1. EPGY Middle School Programming Adam Leeper
Intro to Robotics
EPGY Middle School Programming
Adam Leeper

2. What is a robot?

3. What is a robot?

4. What is a robot?

5. What is a robot?

6. What is a robot? Can sense the environment.
Can make independent decisions.
Can complete a task automatically.

7. Robot vs. Humans Pros: Cons:
Robots can be arbitrarily fast, strong, or large.
Robots can record vast amounts of data.
Robots can run in dangerous environments.
Cons:
Robots are stupid and inflexible.
Robots are really bad at dexterous manipulation.
Robots are dangerous.

8. What senses do robots have?
“Vision”
Cameras
IR range sensors
“Hearing”
Microphones
“Touch”
Bump sensors
Capacitive and resistive sensors

9. What senses do robots have?
“Other”
Ultrasonic
Radio/GPS
Smell/Taste
Maybe smoke detectors, but not commonly used.

10. Ultrasonic Sensor Uses high-frequency sound we can’t hear.
Sound travels at 343 m/s in air.
Can measure distance by measuring time between a ping sent and received.

11. Touch Sensor Simplest is a contact switch.
An electrical path is completed when pressed.
Power
Switch
Sensor output
Resistor
Ground

12. Light Sensor Many types.
Similar to a touch sensor, a simple light sensor has an electrical semiconductor component that changes resistance when exposed to light.

13. Sound Sensor It’s a microphone!
Sound waves are converted to electrical signals.

14. How do robots make decisions?
Individual sensors.
Sensor fusion.
Statistical methods.
Math formulas from a variety of science areas.

15. Open-loop vs. Closed-loop
This is the field of Controls.
Open-loop
Simple, but can have large errors.
Closed-loop
Requires sensors, but can correct for errors.

16. Temperature Controller
Desired temperature
Controller
Actuator(Heater)
Sensor (thermometer)
Actual temperature

17. Cool Robot Videos

18. How do robots move? Motors and wheels Legs

19. Drive Train Direct Drive Gear Transmission Belt/Cable Drive
Efficient, no backlash
Low torque
Gear Transmission
High torque
Friction, noise, and backlash
Belt/Cable Drive
Placement, performance
Complex

20. The NXT motor

21. Choosing wheels Large wheels Small wheels
High top speed, good clearance,
Low torque (acceleration)
Small wheels
High torque, perhaps better stability
Lower top speed