Line Following Chalenge

My students at MUN Lifelong Learning used the light sensor on an NXT robot to complete a line following challenge. They had to start the robot on the red circle, find the starting position on the oval, follow the line around the oval, and have the robot finish on the red circle.

Here are videos from Groups 1 & 2:

FLL Challenge 2008

The theme for the 2008 FLL Challenge is Climate Connections. There is not a lot of info on it yet but FLL has posted a brief summary about it in the US section of the FLL web site (http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=70).

Registration for FLL 2008 opens May 1, 2008. You can register online on the FLL Registration site (http://www.register4fll.com/).

Corn Toss Challenge

As part of my robotics club we have a challenge that students complete in groups to decide a club championship. This year's challenge was called the Corn Toss. Here is a video of the robots and the challenge:

NXT Paper Plane Shooter

How about using the NXT to launch a paper plane. It looks like a plane flying off an aircraft carrier.




For more details head on over the to the nxtasy.org blog.

The Real Life Robotic Arm

NXT Step blog posted links to a fascinating story and video about Segway's (Dean Kamen's company) efforts to create a robotic arm for disabled people.

Dean Kamen's 'Luke Skywalker' bionic arm

Here is the link to the video report about it on IEEE Spectrum Online:

Video of Dean Kamen's 'Luke Skywalker' bionic arm

NXT Competition Idea: Can Grabber

Here is an idea for a design challenge using NXT robots:

Bathroom NXT bots

Some people will build a NXT robot for any purpose. Here is a couple for the bathroom:



Why not a FlushBot:

Worth a Look: NXTCentral blog

There are a couple of new NXT blogs that look like they are worth a look:

- NXT Central
- TeamNXT

Enjoy!

NXT Resources

Norm and I held an in-service on NXT robotics today. I mentioned several resources and I wanted to post some further information.

I mentioned the following web sites:

• The NXT STEP - LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Blog
  
• nxtprograms.com
  

You will find information about the book, Lego Mindstorms Nxt: The Mayan Adventure by James Floyd Kelly on The NXT STEP - LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Blog.

NXT Training in Eastern School District of NL

There will be an opportunity on February 8th, for teachers in the Eastern School District to attend a training session about using the NXT LEGO MINDSTORMS kit in the classroom. Here is the info:

Title: Introduction to LEGO NXT robotics
Date: Friday, February 8, 2008
Time: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Location: St. Francis School - Tech Ed computer lab
Trainers: Thomas Sheppard and Norm Littlejohn

This session is designed as an introduction to using the NXT MINDSTORMS robotics kit for use in the junior and senior high technology programs (The new kit was introduced in 2006 and is replacing the RCX-based MINDSTORMS robotics kit).

Topics will include the basics of building and programming an NXT robot using sensors and attachments. The priority will be on integrating robotics into the curriculum to accomplish course outcomes.

FLL 2007 Registration Cost

The info about the expenses is explained on the registration web site:

http://register4fll.com/finditem.cfm?itemid=33

Here is my estimate:

FLL Team Registration (Required): Can. $235
FLL 2007 Field Set Up Kit: Can. $78
FLL Robot Set (NXT): Can. $435

TOTAL: $748+tax($104.72)=$852.72

I am not happy about the increased costs, but there seems little we can do about it. It is relatively inexpensive when you compare it to other robotics competitions, but that does not make it any easier for public schools where money is not always available. I fear the smaller and more rural schools will have great difficulty coming up with the money for this.

NL Lego Robotics Teams Meeting

These photos were taken during the NL Lego Robotics Teams meeting that took place on October 14, 2006. The meeting was held at Frank Roberts Junior High and teams spent the afternoon working on Challenge 2006: Nano Quest.

NXT CD and Training Online

I did an online Lego robotics course a couple of years ago through Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Academy (http://www-education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/). Through the course I learned about the building and programming (using Robolab software) of Lego robots using the RCX-based Mindstorms for Schools kit.

With the introduction of the new NXT-based robotics kits this year, I have been looking into doing a similar course. The Robotics Academy is selling an NXT robotics curriculum (two-cd set) entitled, Robotics Engineering: Introduction to Mobile Robotics, Vol. 1 (http://store.robomatter.com/roenvoiintom.html) for $225.00 (US). With the purchase of the cd set you get an online teacher training course free (8 weeks).

I am considering this option so I thought I would pass along the information to anyone out there that may also be interested. The price is steep, but I learned a lot on the last course and I used the cd that I purchased the last time to teach my students.

BTW, they are still offering the RCX-based online training (8 weeks but no cd) for $55.00 (US).

Thomas

NL Robotics Update

A few Issues and Events requiring your consideration:

1. TRAINING SESSION SCHEDULE:

October 14

Thomas Sheppard is hosting a working meeting for teachers and students at Frank Roberts JHS, Foxtrap Access Road, this coming weekend. It's a terrific opportunity for students to collaborate and learn a great deal about the design of mechanical and the programming aspects of the FLL competition. Teams willbring their own lego units, some will bring field set-ups, all will bring their own laptops for programming. Don't forget extension cords and power bars.

Other dates may follow.


2. COMPETITIONS

We have had discussions about the dates of the Intermediate School robotics competitions.

November 25

We know that the Skills Canada Intermediate Skills Challenge (ISC-2006) will be held at Mt. Pearl Intermediate on Saturday, November 25th. There will be a robotics element to that competition, which will involve JUST the robot performance on this year's "Nano Quest" Challenge.

December 2

We are examining the dates and location for the full-fledge First Lego League qualifying competition. At the moment, we're pretty sure that the date will be Saturday, December 2, (the weekend after the ISC). We are investigating two sites.....Mt. Pearl Intermediate and St. Francis School , which have graciously offered to be our host venue. Both appear to be quite desireable, albeit for different reasons.

Pre-registration will be required.


3. T-SHIRTS

We have secured permission to use the graphic art produced by Hi-Tech Kids, at a modest cost, and of course, we have access to the FLL Lego and Nano logos for the preparation of team T-shirts. You will be able to select one of an array of colours with these logos on the shirt, as well as your school name and possibly logo as well. My philosophy about these items is that they're excellent promotion for the school and the kids like to wear them. They should be good quality 50/50 shirts.

I'm making a guess at about $15-17 / shirt, given the artwork and the screen printing involved. Given that price, we need to know how many teams will order it as we will pre-order these units, on a pre-paid basis. It's something we need to get rolling now.













4. PD OPPORTUNITY.

There will be a PD opportunity in FLL Robotics during the Avalon East Region close-out, and possibly also in the Avalon West Region PD close-out. Search your PD calendar for this opportunity.



5. REGISTRATION FEE

We'll soon settle on a registration fee for the provncial competition, which will be a little higher than last year, but not enormous, when shared among the team. Pre-competition registration with a reasonable deadline will be a fact of life, as we have to plan on the numbers arriving.

Next Meeting

Hi Teams,

I will be hosting the next meeting for Lego Robotics teams. This will be an opportunity for you to bring along some team members and work on Nano Quest. Here is the info:

Location: Frank Roberts Junior High (Foxtrap Access Road, CBS)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 14, 2006
Time: 2:00pm - 4:00pm

We will be in the gym and we will have two mats setup to work on. If you want your students to work on the mat you will need to bring the following items:

- your computer with the programming software
- your robot and robotics kit
- extension cords

I would like to keep the numbers down due to supervision concerns so I ask that a maximum of 10 students per team be allowed. Please keep in mind that students will not be allowed outside the gym area and that you will be responsible for your students.

I am requiring a confirmation if you plan to attend and please include how many students you will be bringing. The reason is that I need to setup the gym and this can be a lot of work if the numbers are large. Deadline for confirming your attendance is Wednesday, Oct. 3rd. If you do not email me I will assume you are not coming.

I would like you to treat this as an opportunity for students to get together and learn from each other so please come with a spirit of co-operation. Also come prepared with questions and issues you wish to discuss.

Thomas

Nano Quest: Space Elevator

Space Elevator

Mission: Operate the space elevator. At least one robot must cause the car with the yellow cargo to come down. If this mission is completed, no matter which robot or robots worked on it, both teams get 40 points.

Source: http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=23720