MORE MODULAR ROBOTICS EDUCATION Using the KT01 Cubelets  This activity plan includes 2  parts

__MODULAR
ROBOTICS EDUCATION
10 MORE cool things to do with Cubelets
Using the KT01 Cubelets
This activity plan includes 2 parts
1.
Challenges that may be satisfied with single‐sense, single action robots. Of course there’s always the
option to add more to your robots, but simple solutions exist using fewer Cubelets.
2. Additional Cubelets challenges that tackle harder problems or add more Cubelets
In the final section of the document, you will find some suggested solutions. Treat these as possible
solutions, not an exhaustive list - there are many solutions to every challenge. These pictures aren’t
meant to limit you, just to give you some ideas. Try to come up with your own robot first, and if you
do something different, be sure to let us know! http://www.modrobotics.com/blog/?forum=education
These activities have no suggested ages ‐ different challenges may appeal to different people for reasons having
nothing to do with age. If you’re brand new to building with Cubelets you may have more initial success starting
with simple single‐sense (black Cubelet) single Action (clear Cubelet) robots.
Think about robots for a minute:
Robots are devices that can sense, think, and act. Robots are different than other machines ‐ blenders and
toasters and vacuums rely on our ability to sense and react in order to operate them to produce food, clean the
way we like, and turn on and off. Robots are different because they can sense and turn that information into
action without human interference. This is why robots often do jobs for humans.
Get familiar with Cubelets:
Black Cubelets have senses, like our eyes and ears. Clear Cubelets are the action parts of the robots that do things.
And colored Cubelets are the thinking or logic parts of the robot.
Part I: Smaller robots that know things
These robots can be made with one sense and one action, or can be made more complex by using more Cubelets.
Several of these robots will use Action or Think functions found in the KT01 kit.
Challenge
1. Make a robot that can help you escape a
dark room, using at least one Think
Cubelet
2. Now can you do it without a Think
Hints and Suggestions
●
●
●
●
●
●
You might want a different sense than you were
using in challenge 1!
●
If you had no flashlight, didn’t know where the
lights were, and had no robots, what would you
do?
How could you find walls or a door?
What will this robot need to SENSE in order to
find a wall?
What’s a good action Cubelet to use so you
know when the robot is sensing the wall?
Cubelet?
3. Now, imagine yourself in a dark room ‐
you don’t know where the door or lights
are and you have Cubelets, but not all of
them. Someone has stolen your Flashlight
and Brightness Cubelets! Can you still
assemble a robot that will help you find
your way out of the room?
4. Make a wall following robot using only
●
●
●
● What did you use in challenge 4 to sense the
three Cubelets
5. Make a robot that knows where the edge
of the table is ‐ this can be done using
only three Cubelets!
How can a robot help us accomplish this?
What Action Cubelet(s) do you most want to
use?
What senses will be most useful and why?
What Think Cubelet(s) will you use and why?
How will your robot work to get you out of the
dark room ‐ go test it in a dark space!
presence of a wall?
●
●
●
What does this robot need to sense in order to
know where the edge of the table is?
What action is needed?
It may matter not only to have the Distance
sensor facing down, but to have the sensor
circles oriented vertically in line with the robot
(rather than horizontally) so that one circle
heads out over the edge before another. What
does this mean about how the distance sensor
works?
Part II: Bigger Robots that know things
These robots may use multiple senses, multiple actions, or even more than one Think Cubelet!
Several of these robots will use Sense or Think functions found in the KT01 kit.
Challenge
6. Make an edge sensing robot that uses the Minimum
Hint
●
Cubelet
●
●
●
7. Make a Maze solving robot that can use either the
●
The left‐hand rule says put your left
hand on one maze wall and keep your
hand on the wall until you walk your
way out
●
What action(s) will you need to
include?
What senses?
Will it need Think Cubelets?
left‐hand or right‐hand rule
8. Make a robot that can find it's way out of a curved
wall maze. The robot will need to turn when it
comes into contact with curved walls
9. Make a crane robot using the minimum Cubelet
and a piece of string or ribbon
10. Make a driving‐man robot
What sense did you use to see the table
edge in challenge 5? What direction
should that sense“look at?”
What other sense could you use? if is
listening for a low number how can
you give the Minimum Cubelet a lower
value than the sense you’re using to
“see” the table?
How can you attach 2 senses to the
Minimum Cubelet and still have it
between those senses and the Drive
Action?
It might help if the Minimum cubelet
was “listening to” one sense as the
lowest value and then another sense
becomes the lowest value as this robot
“sees” the edge.
Hint 6: You may need to account for
weight and stability.
●
●
●
●
●
What senses will work best? Why?
What think Cubelet do you need?
What Action will be uniquely suited to
wind an attached piece of string up to
the top?
●
What will the robot need to sense?
Does the robot need more than one
sense?
Some possible robot solutions ­ No Peeking!
Now that you’ve built some of these robots, you may be interested in some solutions we’ve come up with. For
each challenge there is more than one way to make the Cubelets robot we picture, and there may be multiple
robots we don’t picture that satisfy the challenge. This is not an exhaustive solution list, just something to look
at if you get stumped. So, no peeking before you try your hand at building cool robots!
1.
A robot that can help you escape 2. Escape a dark room,
a dark room, using at least without a Think Cubelet
one Think Cubelet (Battery­Knob­Flashlight)
3. Escape a dark room 4. Wall Following Robot
without a Flashlight Action (Drive forward, Distance
(Battery­Distance­Speaker) facing to the wall)
5. Simple Edge Sensor 6. Complicated Edge Sensor
7. Maze­solving robot
8. Spiral or Curved Wall Maze robot (courtesy of Chris Clay at The Mind Lab in New Zealand)
9. Crane Robot (courtesy of Richard Born) 10. Driving Man Robot (courtesy of Richard Born)