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Activity (Hands-On)Grades 11 - 12

The Lunch-Bot

A composite photograph shows a continuous loop of red reflective tape on a 24 x 36-inch piece of white poster board. The route is a series of straight sections with periodic left and right turns, none greater than 45°. In the center is a Lunch-Bot carrying a slice of white bread. The Lunch-Bot is composed of a clear plastic food container with two drive servomotors with wheels taped to the bottom of one end of the container, a small cup taped to the bottom of the other end of the container (a support leg), sensors fastened to the front, a small breadboard taped to the outside front of the container, an Arduino microcontroller mounted inside front, and various wires that connect the servos, IR sensors and battery to the Arduino.Students design their own automated guided vehicles—Lunch-Bots.

Students are challenged to design and program Arduino-controlled robots that behave like simple versions of the automated guided vehicles engineers design for real-world applications. Using Arduino microcontroller boards, infrared (IR) sensors, servomotors, attachable wheels and plastic containers (for the robot frame), they make "Lunch-Bots." Teams program the robots to meet the project constraints—to follow a line of reflective tape, make turns and stop at a designated spot to deliver a package, such as a sandwich or pizza slice. They read and interpret analog voltages from IR sensors, compare how infrared reflects differently off different materials, and write Arduino programs that use IR sensor inputs to control the servomotors. Through the process, students experience the entire engineering design process. Pre/post-quizzes and coding help documents are provided.

Engineers design robots that are able to manage inventory within offices and warehouses. Robots can efficiently sort and retrieve parts from warehouse shelves during manufacturing processes, deliver mail in office buildings and automatically deliver medications in hospitals. To accomplish these tasks and avoid obstacles, robots need to detect information about their working environments. This can be accomplished by creating designated paths on the floor using embedded wiring or sensors that guide the robots through a series of turns to predetermined delivery locations.

After this activity, students should be able to:

  • Use an Arduino to read and interpret analog voltages from IR sensors.
  • Compare and contrast how infrared reflects differently off of different types of materials.
  • Plan the design of a simple robot and follow the steps of the engineering design process to create a robot that has a compartment for computer hardware, battery and cargo, two servos with wheels that act as drive motors, a front support leg/caster and two IR sensors that can detect reflections.
  • Write Arduino programs that use input from IR sensors to control servomotors.
  • Write Arduino programs that direct a robot to follow reflective tape along the ground by making decisions based on voltage values from IR sensors.
  • Explain how a simple, automated guided vehicle works.

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