Week #3 : More accuracy

So far we been using the EV3 and the port view within to determine our degrees of rotation to determine how far we need to travel. This week we started in on using some math to determine the number of wheel rotations needed to travel a certain distance. The reasoning behind calculating the rotations is that it is a more accurate method of determining the distances.

Core Value: Inclusion

We respect each other and embrace our differences.

Innovation Project Ideas

The research phase of the Innovation Project is in full swing.

Missions 03, 04 and 05

After the last meeting of building standard attachments we were able to focus in on building good basic attachments for our missions.

To play the Robot game, navigating the field is half the challenge. Going straight for a certain distance, turning towards mission models, avoiding obstacles – the robot needs to be accurate and efficient while traveling the field. Until now, we have been using port view to find the approximate “degrees of rotation” needed to travel a specific distance. This resulted in a trial and error process to get consistent results.

We took the guess work out of moving straight for a specific distance. We used the geometry of the robot’s wheels to determine how many rotations are needed to travel distance X.

The boys were introduced to geometry concepts to calculate this.

Rotations: Distance to travel ÷ Circumference of the wheel

Given that we know the circumference of the wheel of the robot, when it turns one rotation, it travels the distance of the circumference.

The boys were given the circumference of the robot we use. Based on this value, they practiced calculating the numbers of rotations to travel various distances. They took turns measuring the distance in cm with a tape measure, calculating the rotations and programming the robot to travel this distance using EV3 Lab software. They were consistently able to produce accurate results.

This segued into helping them understand the use of “MyBlocks” where this calculation was done for them.