dents are then given:
1 – 12 x 12 x 1/8″ PVC or ABS sheet (the reason for plastic is they use heat guns to conform it.
2 – CDs
2 – Continuous rotation servos (we used to by Parallax servos until their prices went up. You shouldn’t spend more then about $7 each here)
1 – Micro controller board (whether PICAXE or Arduino)
They are then tasked with designing, constructing, programming and operating their bots through a series of challenges. Two of them are the:
Maze – we made 4′ x 8′ plywood mazes that the students use timed turns to navigate through. You certainly can up the challenge by introducing optical sensing, touch sensors, rotation sensors, etc.
Race – the students have a drag race to see whose bot is fastest. They experiment with running their servos with batteries in series and parallel as well as changing wheel diameter, gearing and adding gripping material to the CDs.
We also have a fantastic robotics program for the upper 10-12 grade students that Charles, another teacher blogger here on Adafruit, has established over the past 5 years. The course initially uses VEX robotics kits to get the students more familiar with structural design, gearing, RF, and sensors. They are then tasked with designing robots for different competitions (things like soccer, alternative locomotion, etc) The follow up course then uses Arduino and our VEXMAS VEX interface shield to construct some much higher level bots. He and I even went as far as to build a scale house in the classroom and tasked the students with designing bots that could enter a structure, climb stairs and save a doll from a simulated disaster situation!
The moral of the story is that teaching robotics in high school is the perfect opportunity for you as a teacher to use your imagination and creativity to engage and challenge students. Have them see how robotics can bridge the gap between programming, circuit design and construction and use those skills together to make some pretty neat stuff.
Cheers and good luck!
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