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ROBOT ROVERS

Maker and Educator Guide

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ROBOT ROVERS SNEAK PEAK

During this live coding session, Elby is on a mission to find the earring that Kelsey has lost in the space behind her wall. To complete this mission, Elby must first learn how to drive a rover, or robotic vehicle. He's never driven before, so he can use a little help from our live coders to get those rotation servos spinning. Participants will learn the basics of coding rotation motors and learn how to code multiple outputs at once.

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YOU’VE DONE THE SHOW… NOW WHAT?

MAKE YOUR OWN

ROBOT ROVER!

STEP 1:

Make a

Rover

STEP 2:

Design a

Rover

STEP 3:

Program a

Sensor

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MATERIALS

SUGGESTED CRAFT SUPPLIES

SUGGESTED TECHNOLOGY

Hummingbird Robotics Kit

Find out more HERE.

Computer, Chromebook, iPad, or tablet for programming

STRUCTURAL

  • Box
  • Ping pong ball
  • Recyclable materials

TOOLS

  • Box cutter
  • Scissors
  • Tape
  • Hot glue

DECORATION

  • Permanent markers
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Feathers
  • Googly eyes
  • Art supplies

OR

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STEP 1: MAKE A ROBOT ROVER

TIME: 30 minutes

LEVEL: Intermediate

ROBOT ROVER TUTORIAL VIDEOS

ROVER PARTS

  • Chassis: (“CHAS-ee”): the body of the rover.
  • Wheels: 2 rotation servos, provide power to the rover
  • Caster: something that can balance the rover, sometimes another wheel, in our design this is a stationary ping pong ball

BUILD THE ROVER

  1. Screw on the wheels to the rotation servos.
  2. Glue motors to bottom of your box.
  3. Hot glue the battery pack to the bottom of the rover.
  4. Hot glue the ping pong ball to the battery pack.

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STEP 2: DESIGN A ROBOT ROVER

TIME: 60 mins

LEVEL: Intermediate

THE CHALLENGE:

Decorate your rover to become a robot parade float.

DESIGN YOUR ROVER

  1. Design your robot rover parade float that fits the theme chosen for your class.
  2. Consider adding a position servo motor or LEDs.

PROGRAM YOUR ROVER

SUGGESTED CRITERIA

Things your robot must do

SUGGESTED CONSTRAINTS

Limits on your project

  • Decide on a theme for your parade.
  • Add a motor and/or LED
  • Program the rover to move straight forward.
  • Time limit: _____
  • Materials on hand

This is a CREATIVE task! Every project will look different!

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ROBOR ROVER INSPIRATION

Check out these cereal box

Rose Parade float rovers!

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STEP 3: PROGRAM A SENSOR

TIME: 30 mins

LEVEL: Intermediate

THE GOAL: Use a distance sensor to

create a rover that avoids obstacles.

LEARN THE DISTANCE SENSOR

  1. Use the video tutorials to learn to program the distance sensor.

AVOID OBSTACLES

  • Program the distance sensor to make your rover avoid obstacles.
  • Determine the threshold for when something is “close.”
  • Program your rover to go forward until it senses something is “close.”
  • When something is close, make your rover stop, turn, back up, etc, to navigate around the obstacle.
  • Check out this example code.

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LEARN MORE

www.CodeJoyEducation.com

Book shows for your school or organization.

Book professional development for teachers to learn to teach robotics and coding K-12.

Bring robotics to any learning space!

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LINKS

Videos

  1. Robot Rover Sneak Peak: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFDUYIlJTJU
  2. Robot Rover examples vide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcGz47oKbhk
  3. What is CodeJoy video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPRmVTFeHjE

Other Links