion rocket from
Wallops Island, Virginia. The rocket, part of the
SPIRT II campaign, was in space for about 10
minutes and experienced nearly 20-G’s during
liftoff.
SPIRIT II Payload
• George School physics and
robotics students designed an
experiment that flew onboard
that rocket.
• A BX-24 and RAMB
motherboard were used to
measure the forces of liftoff and
any changes in temperature
within the payload.
• The experiment cost less than
$100 (the force sensors cost 4¢
each) and returned excellent
data.
SPIRIT II Results
Environment Sensing
Environment Sensing Data
See www.basicxandrobotics.com/apps/Environment%20Sensing%20Station/index.html
Environment Sensing Data
See www.basicxandrobotics.com/apps/Environment%20Sensing%20Station/index.html
Environment Sensing Data
See www.basicxandrobotics.com/apps/Environment%20Sensing%20Station/index.html
Balloon Research on the Cheap
Balloon Data
Balloon Data
Heating During Ascent
Temperature, T
(C)
29.0
28.0
27.0
T = -253982t 2 + 353465t - 122950
R2 = 0.9705
26.0
25.0
16:36
16:37
16:37
16:38
16:39
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16:41
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Time, t
Cooling Due to Sunset
Temperature, T
(C)
30.0
T = 360582t 2 - 504942t + 176797
R2 = 0.9938
28.0
26.0
24.0
22.0
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Time, t
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Physics with Microcontrollers
I believe this is the next wave about to hit physics education.
• Stopwatch
• Sonic and IR Rangers
• Position, Velocity, and
Acceleration
• Voltage Dividers
• Force Meter
• Temperature Sensor
• Light Sensor
• Pendulum Velocity and
Period
• Sound Waves and Beat
Frequencies
• Optics
• Voltmeter
• Ohm-meter
• Ammeter
• Computer Modeling
• Projectile Launcher
(Compare computer
code with physics
student’s derivations)
Physics: Optics
Calibrating and using the $0.75 light sensor:
Physics: Projectile Motion
A collaboration between physics and robotics students.
Physics: Projectile Motion
A collaboration between physics and robotics students.
Outreach
A Roundtable Discussion
The Future
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The Intel Mac
Web-based content
Collaborations
Mini Grand Challenge
Competitions
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Trinity Firefighting (www.trincoll.edu/events/robot/)
Penn State Abington (www.cede.psu.edu/~avanzato/robots/contests/)
Robot Madness (www.robotmadness.org)
RoboCup (www.robocup.org)
RoboCup Junior (www.robocupjunior.org)
George School?
• Future workshops
Dinner and a Movie
During lunch I will have a few movies running on a
continuous loop, including:
• Robot Madness (and Robot Soccer) 2006
• Thor the Movie 2006
• Many short robot demo clips