cGO Primary School Summer Camp at WIT

After 2 days of workshops with two groups of 20 kids aged 7-11, the cGo platform has advanced to a satisfactory level. The video below is a short preview of the 2 days.

We started out with some demonstrations and then a programming workshop.

The childrens programs were then tested on the cGO's

 

Future improvments:

• Demonstrate more robots (Bengie, rubix solver etc.)
• More cGO's
• No more than 3 children per group
• Improve master algorithms
• More props for games (scoreboard, timer, buzzer)
• More space for testing

PJ & Paddy

Mindstorm speed

Heres a video to demonstrate the power of the Lego NXT. I know theres four NXT's being used and a samsung galaxy SII phone, but its still very impressive.

cGO testing using the Lego NXT-G programming interface

cGO following the line using the NXT and the light sensor.

 

Image of the NXT-G Block code.

 

Demo of cGO following the line and celebrating  at the finish.

 



cGO Build v1.3

Some new hardware improvements for cGO (v1.3)

 

Testing new cGO build

New Parallax motor controllers with the lego servo controller.

 New positioning for the light sensor (top view)

New positioning for the light sensor (Bottom view)

New positioning for the light sensor (Bottom view)

Top view showing battery, servo controller, two motor controllers and NXT block.

Real life mario kart from Waterloo labs in Texas

 http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/01/real-life-mario-kart/

Light Sensor Calibration mindstorms from robo designers + cool line follower

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuD_S18J3aQ&list=PL1A07875572E83064

Third Generation of Lego Mindstorms Coming to Classrooms Later This Year BY DAVE BANKS01.07.135:30 AM

wired article link

Cool Android App

              While searching for a phone tracker App, I came across this.




Simply search "wheres my droid" in the google play store on your android phone and download.

It is easy to set up. Mine is set so that when I send "ring" in a text message from anyone elses phone, to my phone, my phone will start ringing on full volume even if its on mute.
Better still if I send "gps" by text to my phone i will receive three messages back:

1. The full address of the location of the phone.
2. The latitude and longitude coorinates to within 6 meters, and the speed at which it s moving.
3. A link to its exact location on google maps.

For this to work GPS must be enabled, which is easy on android and does not cost anything. Also a total of 4 messages will be sent, this will cost you the same as sending regular messages but most people nowadays have free messages anyway.

Very good app for misplaced phones, lost in house, lost in car, stolen , check up on kids/elderly.

Large LEGO

 

Large LEGO is out there, note the upload date and view count :)

Awesome.

cGO Proof of Concept

reflection

cGO reflection - first tests with primary & secondary school students.


cGo platform:

• reliable parts 
• full list of parts
• battery's & spares
• battery capacity/size
• sensor positioning
• weight
• light sensor positioned at front
• led strips underneath
• bumper sensor intigration?

• experiment with other sensors

software

• tidy & hide
•  robotc for secondary
• what for primary nxtc? *important

games

• obsticle course
• competition based games *important
• hurling game

atmosphere

• music playing
• open space
• theme music
• teaching students in a non teaching environment

First live test of cGO © 2013 Jason Berry with the Mercy Convent Primary School Waterford

Initial testing of cGO 1.1 © 2013 Jason Berry

Summer of Learning

CS2N is excited to announce that our official Robotics Summer of Learning page is live! The 2013 Robotics Summer of Learning (RSOL) is sponsored by Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Academy and uses the Computer Science Student Network (CS2N) to host all trainings, with additional resources provided by Robomatter Inc. and other organizations. This summer, students and teachers will have the opportunity to develop programming skills, earn certifications, and win prizes. Software, training, certifications, and the competitions will all be hosted online for free through the Robotics Academy.

http://learn.cs2n.org/course/view.php?id=89

Telepresense and BENGI

It was fun working in the Electronics lab around BENGI I&II and with Telepresences and  NXT Mindstorms. Thank you Jason for everything.

Abdalla

Robot Virtual Worlds: Physical vs. Virtual Programming Fall 2012 study results

Interesting study

Bull Fighting cGO© 2013 Jason Berry LEGO Mindstorms and Telepresence !

Bull Fighting  

cGO © 2013 Jason Berry 

 LEGO Mindstorms and Telepresence !

Estonia’s plan to get 6 year olds coding is a stroke of genius

why-estonia-has-started-teaching-its-first-graders-to-code

learn to code se we can code to learn

He said this!!!!!
In  a Ted talk see below, Mitchel said just like

"we learn to read so we can then read to learn" also

"we can learn to code so we can code to learn" ... really really cool .

Mitchel Resnick is LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research, Director of the Okawa Center, and Director of the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab.^[1] 

Here is a ted talk

Contact at last, first time seeing cGO © 2013 Jason Berry sumo fight !!!!!!!!

Well, After figuring out how to write a code for a continuous spin on motors, it is a time to add some sensors to make it more interesting!

The final goal is put two Robots on a black line circle floor and place some boxes in that circle. The two robots should push the boxes outside the circle. During that, They can fight to kick each other out the circle! (sumo fight).

Lets see how it turns out in testing! (the c language codes included)

Telepresence Robot + NXT mindstorms

After getting succeed on testing NXT with 2 small servos, It is a time on testing that on a big device 

like Telepresence ! 

 

 As you can see, we are using:

NXT, DC convertor, two 12V batteries, 2 wheels servos and

a designed board to connect the PWM signal to the servos

Testing servos with NXT

Thanks to Jason, He brought me two servos and 8 Channel Servo Controller for NXT to test them

with the NXT mindstorms and ROBOTC

 The two servos

 

8 Channel Servo Controller for NXT

The space to learn in

What Schools Can Learn From Google, IDEO, and Pixar

This applied research is all the about the learning, how to foster it, so it flourishes.

The project for me is one of the key elements to good learning, another is the space that it occurs in.

I am deeply interested in the learning spaces, and for me if you put a good project in a decent space then learning will flourish.

With this in mind anybody with an interest in learning will enjoy reading the article linked above about inspirational learning spaces, it contains a you tube of  High Tech High and Larry Rosenstock. Inspiring human, he said this .....

"..most memorable learning experience involved project, mentor, community, risk of failure, recognition of success and public exhibition."

Please enjoy
J

Robot App Store

The Robot App Store is a digital application distribution platform for applications for robots opened to the public on late 2011 

http://www.robotappstore.com/

What is the Best Environment-Language for Teaching Robotics Using Lego MindStorms?

How about that for a question from 2002t.

Open university paper

This is a bit surreal because this paper is co authored by  Tony Hirst, who i looked up on wikipedia.

He was the founder of the Open University Robotics Outreach Group which was responsible for the
iBOTZ range of robotics toys.

This is where the picobotz robot comes from and this is the robot that we used for outreach during engineering week for the last 5-6 years.

This brilliant piece of technology, especially the programming interface. This has been one of my biggest inspirations for robotics based learning and was the platform used in the first iteration of the cGO project, see Louise vision board in early blog. ..full circle..;-)

wired article 2011 on same topic

Motivational programming video

One of our students in 3rd year (Di), posted this video on a class learning blog.

This is cool and inspirational, they are talking about programming for everybody.

This is what we are about, just add in the physical movement bit of a competitive robot to bring the code to life.

So that learning becomes less abstract and more contact.

primery school groups visiting Electronics Lab

9 Primary school groups visited the Electronics lab yesterday and saw the cGo   © 2013 Jason Berry, uGo and of course BENGiE ! It was fun explaining the 4 steps  in cGo research

Table Bot Programs

These are simple programs where the NXT mindstorms needs to avoid the walls (using ultrasonic sensor) in the first one and in the second one it will need to avoid the balck lines around a table using
the light sensor

Finding Help for Sensors

If you are wonder how to program your NXT sensors in both Virtual and real world, It is better to see some examples that are provided by ROBOTC.

1- Open ROBOTC
2- Click "Help" from top left bar and and then click on "Open online help(Wiki)"
3- Click "NXT"
4- From General information, click on "Sensor Overview"

Then you can find an example for each sensor
Touch Sensor, Light Sensor, Sound Sensor, Ultrasonic (sonar) Sensor

That will save you a lot of Time!

Make sure to know which port is associated with each sensor in both virtual and real testing.

                                                       Virtual World output ports

Padraig trying ROBOTC and Lego Mindstorms for the first time!

Padraig from Colaiste Eamann Ris Secondary School, Kilkenny is here to visit today the robotics lab in WIT and to do a simple program (Labyrinth Challenge) using ROBOTC with NXT Mindstorms.

He did the program himself and tested it on both Virtual World and NXT Mindstorms in reality.

Screen shots of his program is below.

                                                        Labyrinth Challenge program done by Padraig using ROBOTC software

                   
                                              Testing Labyrinth Challenge program using RVW

cGo © 2013 Jason Berry board ,,, Lets Make Learning a Contact Sport ™

Lego Mindstorms Software and Virtual Simulators

Hello Jason,

 Here are the tasks that I was required to do in the last 3 weeks.

A- Find lego mindstorms software and virtual simulators that are suitable for primary and secondary students to use.

  

1-    RobotC software and RVW simulator

-Using C language

-30 days Free trail (499$ life time licence for 30 seats)

-Recommended

- http://www.robotc.net/download/nxt/

 2-      Robo Sim software

-Schulerlabor (German software)

-Simple

-  http://schuelerlabor.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/simulator

3-     Microsoft VPL software

-Easy to use

-No virtual simulator

- http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb483027.aspx

4-    LeJos NXJ software and LMS simulator

-Allow to program the NXT

-Can not find a free virtual simulator

- http://freshbrain.org/tool/lego-mindstorms-simulator

5-    nxcEditor

-Only in Linux

- Recommended

- http://nxceditor.sourceforge.net/

B- Can we use standard mindstorms programming language with the RVW environment?

1-    Robotics Academy (FIRE project)                                         

-NXTG (future)

-LabView (future)

-RobotC (already exists)

- www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/fire/virtual-worlds/

- www.cs2n.org/blog

C- Test and drive the following four movement challenges 

1-Labyrinth Challenge

2-ROBO500l

3-RoboSlalom

4-Sumobat

The four challenges were compiled and tested. The following are the screen shot of the four programs

1-Labyrinth Challenge

2-ROBO500l

3-RoboSlalom

4-Sumobat