What Is Bluetooth?
Students learn about electrical connections, how they work and their pervasiveness in our world. They consider the usefulness of wireless electrical connections for connecting electrical devices. Morse code is introduced as a communication method that takes advantage of on/off states to transmit messages by electrical bursts sent via wires, light or sound. They learn the Morse code rules and translate a few phrases into Morse code. Specifically, they learn about a wireless connection type known as Bluetooth that can be used to control LEGO robots remotely from Android devices, which leads into the associated activity.
Students learn about electronic connectionsCopyright (left) Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation; (middle) 2011 Jnmasek, Wikimedia Commons; (right) 2004 Ed g2s, Wikimedia Commons http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/p2p/pmwkshop053013/shaw/shaw.htm http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bluetooth.svg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bluetooth_headset.jpg
Electrical connections permit devices to send and receive electrical signals. By interpreting these signals, it is possible for electrical devices to share information. Wireless connections in particular are useful because they permit mobile devices to connect remotely—without any wires. Many engineers work with electrical connections in order to set up networks of computers or to arrange for different parts of a system to communicate with each other.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Explain what a wireless connection is.
- Explain how a robot can use a Bluetooth connection to communicate with other devices.