Music by Touch: Programming Robot Tactile Sensors to Play Sounds
Students program LEGO robots to respond to information from touch sensors. Tactile sensors are used in the remote control devices we use every day.Copyright (left) LEGO https://shop.lego.com/en-CA/EV3-Touch-Sensor-45507 (right) 2004 Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA. All rights reserved.
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Students' understanding of how robotic touch sensors work is reinforced through a hands-on design challenge involving LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EV3 intelligent bricks, motors and touch sensors. They learn programming skills and logic design in parallel as they program robot computers to play sounds and rotate a wheel when a touch sensor is pressed, and then produce different responses if a different touch sensor is activated. Students see first-hand how robots can take input from sensors and use it to make decisions to move as programmed, including simultaneously moving a motor and playing music. A PowerPoint® presentation and pre/post quizzes are provided.
Touch (tactile) sensors are key components of many devices we use every day. For instance, the touch sensors in keyboards and keypads tell computers which keys you are pressing. Similarly, you can open a car door using a touch sensor that generates an infrared signal that goes to the car's computer informing it to unlock the door. Phone and tablet touchscreens on phones enable even more exquisite communication between people and machines. The use of touch sensors has exploded into the engineering design of all sorts of devices.
Computer programming is a key component of many modern engineering designs. As students create robot programs in this activity, they must have a "goal" or "concept" of what the program solution needs to do and how, before they begin writing the code. Then, the process of working on the code and "debugging" it inherently constitutes "revising and improving their designs based on the results of testing." Hence, the thought processes required to code programs that meet problem constraints are very similar, if not identical, to those required for traditional engineering design of physical objects and products.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Program a LEGO robot to take input from touch sensors to play music and activate a motor.
- Explain how the program and the touch sensors work.
- Relate the program (robotic response to touch sensor information) to human responses to touch.