Robotic Assistance
Use a Vex robotics kit to create a stationary prosthetic, robotic arm that will manipulate a paper cup (grab without crushing, move, lift, rotate). The arm will have:
- Two fingers each with 2 joints. The fingers do not need to move independently, but they must move forward and backward
- One thumb with 1 joint and must move forward and backward
- One hand and wrist which allows the two fingers and thumb to rotate
- One forearm to lift and lower hand
- One upper arm to move the hand forward and back
Use a LEGO Mindstorms robotics kit to build a model, voice/sound controlled rescue robot that can follow a predetermined path to escape a building after a disaster. The robot will have to navigate a predetermined path on a course that contains:
- 1 set of stairs (composed of 5 reams of paper)
- Randomly placed movable obstacles (plastic tubs)
- Randomly placed unmovable obstacles (cinder blocks)
- left and right turns
Use an iRobot to create and demonstrate a search robot that searches a simulated room (using virtual walls and actual obstacles for survivors after a disaster. The robot will identify survivors by having the survivors interact with the robot once the survivor is located.
Develop a work plan as to how the search robot and rescue robots could work together
Essential Questions
- What is a robot?
- How do robots “think”?
- Can a robot’s manipulation of objects or locomotion meet the needs of a person?
Students will be able to answer the following questions:
- How can a computer program cause a robot lift, turn, move forward or backward?
- How does a robot interpret data from sensors?
Students should be able to:
- Explain the embodiment, sensing, and action of a robot
- Design and build robot models which demonstrate how robots can provide assistance to people
Students will know:
- Movement and motion of a robot is typically controlled using combinations of basic software commands.
- The correspondence of degrees of freedom to movement
- The design and construction of a complex machine requires planning and communication
