Lego

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Lego

• Lego Technics
• Lego Dacta Control Lab
• Lego Dacta Robo Lab
• Lego Mindstorms
• Lego Droids

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Walking Dinosaur
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Lego DACTA Control Lab

• In addition to the familiar building sets seen on
  toy store shelves, the LEGO company produces
  building sets for a range of machines for use in
  science and technology education.
• At the low end of the product line are the LEGO
  Technic sets
• At the high end is the LEGO DACTA Control Lab
  that allows construction of computer (PC)
  controlled machines.

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Lego DACTA Control Lab

• Examples are
• a greenhouse that automatically regulates its
  temperature using a ventilation system,
• a robotic arm, a vending machine,
• a PC plotter, and
• an automobile on a dynamometer (see Fig. 1).

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Fig. 1. LEGO DACTA controller and automated model.
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Lego DACTA Control Lab

• Sophisticated simulations of real-world systems
  have also been created such as an auto
  manufacturing line (http//www.gang.umass.edu/user
  /shen/lego/index.html) and various kinds of
  robots (http//www.pycckuu.umd.edu/robots/index.ht
  ml).

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Fischertechnik

• The Fischertechnik corporation produces a product
  similar to the LEGOs that have also been used in
  teaching environments (http//www.cs.utah.edu/cs4
  51/).

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The LEGO DACTA Control Lab

• The Control Lab set includes
• the usual LEGO blocks,
• pieces from the Technic sets for building
  machines (gears, pneumatics, pulleys, etc.)
• computer controllable devices.
• These devices include
• lamps,
• motors,
• sound elements,
• touch sensors,
• temperature sensors,
• light sensors and
• angle sensors.

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The LEGO DACTA Control Lab

• The devices are connected to a controller, which
  in turn interfaces with a serial port on a
  personal computer to permit software control of
  the devices.
• The controller is capable of controlling eight
  input devices and eight output devices.
• Communication between the PC and the controller
  is via a protocol developed by LEGO.
• Figure 1 (shown previously) illustrates a LEGO
  model connected to the controller.

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• Software is used to coordinate the actions of the
  LEGO devices (motors, sensors, etc.) in
  sophisticated models, such as the automobile on a
  dynamometer, shown in Figure 1.
• LEGO ships the Control Lab with a unique version
  of the Logo programming language for writing the
  control software (Martin, 1993).
• Although Logo is satisfactory for illustrating
  programming concepts, more sophisticated users
  may wish to use other programming languages for
  control purposes, as for instance Visual C or
  Visual Basic.

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Davis Creek ElementaryIntelligent House Projects
1998-99

• Davis Creek Elementary's fifth grade class has
  been working on the LEGO Dacta Control Lab
  Intelligent House Project.
• The students use LEGO Dacta Control Lab software
  to build and program the fan, burgler alarm,
  garage door, satellite dish, keylock, and photo
  gate door entry.
• The students worked in pairs doing one of the set
  projects and ended by doing a design of their own
  with programming.
• The pictures below are a sampling of the
  Intelligent House Projects the eighteen fifth
  graders did the month of October.
• Under the pictures are examples of some of the
  programs written by fifth grade students.

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Home Automation
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Doggy Burglar Alarm

• to doggy waituntil and (light5 gt 48) (light5
  lt 52) talkto "lampa on tone 80 5 tone 90 4
  talkto "motorb setright onfor 9 talkto "motorb
  setleft onfor 9 talkto "lampa off end

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Different Design 9-25-98 We used the sensor to
make noise. When you slide different colors and
textures past the sensor the program made
different noises.
to garage waituntil light5 lt 90 tone 50 3
tto "motorb setleft onfor 10 wait 70 tone 80
1 wait 1 tone 50 1 waituntil light5 lt 90 tto
"motorb setright onfor 10 tone 80 10 end

• to lc waituntil light5 lt 90 tone 50 30
  waituntil light5 lt 60 tone 80 30 end
• to noise repeat 100 make "n light5 tone n
  1 end

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Haunted House Ride

• to pop tto "bones up setpower 4 onfor
  3.2 wait 6 tto "bones down onfor 3 end
• to 2pop waituntil touch4 pop wait 6
  pop end

to move launch waituntil light5 gt 43
tto "lamph flash 10 2 tto "motore setright
onfor 40 2pop wait 3 tto "motore setleft onfor
40 flash 0 0 stopall end to lighton
forever ifelse light5 gt 42 tto "lamph on tto
"lamph off end
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Easter Bunny
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What did we learn?

• Robotics can bring new excitement to computer
  classes and design classes.
• Students love robots
• It is difficult to build curriculum without kits
• Several kits are available, from very simple
  (preschool) to very complex (University graduate
  education level).

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What did we learn?

• Robix allows to build various robots.
• It allows to have deeper curriculum than Lego but
  less ready material is available
• It allows access to the guts of software and
  electronics
• Having one kit for a school is enough, you can
  purchase additional servos for smaller price on
  WWW and build the rest in class.

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What Did We Learn?

• There is a variety of methods how robotics can be
  taught in high school
• The choice should depend on
• teachers preferences
• student interest and quality
• cost
• does the school have a mechanical/wood/electrical
  workshop?
• Normal classes/special projects

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Robotic Armby Alex (11) and John Michael (11)

• This project will take the bricks, sort them out
  by color using a light sensor, then it will use
  the robotic arm to grab the bricks and put them
  in the right bins according to their color.
• The bricks must be loaded horizontally into the
  chute or else they will not be able to move.
• It might not determine the colors correctly
  because of an above average intensity light
  source disturbing the light sensor which scans
  the blocks.
• Do not worry if one of the blocks stops out of
  view of the light sensor, the backup routine will
  relocate it right below the sensor.

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Input/Output Interface
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DashBoard
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DashBoard

• Right after you load this project, you will see
  the Input/Output Interface as shown above.
• Click on the Pages menu, then click on Program.
  You will see lots of buttons and a picture as
  shown above.
• If your robotic arm is not positioned directly
  above the pickup trough, position it there by
  clicking on either the Right adjustment or Left
  adjustment buttons (Right adjustment moves the
  arm counter-clockwise and Left adjustment moves
  it clockwise).
• If the arm is holding something or is not fully
  open, press the red Drop button. After you're
  done positioning it, press the Calibrate button.
• To start the project, either click the Start
  button or depress the external touch sensor.
• If you see that it's not functioning properly,
  click the Emergency Stop button.

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Procedures for project

• start of assembly line routines
• to setupfornextuse after it's done with all the
  bricks, set it up for next use manright
  waituntil angle5 gt -1 movoff end
• to manleft moves the robotic arm clockwise tto
  "motora setleft setpower 5 on end
• to movoff stops the movement of the robotic arm
  tto "motora off end

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Procedures for project

• to manright moves the robotic arm
  counter-clockwise tto "motora setright setpower
  5 on end
• to pickup makes the robotic arm grab tto
  "motorb setright setpower 6 onfor 6 end
• to letgo makes the robotic arm release tto
  "motorb setleft setpower 6 onfor 6 end

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Procedures for project

• to determine uses the light sensor to scan
  what's under it if and light7 gt 7 light7 lt 13
  make "ptype 2 2 blue if and light7 gt 14
  light7 lt 24 make "ptype 1 1 yellow if and
  light7 gt -1 light7 lt 2 make "ptype 0 0 other
  or nothing end
• to bluebin makes arm go to the blue bin and
  release brick manleft waituntil angle5 lt -50
  movoff letgo end

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Procedures for project

• to btas makes arm go to assembly line and pick
  up brick manright waituntil angle5 gt -1
  movoff pickup end
• to yelobin makes arm go to wellow bin and
  release brick manleft waituntil angle5 lt -61
  movoff letgo end

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Procedures for project

• to preset moves the very first block below the
  light sensor tto "motorc setright onfor 60 end
• to advance moves the following blocks below the
  light sensor tto "motorc setright onfor 40 end
• to backup emergency routine if block isn't in
  view of light sensor tto "motorc setleft onfor
  15 back up for 1.5 sec. determine do a rescan
  if it's still not good if ptype 0 tto
  "motorc setright onfor 15 forward for 1.5 sec.
  determine then rescan end

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Procedures for project

• to initautomaticsequence the main routine
  resetrotation 5 preset determine if ptype 0
  backup advance if ptype 1 btas yelobin
  if ptype 2 btas bluebin determine if
  ptype 0 backup advance if ptype 1 btas
  yelobin if ptype 2 btas bluebin determine
  if ptype 0 backup advance if ptype 1
  btas yelobin if ptype 2 btas bluebin
  determine if ptype 0 backup advance if
  ptype 1 btas yelobin if ptype 2 btas
  bluebin setupfornextuse end

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Your tasks

• Be sure that you obtain the key to the laboratory
• Go to the laboratory and be sure that you know
  what is where
• Specifically, know what are the tools and where
  are they located.
• Learn what is in the library in Industrial
  Robotics Lab and that you know how to borrow and
  return books from Anas Al-Rabadi
• In Intelligent Robotics Lab, be sure that you
  know where are the books describing your project
  Lynxmotion, Parallax, Stamp Documentation, PIC
  documentation.
• If you are in trouble, ask Mike Levy, Mikhail
  Pivtoraiko or Bryce Tucker, or any students that
  are there to help you.
• Learn also, on which computer there is the
  software that you plan to use in your project. Do
  not remove any software. Notify Bryce about the
  software that you installed
• Learn what are the materials to be used in your
  project aluminum, dural, balsa, playwood, wood,
  plastics (different kinds), rubber, screws, Home
  Depot components, old kits and Goodwill items to
  be used.
• If you are not sure if you can re-use some item,
  ask Perkowski
• Never remove motors or sensors or any components
  from other student robots even if you think that
  they are no longer working on them