Automatic Floor Cleaner Computer Program Challenge
Students learn more about assistive devices, specifically biomedical engineering applied to computer engineering concepts, with an engineering challenge to create an automatic floor cleaner computer program. Following the steps of the design process, they design computer programs and test them by programming a simulated robot vacuum cleaner (a LEGO robot) to move in designated patterns. Successful programs meet all the design requirements.
Through engineering design, automated robots, such as these vacuum robots, assist people in the routine chore of cleaning a home, something that can be too challenging for people with disabilities or many elderly people.Copyright (left) Wikimedia Commons; (middle) Dustbot Consortium, Achim J. Lilienthal, Wikimedia Commons; (right) Tibor Antaloczy, Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PicaBot.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dustbot_Demo_Pontedera_001.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IRobot_Roomba_780.jpg
The engineering design process is a widely accepted way of arriving at a desirable solution to an identified problem. This activity guides students through the engineering design process as they apply basic engineering concepts to real-world design problems. Through the development of assistive devices, students see the helpful and humanitarian nature of engineering. Assistive devices, such as smart prosthetics, are designed by engineering teams applying their understanding of robotics, electrical engineering, and biomedical engineering, to help improve peoples' lives.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Identify and describe the steps of the engineering design process.
- Describe how to use the engineering design process to develop solutions to problems.
- Explain the reasons for their selected designs.
- Design a program so that a LEGO robot moves according to certain requirements.