Heriot-
Learn about one of the driving modes and practice steering the robot.
- Built and working robots
- Activity 2 DVD
- Worksheet (marked Activity 2 worksheet)
- Objects to make a driving course (e.g. Books, boxes, water bottles, etc)
Working out 9 switch options can be done on a classroom desk (with care). Driving round obstacles needs a larger floor area.
- Robots can work in two different ways
1. Many robots are connected to a controller by a wire or a wireless link and a person sends commands to the robot through this link. Good examples are the underwater robots used in the North Sea. Here, a person is on a ship and directs the robot through a long cable. A more complex example is the Mars Rover vehicle, this time the link is by radio rather than cable. Engineers on earth work out a set of moves and then send them to the robot on Mars.
2. Newer robots are being designed which can be much more independent and can “think” for themselves. These are called autonomous robots. A simple example is the robot vacuum cleaner. It plans its own pattern of cleaning quite independent of a person.
- Activity 2 is an example of a cable connected robot that needs to be told what to do. Some of the later activities will use the robot as an autonomous robot.
- The practical aim is to become familiar with the robot and how to use the switches to put the robot into different modes. Also, the pupils will see how the robot tells them that its batteries need recharging. If they get the switches wrong then tell them to switch off and start again.
- They will use this mode in a later competition.
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Watch DVD |
Activity 2 video lasts for about 7 minutes. |
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Run experiment |
For each of the nine different switch positions work out what happens to the robot. The worksheet shows 3 of the 9 conditions.
(press switch A twice, press switch D once, then press switch A once).
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Practice |
Get the teams to make up their own obstacle course and to work together as a team to become competent at driving the robot. To begin with it can be quite tricky.
The obstacle course should not include tunnels because of the cable. |
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Tidy |
Ensure that the robot is switched off before packing it away. The batteries can be left in the robot. |
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File |
Description |
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Word |
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Activity 2 pupil worksheet A |
Worksheet with table to fill in the effects of the 9 different switch settings. |
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