Weimar Hills School Robotics Club Contact coach Dave Parker at:

Check back here weekly for announcements, pictures, etc.

12/17/2009

This week is our last meeting for the Beginning Robotics Club.  Have a good holiday break!

For students that have taken the Beginning Club, the next opportunity to take robotics again is the "Advanced Robotics Club", which starts in the Spring and is for grades 5-8 (so 4th graders need to wait a year).   For grades 5-8, look for an announcement in the Walk Home in February.

11/20/2009 - 12/18/2009

Robo Sumo and Battle Bots

Over the last several weeks, the teams have rebuilt their robots from scratch to use a treaded design, learned to use a light sensor to detect a black line taped to the floor, and then modified their "tank" robots to play "Robo Sumo" and then "Battle Bots".  Robot Sumo is like sumo wrestling for robots, where one robot tries to be the first to push the other robot outside the ring, while using the light sensor to make sure it doesn't accidentally drive out on its own.  Then for the last week, the teams could add a motorized "weapon" to their tank, to play "Battle Bots", which is like Robo Sumo with the additional rule that if you strike the opposing robot three separate times with your weapon, then they are also out.

Robotics Kits For Home Use

As the holiday season approaches, parents often ask about how to buy a LEGO robotics kit for home use.

In the Robotics Club, we use the education version of the original (1998 - 2005) LEGO MINDSTORMS ("RCX") kit, which is not the same as the current 2009 version LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 kit that is currently available from LEGO (nor the 2006 version of the first LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT kit).  It is possible to buy the kit that we use here, but retail support for this kit is being phased out, so for families interested in buying a kit for home use, I suggest the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 kit. 

Unfortunately, programming lessons and building examples that we do in class will not be directly transferable to the newer NXT 2.0 kit, so the kids will not be able to replicate our particular projects at home, and will need to re-learn a new programming system for the NXT.  However, the good news is that there are resources for building and programming instructions for the new kit available with the kit and on the internet.  The NXT 2.0 kit itself comes with instructions for 4 different models, and LEGO's website for NXT 2.0 has links to additional models.  Plus, I maintain a web site at www.nxtprograms.com which has full building instructions and ready-to-run programs for several models.

11/13/2009

Block Course Challenge

For two weeks, the teams worked on a robot that could drive around in a square to collect LEGOs on the floor, then end up in the right position to chop and break a LEGO "bridge".  The teams were allowed to use a single button "remote control" to help drive the robot, which makes the programming easier, but puts a difficult driving challenge on the operator...  Here are some of the designs:

10/30/2009

Turn and Chop Challenge

The teams designed a chopping arm for their robots, then programmed it to drive in an L-shaped pattern using a combination of timed segments and touch-sensor signals to approach a LEGO "bridge" sitting on a stack of books, which the robot was then supposed to break with its chopping arm.  Here are some of the designs:

10/28/2009 Remember your Robotics Club T-shirt money Remember to have your student bring $15 in cash, or check made to Dave Parker, to robotics to buy the official Weimar Hills Robotics Club T-shirt!  I have $5s if needed for change from a $20.  The Youth M sizes came in, so we now have all sizes available.

10/23/2009

Kicking a Soccer Goal

The teams mounted a 3rd motor on their robots and designed a kicking "foot" that can kick a "soccer ball" of their own design into a goal of their own design.  Then they wrote a program that would make the robot approach the ball, kick the ball into the goal, then drive back to the starting point.  The kids learned how to use decimal numbers to measure seconds so that, for example, 1.1 seconds is slightly longer than 1 second, etc. so that they could time their approach to the ball.  Here are some of the good designs:

10/21/2009 Robotics Club T-shirts are now available! Have your student bring $15 in cash, or check made to Dave Parker, to robotics to buy the official Weimar Hills Robotics Club T-shirt! Students who have been in the Robotics Club or team in the past can also get a shirt.  Click here for a list of sizes and schedule of when to buy one in room 39.

10/16/2009

Exploring with a Touch Sensor Bumper

The teams replaced their crash bumpers from last week with a bumper that includes a touch sensor so that the robot can tell when it hits something in front, and adapted their room exploring programs to make the robot turn when it hits something.  The teams were then challenged to design fenders or other devices to try to keep the robot from getting hung up and snagged on the table and chair legs while exploring.  Here are a few different designs:

10/9/2009

Exploring with a Crash Bumper

The teams started over with a different car chassis design that is stronger and turns better than their first car.  The teams were then challenged to design a soft/flexible bumper of some type to absorb crashes to the front of the robot, then write a program to make the robot wander around the room (crashing into table legs, etc).  Here are a few different designs that worked well:

10/2/2009

First Programming Lesson

This week the teams learned how to use the laptop computers to write a program and transfer it to the robot to tell the robot what to do.

9/25/2009

First Robot Cars

This week the students started with a simple car design that had only back wheels, and were then challenged to add front wheels, experiment with different wheel types, and experiment with changing motor directions to make the cars go forward, backward, or spin in circles.  Here are a few results:

9/21/2009

Sign-ups Completed

Sign-ups are completed and we are ready to start next week.  There was room for everyone who signed up.  I called and moved some people from Wednesday, which was the most popular day, to the other days.  If you didn't hear from me, you are good to go for your first choice day.

Orientation Info

Here is a brief summary of what we talked about at the orientation meeting:

The WHS Robotics Club is:

• Teams of 2-3 students working together (and up to 6 teams in a daily group).
• Building simple robots out of LEGOs
• Programming the robots using the school's laptop computers
• Learning something about mechanical engineering and computer programming
• Thinking, trying to improve on designs, occasional design challenges
• Each day starts with a whole-class lesson, then the teams work, with my individual help as needed
• The club is NOT free play time with LEGOs.  The students are expected to participate in the class projects.

Expectations:

• Please be on time.  We start at 7:45am.  If a student is 10 min late, he or she may miss the entire group lesson.
• Come every week when you can (not when you are sick, whenever you would come to school).  We build on what we learn each week.
• All students must demonstrate effort to learn the lessons and participate in the class projects and challenges.
• "Toys" (unrelated LEGO creations) will be taken apart when the coach asks.
• Students must share the LEGOs and the computers with their teammates.
• Students must respect and take care of the equipment.  It is expensive.

Common Questions

Q: Is there room for my friend to join, who didn't come to orientation?
A: There is a small number of spots left if you contact the coach and join very soon.

Q: Can the kids keep the things they design? 
A: No, sorry, the parts belong to the school (the $10 fee pays for batteries and replacements for broken parts) and are used again every year.

Q: Can we come on more than one day each week?
A: No, the other days are for other kids doing the same thing, and we can only have so many bodies and computers in the room.

Q: How long does the club last?
A: We go until Christmas break.

Q: Can we change days or teammates?
A: If necessary, contact the coach to request a change.

Q: Can we take Robotics again in the spring?
A: You can only take the Beginning Robotics Club once.  The Advanced Robotics Club starts in February (announcement will be in the Walk Home) for students in grades 5 and up who have already taken the Beginning Robotics Club.  Current 4th graders will need to wait until spring 2011 to take the Advanced Robotics Club.

Robotics Kits We Use

We use the education version of the original (1998 - 2005) LEGO MINDSTORMS ("RCX") kit, which is not the same as the 2009 version LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 kit that is currently available from LEGO, nor the 2006 version of the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT kit.  It is possible to buy the kit that we use here, but retail support for this kit is being phased out, so families interested in buying a kit for home use should probably buy the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 kit.  Programming lessons and such that we do in class will not be directly transferable to the newer NXT kit, but for project ideas, building instructions, and lots of sample programs for the NXT kit, see my web site at www.nxtprograms.com.  More info will be posted about this as the holiday buying season gets closer (and kids start asking). 

9/16/2009

Robotics Club Sign up and orientation is this week (Wed, Thu, or Fri at 7:45 am in room 39).  Come with a parent and $10 to sign up.

Links:

RCX Club Tank Building Instructions: (Web) (PowerPoint)

Contact coach Dave Parker at: