Independent Investigation

Choose an Independent Investigation Activity from the Vol 2 CD:
 Automated Mining
 Patrol Robot
 Tree Measurer

1. Print the associated lab worksheet.
2. Collect any materials you need including a digital camera to document your investigation.
3. Construct your robot by following the step-by-step instructions
4. Complete all 4 stages of the investigation. Document the Construct, Contemplate, and Continue phases in your blog. Use text, pictures, and digital video to tell the story of your investigation.

You will need to include at least one blog entry for of those 3 stages of the investigation. This means that you will have a minimum of 4 blog entries!

• Construct
• Contemplate
• Continue
• HW – Chapter Reading

Be sure that you take the time to read each others blogs. Look for helpful insights to help you complete your Independent Investigations!

Obstacle Course Challenge

You will need to design and build a robot that uses all 4 sensors. You will then need to program your robot to maneuver through an obstacle course in the quickest time.

On your Robotics Blog page, compose a new entry explaining the each of the challenges in the obstacle course.
What will you need to do to prepare your robot and your program?

Field Of View Experiment

On your personal Robotics Blog, create a new blog entry. Title it:
YourName's Field Of View Experiment. Write a full blog entry describing how you conducted your experiment (upload relevant photos), include step by step instructions so that someone could recreate your experiment in the future. Make sure to include instructions on how to store this data in a manageable form for future use.

Student Feedback

Please follow the link below to provide feedback on this class and on your teacher:

http://sites.google.com/a/iskl.edu.my/ict77/Home/student-feedback

The Sound Sensor

Blog your experience with “Frequency and Amplitude”
Write a full blog entry (on your blog site) describing how you conducted your experiment (upload relevant photos), include step by step instructions so that someone could recreate your experiment in the future. Make sure to include instructions on how to store this data in a manageable form for future use.

Read Building Robots Chapters 9-10 and Make Blog Entry

1. Read Chapters 9-10: Feedback from the Mindstorms NXT-G Programming Guide book.
2. Title a post: “Chapter 9&10: Feedback & Wait for it!”
3. Consider the questions:

• What is a ‘condition’?
• What do each of the different sensors do?
• When might you use each type?
• Why do you need to use wait blocks?

Gears - Robotics Team Challenges

Drag Race – Test of Speed
Construct a robot that will be the fastest in a 3 meter race.

Tractor Pull - Test of Strength
Construct a robot that will push/pull the most weight 50 cm in the fastest time.

Use this site to help you l earn about calculating optimal gear ratios: http://www.yoyogames.com/games/show/9962#

Gears Investigation

Summarize the investigations and reflect on these activities by leaving a comment to the this post on isklrobotics.blogspot.com:

a) What is the Gear Ratio? Write out the formula to calculate it.

b) Write down the formulas for the two hypotheses.

c) Using GoogleDocs Spreedsheets, create a table like the one below to record your information for each of the tests.

• Make a link in your comment that points to the Spreadsheet you create in GoogleDocs. “Share” your GoogleDoc Spreadsheet with Mr. Inskeep and your fellow classmates.
• Perform condition 1 and record your information. You will not make a predicted speed for this.
• Use your data from condition 1 to make a predicted speed for condition 2 (hypothesis A and
B). Show your calculations for this.
• Perform the tests for condition 2 and record your data.
• Use your data from condition 1 to make a predicted speed for condition 3 (hypothesis A and B). Show your calculations for this.
• Perform the tests for condition 3 and record your data.
d) Make a conclusion about which hypothesis was correct.

Blog your experience with the Team Challenge: Circuit Race

Write a summary of the process you went through to complete the challenge by posting a blog entry. Use screen captures from your software and upload them to your blog entry. (Paste your screen shots to Adobe Photoshop to convert to them to jpgs)

+1 Program works and is complete and organized

+1 All Sections of program are labeled

+1 Values of wait blocks are labeled

+1 Values reflect actual mathematical computations
(ie you say robot is turning 85° then the wait block should show it is set to the correct no. of degree rotations)

+1 Write a summary of the process you went through to complete the challenge

Team Challenge: Circuit Race

Teams will write a program to get their robots around a square racecourse. You will need to use your knowledge from the:

• “Wheels and Distance”
• “Right Face
• “Measured Turns”

Scoring
• A (100 pts)- Able to maneuver around the course on first official run (using knowledge from distance and turns activities)
• B (85 pts) - Able to maneuver through part of course (1/2 way) with on first official run. Can maneuver through whole course after revising program (2nd try works: +5 pts).
• C (75 pts)- Able to maneuver at least to first turn on first official run. Can maneuver through whole course after revising program (2nd try works +5 pts)
• D (65 pts)- Not able to maneuver course on first try and cannot complete course after revising
• F- Cannot write a program to get robot to maneuver through course
- 5 points for each 15 minute increment of time you are late to start (race starts at exactly 12:00 pm on TUESDAY!)

Get Movin'

Do Labs, Read, and Make Blog Entry

1. Read Chapter 4: LEGO Mindstorms NXT-G Programming Guide book. “Get Movin’”
2. Review this document: Move and Motor Blocks
   
3. Title a new blog post: “Movin' and Making Turns”
4. In your blog entry, summarize the reading from Chapter 4 and your last two lab investigations (“Right Turn” and “Measured Turns”). Reflect on the following questions:

• What is the difference between the use of motor blocks and move blocks?
• When would one type of block be more advantageous than another?

Comment on a Blog Entry

Read the other students' Chapter 4 blogs and comment on them.
Use the blog comment rubric to self evaluate your comments.

Making Turns

Complete “Right Face”
1. Open the Robotics Engineering Software Vol. I. Click Projects
2. Finished the “Right Face” Lab and associated lab worksheet.
3. Add your completed Worksheet: Right Face to your Robotics Notebook

Complete “Measured Turns”
4. Open the Robotics Engineering Software Vol. I. Click Projects
5. Finished the “Measured Turns” Lab and associated lab worksheet.
6. Add your completed Worksheet: Measured Turns your Robotics Notebook

When you are finished with the labs:

Blog Comment

Make a blog comment on your experience with your testing and feedback

• How can you calculate an exact turning radius with your robot?
• What factors contribute to making a precision turn?

Click to comment on this blog post.

Hello My Name Is...

Comment on a second Blog Entry (Due Tuesday, 10 Feb.)

1. Read another student's Chapter 3 (Hello World, My Name Is...) blog and comment on it.
2. Use the blog comment rubric to self evaluate your comment.

Use this list to help determine whose blog you are to comment on next:

• Brandon Kunju Herrera comments on Kenny Jones
• Tyler Dangerfield comments on Nass Umardin
• Kenny Jones comments on Hyoung Min Yoo
• Nass Umardin comments on Brandon Kunju Herrera
• Hyoung Min Yoo comments on Tyler Dangerfield

Hello My Name Is...

Complete the Anytime robotics lab: Hello my name is...
Record your observations and answer the questions on the worksheet as you progress through the lab. At the end of the lab, choose an emotion to give your robot.

1. Write a short 2 to 5 block program that attempts to convey that emotion. You should make good use of sound, display, appearance and other robot behaviors to get your message across.
2. Ask three other students to observe your robot's "emotion"
3. Without telling them the emotion you intended, run the program for each person, and ask them what emotion the robot is trying to convey. Write down their responses and rate how close they are to the emotion you intended.
   

When you are finished with the lab:

Blog Comment

Make a blog comment on your experience with your testing and feedback

• How close were the responses to the emotion you intended?
• Were there any things that people didn’t understand at all, or did they generally get the idea?
  

Click to comment on this blog post.

Hello World!

Do Lab, Read, and Make Blog Entry (Due Monday, 02 Feb.)

1. Complete the Robotics Lab: "Hello my name is..."
2. Read Chapter 3: LEGO Mindstorms NXT-G Programming Guide book. “Hello World!”
3. Title a new blog post: “Hello World, My Name Is…”
4. In your blog entry, summarize the reading from Chapter 3 and your anytime investigation. Reflect on the following questions:
   

• How can the Display block be used in a practical sense when you are designing, running, and testing programs?

• How will you add sounds and displays to your future programs? What purposes will they serve?

Comment on a Blog Entry (Due Tuesday, 03 Feb.)

1. Before the start of the next class (Tuesday, 03 Feb.) read another student's Chapter 3 blog and comment on it.
2. Use the blog comment rubric to self evaluate your comment.

Use this list to help determine whose blog you are to comment on:

• Brandon Kunju Herrera comments on Nass Umardin
• Tyler Dangerfield comments on Hyoung Min Yoo
• Kenny Jones comments on Brandon Kunju Herrera
• Nass Umardin comments on Tyler Dangerfield
• Hyoung Min Yoo comments on Kenny Jones

Wheels and Distance

Complete the robotics lab: Wheels and Distance.
Record your observations and answer the questions on the worksheet as you progress through the lab. Use this Google Doc to help you check your work on the table.

When you are finished with the lab:

Blog Comment

Make a blog comment on your experience with Wheels and Distance.

Click to comment on this blog post.
Summarize the investigation and reflect this question in your comment: How does wheel size and motor rotations affect distance travelled?

Programming Guide Chapter 1&2: Robots and Program Structure

Read Chapters 1&2 and Make Blog Entry (Due Wednesday, 28 Jan.)

1. Read Chapter 1 and 2 from: Understanding LEGO Geometry from the Building Robots book
2. Go to your Robotics Blog.
3. Click ‘New Post’ – Title your post: “What is a Robot? What is a Program?”
4. Complete a well thought out entry that summarizes the chapters and answers the following questions:
   

• How is a robot different from a toaster?

• Why is program structure important? What are the steps the book suggest for your to follow if you are going to write a program?

Comment on a Blog Entry (Due Thursday, 29 Jan.)

Before the start of the next class (Wednesday, 29 Jan.) read another student's Chapter 1 blog and comment on it before the next class.
Use the blog comment rubric to self evaluate your comment.

Use this list to help determine whose blog you are to comment on:

• Brandon Kunju Herrera comments on Hyoung Min Yoo
• Tyler Dangerfield comments on Brandon Kunju Herrera
• Kenny Jones comments on Tyler Dangerfield,
• Nass Umardin comments on Kenny Jones
• Hyoung Min Yoo comments on Nass Umardin

Full Speed Ahead!

Complete the first robotics lab: Full Speed Ahead.
Record your observations and answer the questions on the worksheet as you progress through the lab.

When you are finished with the lab:

Wiki

Add information to the robotics wiki about getting started with programming software at this location:
http://www1.iskl.edu.my/wiki/index.php?title=Robotics_Programming_Software#Getting_Started

Also, add information to the robotics wiki about Moving Forward.


Blog

Finally, blog your experience with Full Speed Ahead.

Title a new blog entry: "Full Speed Ahead"
Summarize the investigation and reflect these questions in your blog:

• What are the key features and reminders for using the NXT-G software?
• What are the steps you'd follow to create and run a program on your NXT?

Chapter 1: Understanding LEGO Geometry

Read Chapter 1 and Make Blog Entry

1. Read Chapter 1: Understanding LEGO Geometry from the Building Robots book.
2. Go to your newly create Robotics Blog.
3. Click ‘New Post’ – Title your post: “Chapter 1: Understanding LEGO Geometry”
4. Complete a well thought out entry that summarizes the chapter and explains:

What are the advantages and techniques for using the TECHNIC construction instead of traditional bricks?

What defines a robot?

Create Your First Blog Entry

1. Go to your newly create Robotics Blog.
2. Click ‘New Post’ – Title your post: “What defines a robot?”
3. Complete a well thought out entry that summarizes what you learned in the Quickstart and about S.P.A.

Create your Robotics Blog

• When you have finished setting up your Robotics Blog, email the URL to Mr. Inskeep at brian_inskeep@iskl.edu.my