Transcript First Annual Oregon Robotics Tournament

Oregon Robotics Tournament
and Outreach Program
II. Coaching/Mentoring
Techniques Workshop
2006
Opening doors to the worlds of science
and technology for Oregon’s youth
Instructor Contacts
Ken Cone
[email protected]
503-725-2918
Jim Ryan
[email protected]
971-215-6087
Scott Stanko
[email protected]
(971) 215-9677
Roger Swanson
[email protected]
503-297-1824
Today’s Goals
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Focus on being a coach or mentor
I hope you leave:
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Feeling more comfortable about your role
Having some more tools in your bag of
tricks
Understanding better what it takes to solve
a challenge.
Having gotten your questions answered
Have some fun!!
Agenda
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Review our Mission
Forming your team
Registering your team
Equipping your team
Managing your team
Ocean Odyssey Challenge kit
Use RoverBots from last week to experiment
with RoboLab’s Inventor Level
We’re asking
Our Mission you to help us!
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Program not just about building robots and
competing in tournaments
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Teach skills
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Specific technical skills
General life skills
Show that technical problem solving can be fun
The youngsters do the work – Coaches’ Honor
Code and Team Promise
Open up the possibility of technical careers
One secret opportunity
Forming Your Team
Where Teams Come From
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School Based
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Club Based
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Probably after school or evening
Independent team
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In class: Perhaps 45 minutes a day
After school: Perhaps 1.5 hours; 2 to 4 times a week
Special block: Several hours once a week
After school, evenings, or weekends
We encourage you to find and include
youngsters that normally would not have this
exposure
Where to Meet
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Large enough space to handle the
number of youngsters on the team
Space for challenge field setup – 4’x8’
Access to a computer
Storage space between meetings
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Challenge table
Partially built robot
Lego parts
Team size
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High initial interest may fade
Sub-teams of 2-3 can work in parallel
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Experiment with prototypes
Learn programming techniques
Work on the presentation
Eventually team should stabilize at 10
or less
5 to 7 team members is probably ideal
You Need Adults, Too!
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Coach – The person in charge
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Mentor – The technical guru
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Organizes the team
Does not need to be a techie
Provides technical advice
Provides the technical basics
One person can play both roles
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But, don’t go it alone
Recruit other adults to supervise sub-teams
Coach – The Person in Charge
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Single point of contact for team
Understands the FLL and ORTOP programs
Recruits the team
Registers the team
Arranges for equipment
Schedules meetings
Sets the philosophy and instills team spirit
Be a good role model
Mentor – The Technical Guru
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Technical Advisor to assist the coach
Teaches both robot design and
programming
Helps set achievable goals
Encourages structured problem solving
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Follow typical engineering project models
Experiment with one variable at a time
Graduates of FLL can work as mentors
General Advice to All Adults
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This is the kids’ project, not yours
Be a good role model
Keep a positive attitude
Encourage teamwork and insist on
mutual respect
Don’t over emphasize “winning” –
demonstrating a solution at a
tournament is success
Have fun
FLL Team Promise
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We are a team.
We do the work to find the solutions with
guidance from our coaches and mentors.
We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
What we discover is more important than
what we win.
We share our experiences with others.
We display gracious professionalism in
everything we do.
We have fun.
Registering Your Team
Team Registration
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National registration through FLL:
http://www.usfirst.org/jrobtcs/flg_reg.htm
May through end of September or when max
reached
$150 fee
Receive Coaches Handbook, web forum
access, and support
Optional ordering of kits
First-Come-First-Served, so REGISTER
EARLY!!
Purchases at FLL Registration
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Registration fee: $150
Robotics kit: $260 or $280
Field set-up kit: $65
Extra parts: motors and sensors
(rotation, light, and touch)
They don’t ship until they are paid
ORTOP State Registration
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Takes place in October 2006
$50 fee for ORTOP
We notify all coaches that have registered
with FLL in Oregon and surrounding counties
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Provide list of local tournaments
Ask for 3 local tournament choices in priority
order
We assign teams to local tournaments
Register early!!
Equipping Your Team
Minimum Resources to Start
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A robotics kit
A computer
A place to meet and practice
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Classroom
Family room
Garage
Additional Resources
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2006 FLL Field Setup kit (only from FLL)
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Mission Model Set
Field Mat
Practice table (design on FLL website)
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http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=11
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4’x8’ bottom
Railing around the sides
Overhead light
Robotics Kit Info
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RCX-based kits
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LEGO kit used by FLL in past years
$260 if ordered during FLL registration
Ship to registered teams in June
NXT-based kits
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Brand new this year
$280 if ordered during FLL registration
Ship to registered teams in August
Robotics Kit Info
Pros
RCX
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Avail. Now
 Stable and
understood
NXT
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New technology
Cons
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Older technology
Avail. August
 Unknown stability
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Robotics Kit Info – RCX-Based
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Can start with
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LEGO Mindstorms Robotic Invention System: $200
with RIS software and buy a tackle box for sorting
parts; or
LEGO Team Challenge Set: $200 plus RoboLab
software ($69) -- includes good sorting trays;
And , upgrade by purchasing an additional motor,
light sensor, and rotation sensor (see FAQ).
Or, order 2006 FLL Robot Kit at $260 for
delivery starting in June.
Lots of teaching guides at Lego Education site
Kit Ordering – RCX-Based
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Mindstorms kits
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Becoming very scarce
Perhaps Target, ToysRUs, Fry’s, Amazon.com
LEGO: http://shop.lego.com
Team Challenge Set from Lego Education at:
http://www.legoeducation.com/
FLL kits through FLL at registration
See FAQ for more details
Robotics Kit Info – NXT-Based
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FLL NXT -- $280
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LEGO Education NXT Base Set -- $250
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Available August
Fewer parts and no software
LEGO Retail -- $250
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Available August
Complete kit with NXT software
Available July
Fewer parts with NXT software
See FAQ for details
Team Uniforms??
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Many teams do something for the
tournaments
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Team shirts, hats, etc
Theme clothing
Team sponsor advertising on a T-shirt,
etc. is OK
Example Team Budget
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National Registration Fee: $150
State Registration Fee: $50
2006 Robotics Kit: $260 or $280
2006 Field Setup Kit: $65
Materials for table: $50-$100
Teaching Guides: $30
Misc. including batteries, shipping: $50-$100
Total: $655-$775
Possible Sources of team
funding
Team Member Dues
Fundraising
Activities
Having some portion of
costs picked up by
team members gives a
sense of commitment
Team
Sponsors
ORTOP Scholarship
ORTOP Scholarships
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Funding should not be an obstacle to a
team’s participation
Cover $50 to $650 in team costs
Accepting applications now
Awards made at least monthly
Last date is September 16, 2006
http://www.ortop.org/res.htm#scholar
Managing Your Team
Meeting Organization
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How often and how long to meet
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Most teams meet 2-3 times per week
After school, evenings, weekends as team desires
Some add extras as get closer to end
> 1 hr (set up and take down)
< 3 hrs (attention span)
At least 2 adults present during meetings –
can use parents who take turns
Set ground rules -- E.g. don’t turn kids loose
to walk home by themselves after dark
Refreshments / snacks
Team Kick-off Meeting
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Every child brings parent
Set expectations with both
Send kids off to build with LEGOs
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Get assistant to help
Build with instructions, like the
Constructopedia
Something they can all do at once
Explain the real situation to the parents
Parent Involvement
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Explain program/FLL philosophy
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Success = Participation
Explain team rules
Discuss participation commitment for
kids
Review costs and funding sources
Communicate about tournament
Solicit help
Getting Started with the Kids
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Set Team Goals
Decide responsibilities
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Set milestones – use project management
analogy
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Can rotate, especially near beginning
Usually will want to be fixed as near tournament
Need backup roles due to absences
Set dates for each phase of project to keep on
track
Include design, build, test, REWORK
Encourage participation in a team environment
Learning Opportunities
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Encourage risk taking
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It’s OK to fail
Key is to manage the risk
Encourage experimentation
Expect failure – focus on what is
learned as a result
Problem solving takes time – Edison’s
experience with light bulb filament
Facilitate Structured Problem Solving
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Defining problem
Brainstorming
Evaluating alternatives
Choosing alternative
Implementing
Evaluating & testing
Hard vs.. Soft Skills
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Hard Skills
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Mechanical Design
Programming
Analysis
Problem Solving
Experimentation
Documentation
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Soft Skills
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Timeliness
Teamwork
Tact and Compromise
Confidence
Courtesy
Perseverance
Planning
Turn these youth into little engineers
Build a Foundation
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Introduce techniques and concepts
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Build or bring demos
Discuss advantages and disadvantages
Let kids figure out how to apply concept to
Challenge
If meetings start before Challenge is
announced, can use mini-challenges to
introduce concepts
One approach: use 5-10 minutes at start of
each meeting to introduce concepts
Sample Concepts
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Pick one or two new subjects per session
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Structural strength: bracing vs. snapped pieces
Gear ratios: torque vs. speed
Traction: tracks vs. wheels
Friction: tires vs. skids
Programming techniques: linear vs. loops vs.
subroutines
Divide and conquer
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Three basic robot functions:
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Locomotion: how the robot moves
Navigation: how it knows where to go
Robotic Action: function it performs
Locomotion
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Motors
Gears/pulleys
Wheels/tracks
Steering
Friction
Navigation
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Time, but sensitive to battery charge
Touch Sensors
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Light Sensors
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Means of triggering
Pressed vs. release
Light levels
Darker/lighter
Calibrating thresholds
Rotation sensor
Robotic Action
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Pushing
Grabbing
Lifting
Dumping
With All the Focus on the
Robot and the Challenge…
Don’t Forget the Judging
Technical Judging – 25%
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Panel of “experts” interviews teams
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Prepare the team to:
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Robot design: Creativity and robustness
Programming: Creativity and robustness
Explain their design of the robot and its
program
Demonstrate at least one mission on the
challenge field
Bring a printout of the program
Presentation Judging – 25%
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Don’t ignore it
Another good learning opportunity
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Research skills and presentation skills
(remember the marketing kid? )
Good engineering requires research and
communication
Format
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10 minutes including setup
Posterboards, skits, models, Powerpoint, . . .
Sources of ideas
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Constructopedias/Manuals/Guides
RoboLab Tutorial CD-ROM
Books – http://www.ortop.org/res.htm#books
Web links –
http://www.ortop.org/res.htm#links
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Lego
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FIRST
INSciTE -- Minnesota FLL 
Tufts University – Inventor of
Real world
Art of Lego
CMU
Best Practices
Robolab
Our Mailing Lists
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Totally voluntary, and you can opt out
ortopvol
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All volunteers
One way from ORTOP to our volunteers
We add you when you volunteer
ortopcm
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Coaches and mentors
Communication among that group and with
ORTOP
We add you when you complete a workshop
Next Steps
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Sign-up for another workshop
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III. Robotics Techniques Workshop
http://www.ortop.org/res.htm#REG
ESCO – “Robotics Mentorships as a
Developmental Career Opportunity”
Contact Us
Web site: http://www.ortop.org
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 503-725-2920