All 8th graders know what the final project is - SumoBots. But to get there they need to build a strong foundation in both hardware design and software development. To help them with their learning the students must complete three projects each with different parts.
Project 1 - Driving Test
They must drive for a certain period of time and then stop
They must drive forward for a period of time, stop for a period of time, and then backwards for a period of time.
They must start on a line and stop on another line without using sensors.
Finally they must program their robots to navigate a slalom course without touching any of the cones.
Project 2 - Looping Line Detector
Students will learn how to use a color sensor to control their robot's action depending upon if the robot sees the line or not. They will also learn how to make decisions based upon what the sensor sees and how to make the program loop indefinitely. This will help them to remain on the playing field.
Project 3 - Looping ultrasonic detection
Students will learn how to use the ultrasonic sensor to "sense/see" another object within a certain distance and react to it.
So far the students have really taken to the challenges presented to them. Sometimes things work great and sometimes things go wrong.... very wrong which leads to alot of learning and laughing. The video below shows one such example. Both students were not present for the filming since they couldn't stop laughing.
To prove just how much these students are using their robots the picture below shows how many dead batteries there are from all the usage. And that's just one table, there are two others off camera.
Stay tuned for more updates.
