RoboKids Robotics Workshop
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Transcript RoboKids Robotics Workshop
A Crash Course in LEGO NXT
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: 304-243-2499
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: http://www.cet.edu/robotics/
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!
Organized Chaos Girl Scouts robotics team at the
West Virginia FIRST LEGO League tournament you’re welcome to observe our Power Puzzle
competition on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007!
The Least You Need
One computer (ideally, a school computer
lab with LEGO MINDSTORMS Education
Software installed)
One robotics kit, LEGO MINDSTORMS
Education Base Set ($250), per 2-10 youth
- I recommend you start with a small group
(e.g., 4 students) – 1 kit per 2 students is
perfect – you might also want several
Education Resource sets (spare parts)
LEGO MINDSTORMS Education Software
to program the robot ($49 single to $265
site license)
The Least You Need (cont’d)
The LEGO NXT robot can also be
programmed with ROBOLAB software
One Mindstorms NXT Base Set and one
computer (ideally, a school computer lab with
ROBOLAB installed and one base set per two
students)
ROBOLAB software to program the robot ($69
single to $265 site license) – you need
ROBOLAB version 2.9 ($49 upgrade)
The Least You Need (cont’d)
materials – I recommend
the ROBOLAB Video Trainer CD, which
has excellent programming video
sequences ($50 single or $100 site)
Instructional
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
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) – ask yours!
NASA Space
Grant Consortiums fund
outreach programs
After you’ve 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 and competitions occur from Nov.
through Feb.
The Problem-solving Process
What is the robot’s task?
What behaviors are needed to accomplish it?
Create the program – debug then download.
Run the program.
Is the NXT behaving badly (doesn’t do task)?
Check the robot first. If there’s 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 it’s supposed to do?
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., FileSave as
Maria LineEnter)
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
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
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 it’s easier if
the robot starts at less than a 90 angle
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: You’ll need to use wait until Touch in
for the first step.
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
ROBOLAB Video Trainer
ROBOLAB Video Trainer CD has lots of video
sequences showing you how to program ROBOLAB
and how the robot responds to the program
LEGO Mindstorms Education Base Set and
ROBOLAB and ROBOLAB Video Trainer software
are available from LEGO education
(www.legoeducation.com under LEGO Mindstorms)
LEGO MINDSTORMS Education software has a
built-in reference tool – Robot Educator, that walks
you through simple challenges
Additional software can be found at the Robotics
Academy (http://www-education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/ )
Robotics Web Sites
NASA Robotics Alliance Project
http://robotics.nasa.gov/home.php
NASA Robotics Curriculum Clearinghouse
http://robotics.nasa.gov/rcc/
Mars Exploration Rover Mission
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html
Robotics Academy
http://www-education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/
Minnesota High-Tech Kids
http://www.hightechkids.org
FIRST LEGO League http://www.firstlegoleague.org
Botball http://www.botball.org/
BEST Robotics http://www.bestinc.org/MVC/
Sample ROBOLAB Programs
Sample NXT Programs
Challenge 1 – Forward for 1 second
Challenge 2 – Square with a sound
Challenge 3 – Detecting Light/Dark
NXT Programming Details
Select a motor icon (you’ll see a blue border
around it) to open its control panel - displayed at
the bottom of the screen
Additional control panels for sensors and wait for
icons have similar displays
NXT Programming Details (cont’d)
Due
to the limited amount of memory
available for the NXT, all currently
installed sound files should be deleted
Sound files take up a lot of space and
should be used selectively
Use the same sound file repeatedly in
stored programs to cut down on
memory usage
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!
Hands-on: Your Turn!
Use
LEGO MINDSTORMS Educator to
program the NXT robot to move in a
square
Think
about the robot’s required
behaviors to move in a square
What
motors have to do what for each
behavior?
Which
them!
behaviors repeat? You can loop
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 -> Show
Block Diagram.
Hit Tab key to switch from hand to cursor tool.
ROBOLAB Basics (cont’d)
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.
ROBOLAB Basics (cont’d)
Always break a wire instead of placing a new
icon on top of the wire; otherwise, the icon
looks wired when it isn’t.
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.