Thinking Robotics: Teaching Robots to Make Decisions
A wheeled robot navigates a maze.Copyright 2013 Jeffrey R. Peters, University of California Santa Barbara
Students learn basic concepts of robotic logic and programming by working with Boe-Bot robots—a simple programmable robotic platform designed to illustrate basic robotic concepts. Under the guidance of the instructor and a provided lab manual, student groups build simple circuits and write codes to make their robots perform a variety of tasks, including obstacle and light detection, line following and other motion routines. Eight sub-activities focus on different sensors, including physical sensors, phototransistors and infrared headlights. Students test their newly acquired skills in the final activity, in which they program their robots to navigate an obstacle course.
The world is becoming more and more automated, from cars that parallel park themselves to websites that suggest movies for specific viewers. Behind any automated system is a carefully thought-out control system that ensures system reliability and robustness. Control engineers use the tools at their disposal to make systems that not only perform the desired task, but do so in a way that is simple and easily implementable. By working with robots, students act as control engineers, exploring the use of simple sensors and logical tools to accomplish a series of engaging tasks.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain why systems often do not behave in exactly the way that theory predicts.
- Explain how carefully constructed codes can mitigate uncertainty in system behavior.
- Write simple codes using basic programming tools.
- Read simple circuit diagrams and construct circuits on a breadboard.