LEGO RoboticsLEGO Mindstorms Education

Introduction to

Programming

Today’s economy requires that students develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills and be prepared with strong academic and technical skills. Workers must be able to think critically, solve problems, work well in teams, and communicate effectively.

Alignment with National Standards

LEGO Education has created activities that align with national standards. The activities included in the teacher’s guide fulfill recommendations of the National Science Education Content Standards, most notably, Content Standard B, Physical Science, and Content Standard E, Science and Technology, for grades K-4 and 5-8.Additionally, you can find specific learning objectives listed at the beginning of each activity.

SCIENCE

Investigating, collecting, sorting and transferring energy, force, speed, the effect of friction: simple machines, magnetism, calibrating and reading scales, scientific fair testing, purposeful inquiry, predicting and measuring, collecting data, making conclusions, and more.

TECHNOLOGY

Finding solutions for needs, choosing appropriate materials and processes: designing, making, testing and modifying: exploring systems and subsystems, using 2-demensional instructions: creating 3-demensional models; working cooperatively in a team.

MATHEMATICS

Measuring distance, time, speed(velocity), weight(mass), notions of accuracy in calibrating and reading scales, tabulating and interpreting data, informally calculating ratios, and more.

TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS• Students will develop an understanding of the characteristics and scope

of technology.• Students will develop an understanding of the core concepts of

technology.• Students will develop an understanding of the relationships among

technologies and the connections between technology and other fields of study.

• Students will develop an understanding of engineering design.• Students will develop an understanding of the role of troubleshooting,

research and development invention and innovation, and experimentation in problem solving.

• Student will develop the ability to apply the design process.• Student will develop the ability to assess the impact of products and

systems.• Student will develop the ability to use and maintain technological

products and systems.

Technology Standards

Career and Technology Education prepares students for further education and careers in several workforce areas such as:

• Engineering • Interactive Media• Biomedical sciences • Automotive Technology• IT networking• Automotive Technology• Culinary Arts• Construction Trades

Michigan Content StandardsInquiry Analysis and Communication

• K-7 Standard S.IA: Develop an understanding that scientific inquiry and investigations require analysis and communication of findings, using appropriate technology.

• S.IA.E.1 Inquiry includes an analysis and presentation of findings that lead to future questions, research, and investigations.

• S.IA.00.12 Share ideas about science through purposeful conversation.

• S.IA.00.13 Communicate and present findings of observations.• S.IA.00.14 Develop strategies for information gathering (ask an

expert, use a book, make observations, conduct simple investigations, and watch a video).

Michigan Science Content StandardsInquiry Process

• K-7 Standard S.IP: Develop an understanding that scientific inquiry and reasoning involves observing, questioning, investigating, recording, and developing solutions to problems.

• S.IP.M.1 Inquiry involves generating questions, conducting investigations, and developing solutions to problems through reasoning and observation.

• S.IP.05.11 Generate scientific questions based on observations, investigations, and research.

• S.IP.05.12 Design and conduct scientific investigations.• S.IP.05.13 Use tools and equipment (spring scales, stop watches,

metersticks and tapes, models, hand lens) appropriate to scientific investigations.

• S.IP.05.14 Use metric measurement devices in an investigation.• S.IP.05.15 Construct charts and graphs from data and observations.• S.IP.05.16 Identify patterns in data

Why Robotics Education?

Student: “Teacher, what did I learn today?”

Teacher: “Why do you ask that?”

Can robotics education solve this problem?

Workshop Goals

• Spark interest in teaching with robotics.• Increase comfort level when working with

technology• Improve analytical and mathematical

thinking• Increase interest in science• Promote team work

The 4 Cs Of Learning

Connect

• Robotics is exciting!• Robotics is intriguing!• Robotics is fun!

Construct

• Tell me and I forget.

• Show me and I remember.

• Involve me and I understand!

Contemplate

• Students learn to think about what they have constructed.

• Students gain an understanding of how something works.

• Students learn how various concepts work.

Continue• Students naturally

want to solve problems.

• Students may quickly surpass you in their knowledge of and expertise with the LEGO Robots!

Robotics, A Growing Trend – 2009 Statistics

20,000 High school students in 900 teams participated in FIRST Robotics competitions in 2008

70,000 Students in 20 countries between the ages of 9 and 14 participated in the 2007 FIRST LEGO League (FLL)

RoboFest sponsored by Lawrence Technological University.

FIRST LEGO League55,000 Students

14 Countries

Establishing a Program

• A great robotics program needs:› Students of any

age or learning level.

› A dedicated, energetic teacher.

Objectives

• Team leaders should be able to:› Interpret and design a NXT program.› Apply engineering principles to solve a

problem.› Apply creative thinking to solve an open-

ended problem.

Components of the Robotic System

• Robot: a mechanical device that operates automatically› The NXT Basic Bot is one

example.› It is compact, maneuverable,

expandable, durable, and reasonably easy to build.

MINDSTORMS Education NXT• A complete MINDSTORMS Education

NXT system includes:› Hardware› Software› Curriculum

Hardware: Intelligent NXT Brick

Hardware: Intelligent NXT Brick• 32-bit ARM7 microprocessor

› 256 Kbytes FLASH, 64 Kbytes RAM

• 8-bit microprocessor› 4 Kbytes FLASH, 512 Byte RAM

• Bluetooth wireless communication

• USB 2.0 port

• 4 input ports, 6 wire digital platform

• 3 output ports, 6 wire digital platform

Hardware: Intelligent NXT Brick

• Programmable Dot Matrix Display › 60 x 100 pixels

• Loudspeaker – 8 KHz sound quality

• Many LEGO Technic holes › Allow fast and easy building

Hardware: Interactive Servo Motor

• Built-in rotation sensor measures exact speed and distance

• Allows for precise motor control › motors align the speed of robotic motion› 1 degree step control

• LEGO Technic holes for easy building

Hardware: Sensors• Light Sensor

› Reads light intensity from environment

› Reads reflection from IR emitter

• Touch Sensor

Hardware: Sensors

• Sound Sensor› Measures DB and DBA› Recognizes sound patterns› Recognizes tones

• Ultrasonic Sensor› Senses distance› Recognizes objects› Recognizes movement

Software• Icon based programming powered by

LabView™ engine with ability-based programming options:› Easy palette: 7 icons

› Advanced palette: 40 icons

• Intuitive interface › Low entry point with high ceiling

› Streamlined, multipurpose icons

• Available for PC (Win XP) and Mac (OS X) in 12 languages

LEGO MindStorms in Education LEGO MindStorms can be used for computer science education to

teach Java C NXT code LabVIEW

LEGO MindStorms can be used to teach Math concepts such as Numbers and operations Algebra Geometry and measurement

LEGO MindStorms can be used to teach science concepts such as Scientific process Measurement technique Systematic and random error.

Software• Robot Educator

integrated in software› Provides interactive guidance throughout

entire programming environment

› Uses standard simple robot model

› Provides basic teaching tutorials• Tutorials indexed for optimal search

and retrieval

Curriculum• Developed by Carnegie Mellon University

• Focused on curriculum standards › Science› Technology› Engineering › Math

• Two curriculums › Robotics Engineering l & ll

CurriculumSet 1: Introduction to Robotics Engineering

• Teaches fundamental STEM organized around robotics

• 30-hour course (6 wks)

• Six main activities

CurriculumSet 2: Guided Research in Robotics

Engineering

• Teaches fundamental STEM and adds research component

• 45-hour course (9 wks)

• Three research projects

Additional Features• LEGO® building elements optimized for curriculum relevant

activities for use by groups of 2-3 students• Sturdy storage boxes, containing:

› sorting trays with illustrated overview of all elements• Robot Educator integrated into software and curriculum

› Allows independent and interactive learning• Rechargeable battery eliminates battery handling• Bluetooth technology:

› Allows teachers to communicate with students’ NXT bricks› Eliminates interfering signals between student groups

The Robots are Coming!

Are Star Wars type robots in our future?

No one knows but in the mean time robotics technology is teaching students about Math, Science, and technology

The Robots are Here!

Roomba

Qrio

Robomower

LEGO Roomba Demo I

Roomba – An autonomous robot vacuum cleaner

2 million sold since Fall of 2002 by the iRobot Co.

The algorithm used by Roomba was given as an assignment to middle school students

Conclusion

Parent: “What did you learn in school today?”

Student: “I learned how to write programs for a LEGO robot using the NXT programming language to demonstrate the Roomba algorithm!!!”