The Fibonacci Sequence & Robots
Program a robot's movement to match the Fibonacci sequence of numbers.Copyright (robot) 2009 AMPS GK-12 Program, Polytechnic Institute of New York University (sunflower) 2004 Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA.
Using the LEGO® EV3 robotics kit, students construct and program robots to illustrate and explore the Fibonacci sequence. Within teams, students are assigned roles: group leader, chassis builder, arm builder, chief programmer, and Fibonacci verifier. By designing a robot that moves based on the Fibonacci sequence of numbers, they can better visualize how quickly the numbers in the sequence grow. To program the robot to move according to these numbers, students break down the sequence into simple algebraic equations so that the computer can understand the Fibonacci sequence.
The Fibonacci sequence is widely used in engineering applications including computer data structures and sorting algorithms, financial engineering, audio compression, and architectural engineering. The Fibonacci sequence can be seen in nature in the spirals of a sunflower's seeds and the shape of a snail's shell. The Fibonacci sequence is also the basis for the golden ratio, which is a classical proportion used in architecture and design.
Thanks to engineers, robots have migrated from factory shop floors (as industrial manipulators) to outer space (as interplanetary explorers), hospitals (as minimally invasive surgical assistants), homes (as vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers), and battlefields (as unmanned air, underwater, and ground vehicles). This activity builds upon students' innate fascination with robotics, exposing them to the notion of sequences and developing their critical thinking skills.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe number sequences.
- Illustrate Fibonacci sequence using LEGO EV3.
- Verify terms of sequence using measurement by robot motion.