© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Tree Surveying Engineering Project See Teacher Guide for printing instructions

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Opening Activity Name four or five jobs that robots are better suited to do than people. Identify some things that these tasks have in common.

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Opening Activity Assembly line Space exploration Nuclear waste cleanup Lawn mowing Paint stripping Name four or five jobs that robots are better suited to do than people.

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Opening Activity Dirty Dull Dangerous Delicate What do these examples have in common? The Four D’s of Robotics:

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Reforestation What is reforestation? –Replenishment of natural forest with trees grown on plantation land What’s the point? –To reduce the negative impacts of human activity on the global ecosystem So what’s the problem? –Who pays for the trees and the land? Tree Plantation This plantation grows trees for paper using renewable farming processes

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Not For Profit Not For Profit Corporations –Attempt to raise funding and carry out operations to do things that normal companies would not find economically feasible –These projects are often for the common good –Are not allowed to sell ownership or pay dividends –Must still pay their employees and buy their equipment –Are almost always short on funds and need volunteers Volunteers Many Not For Profit companies rely on volunteer labor because they have a lot of work to do, and not much money

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Tree Measurement Trees must be measured regularly –The measurement is taken a few inches off the ground for young (sapling) trees –Growth can be an indicator of the tree’s health –Trees that are to be sold are priced according to size and age, among other factors All Shapes and Sizes Tree size must be tracked for a number of reasons Placeholder for: Trees of different sizes

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Tree Measurement Why use a robot? –Lots of trees, not always a lot of volunteers… –Four D’s of Robotics Dirty Dull Dangerous Delicate –Is this a good place to use a robot? See the Trees for the Forest That’s a lot of trees to measure

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Tree Surveyor: Project Overview Project Goal Milestones Process

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Project Goal Study and adapt the design of an existing semi-automated tree measurement device for fully automated operation Demonstrate and Document your findings Final Demonstration The robot travels from tree to tree, taking measurements as it goes

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Milestones Choose a design Submit a proposal Build a prototype Test and revise the prototype Demonstrate your robot

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Engineering Process Research Phase └Choose a design Research the details of the problem in context Research different aspects of possible solutions Generate ideas for solution designs Evaluate and choose a design as a team (Internal Design Review)

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Engineering Process Plan Phase └Submit a proposal Solidify a shared vision of the solution Identify the necessary tasks to complete development Schedule time for each task Assign responsibility for each task Organize your plan into a coherent proposal Submit proposal for approval (Project proposal)

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Engineering Process Prototype Phase └Build a prototype Build and program the solution you proposed earlier Modify the design (only) when necessary Implement all the major functionality of the design Invite experts and supervisors to review the prototype (External design review)

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Engineering Process Test Phase ├Test and revise the prototype └Demonstrate your robot Modify your design as requested by the reviewers Implement remaining functionality Test robot Revise design based on problems found during testing Repeat Test-Revise cycle Demonstrate working robot at agreed-upon time (Final demonstration)

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Engineering Process Commercialize └Further improvements Examine the additional needs of the robot to be viable in the commercial marketplace Identify areas for improvement in design of robot Repeat development cycle to further improve the design

© 2006 Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Designed for use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS ® Education NXT Software and Base Set #9797 Growing trees for reforestation can be helpful for the environment, but is not generally profitable Not For Profit companies often have small amounts of resources for the tasks they are charged with A robot surveyor could be the solution Summary Your robot proof-of-concept model must measure a series of trees in a simulated plantation setup You will use Engineering Process to guide your development Research Plan Prototype Test