Robots in the Classroom What is a robot? Welcome to the Robotics project! The purpose of this project is to introduce you to algebra, and physical science in a fun and meaningful way through robots. Before we can begin we need to understand what a robot is.

What do you know about robots? TV Movies Toys News Military NASA What do you know about robots? TV: Kitt the robot car, Robot on Lost in Space, Star Trek, others? Movies: Robots, Wall-e, iRobot, Terminator, others? News: In Afghanistan and Iraq, Hostage situations, bomb squad Rescue situations like Katrina, or the Collapse of the World Trade Center Flying robots for reconnaissance, swimming robots, space robots, Pictures are: Robots= Rodney Toy robots see the Lost in Space robot iRobot Robot = Sonny

Famous Robots Do you know any? RUR robot- Introduced robots to the world in a Czech play by Karel Čapek in 1921. Alvin is an underwater robot used by Dr. Ballard that found the Titanic. Pioneer Robot worked at 3 mile island after the nuclear meltdown. Mars Exploration Rover landed on Mars January 4, 2004. Still active on Mars today. Their names are Sprit and Opportunity.

Useful Robots Do you know any? Consumer robots are starting to appear. Robots that help us around the house. Robot rickshaw. Asimo is a robot build by Honda to guide people around their factory. Lawn mower robot for mowing the lawn Roomba robot for vacuuming the carpet and moping the floor.

Robot Definition How would you define Robot? Mechanically moves in the environment Programmed to do something Senses the environment Ask the students if they can define a robot? They should be able to come up with these three things. We will be covering the mechanical part of robots in the first week, the programming and sensing of the robot in week 2 of the project.

Are These Robots? Washing machine? TV? Garage door opener? Car? Ask the students to consider each of the following to determine if they are really robots. Washing machine does not move in the environment, but can be programmed, does sense if the water is hot or cold, and if the cloths are ready to come out. TV pulls radio waves from the environment, changes according to the radio waves, some can be programmed. Garage Door opener moves, responds to click, can be programmed. Cars are becoming more and more robot like. They sense the environment, check engine light, anti-lock breaks, anti-swerve control, sensors for rain on the windshield, sense if it is dark. Some cars can now park themselves. They do not drive themselves yet.

What are the 4 D’s of Robots Robots are not supposed to replace us Robots should complement our strengths They should do what we don’t want to do or cannot do very well. 4 D’s Dangerous Dirty Dull Delicate Terminator robots or even Sonny the iRobot may not be the best robots for us. We need robots to do what we do not do well. They should do things we do not like to do. They should not be used to recognize patterns, create art, understand beauty, or make decisions. These things humans do well and like to do. See if your students can come up with the 4 D’s on their own.

Dangerous Military Exploration Police Fire Disaster This is the one they are most likely to guess first. Robots are found in many dangerous situations. Military Improvised Explosive Device removal. Military reconnaissance. Exploration in space and under the water. Police hostage situations or facing gun carrying criminals. Fire safety going into burning buildings, collapsed structures, hard to reach places. Disasters for many of the same reasons as Fire.

Dull Manufacturing This robot is writing the King James version of the Bible in calligraphy. Robots are used extensively in manufacturing to do dull things like screw in bolts.

Dirty Clean-up messes Robots are used to clean the floor, mow the lawn, clean sewers, scrub ships of barnacles,

Delicate Surgery This is a Di Vince robot used by doctors to do delicate surgery. Robots are also used to create micro chips.

Lets build a ROBOT!