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Greetings All,
Here is a video of a FLL team that I coached:
http://homepage.mac.com/aklego/iMovieTheater29.html
The team was quite good and made it to the the World Festival in Atlanta last
month. In the five months leading up to the festivle, they were able to improve
their robot to the point where they could often get a perfect score.
Unfortunatly, the robot was camra shy and I was never able to capture a perfect
run. Anyway, hope you enjoy it.
Tom
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I try to keep to around not more than 5 children per mindstorms kit
(or per RCX if using Dacta), and not more than 8-10 per instructor.
Usually - once you get above about 8, it is good to have a couple of
other adults around to keep peace, so the main instructor can actually
teach and do group demonstrations. This also means the other adults
can help stuck children a bit.
Danny
On 7/3/05, Elizabeth Mabrey <emabrey@storming-robots.com> wrote:
> Hi Robo Educators,
>
> I would like to gather some opinions from the educators out there who teach
> their middle school classes using the LEGO MINDSTORMS + Robolab:
> 1) What is a reasonable class size in 2 to 3 hours session?
> 2) How about summer camp configuration? Since the summer classes runs 5
> hours a day, it involves additional science projects for an hour.
> Therefore, they really spend approx. 4 hours on robotics activities. I
> currently plan to have 12 middle school kids in the class with one adult
> instructor. Will this sound reasonable?
>
> Please advise!
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
> Best Regards,
> Elizabeth Mabrey
>
>
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http://orionrobots.co.uk - Build Robots
Online Castle Building RPG -
http://www.darkthrone.com/recruit.dt?uid=V30311I30328J30379X30379E30260X30277
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Hi Robo Educators,
I would like to gather some opinions from the educators out there who teach
their middle school classes using the LEGO MINDSTORMS + Robolab:
1) What is a reasonable class size in 2 to 3 hours session?
2) How about summer camp configuration? Since the summer classes runs 5
hours a day, it involves additional science projects for an hour.
Therefore, they really spend approx. 4 hours on robotics activities. I
currently plan to have 12 middle school kids in the class with one adult
instructor. Will this sound reasonable?
Please advise!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Best Regards,
Elizabeth Mabrey
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx, Michael Obenland wrote:
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The starter kit is $300, which is a 50% pricier...
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Sure, but it seems of not much value regarding programming. The
informations on the vex site are sparse and not easy to decipher, but I
think you will have to:
- pay aditional $99 for somethink called easyC, that is more or less nqc
- or pay some bucks for a genuine c compiler from microchip.com.
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I think you’re paying not for the compiler, but for the “programmer” (a sort of
serial adapter with an integrated PIC that massages the data somehow). But
either way, yes, it’s an extra $100 to program the thing. And without the
ability to program it, it *is* pretty useless, so this thing is basically twice
the cost of Mindstorms.
But, it’s a lot more than twice the functionality. And of course, it’s only
twice the cost if you get only one -- if you get more than one, you still need
only one programmer, which brings the cost back down a bit.
I hear rumors of a new RCX coming... hopefully it will be closer to Vex in
functionality.
Best,
– Joe
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Hi Joe,
Their website seemingly offers a lot of other gadgets. However, I have
serious doubt about the programming platform though. Or, perhaps I have
not found much about the programming language which can interface with it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Elizabeth Mabrey
> -----Original Message-----
> From: news-gateway@lugnet.com
> [mailto:news-gateway@lugnet.com] On Behalf Of Joe Strout
> Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2005 5:19 PM
> To: lugnet.robotics.rcx@lugnet.com; lugnet.robotics.edu@lugnet.com
> Subject: Re: vex robotics kit
>
> In lugnet.robotics.rcx, Elizabeth Mabrey wrote:
>
> > I wonder if anyone has had a chance to use the new VEX • robotic kit by radio
> > shack. I am trying to collect the info to evaluate this • product vs LEGO
> > RIS + robolab in terms of educational values.
>
> I haven't used it, but I thank you for pointing it out. (For
> others, the link is <http://www.vexrobotics.com/>.)
>
> I hate to say it, but this looks like it rather blows the
> socks off of standard LEGO robotics. The starter kit is
> $300, which is a 50% pricier, but comes with some really cool
> features out of the box that are very difficult or impossible
> to add to Mindstorms at all. For example, a radio
> transmitter and receiver, that lets you interact with your
> robot by remote control (in addition to its autonomous
> control via the programmable microcontroller).
>
> Additional parts are nicely available and well-priced, too --
> for example, $20 for a servo kit, $50 for a radio crystal set
> that enables four different frequencies, $13 for an extra set
> of gears (duplicating all the gears in the starter kit, plus
> two more), and $50 for a battery charger that can charge
> robot and transmitter batteries at the same time.
>
> The major drawback, of course, is that the dang thing isn't
> based on LEGO, so it's going to be a PITA to build and
> comparatively limited in the physical structures you can
> make. Looks surprisingly fun anyway, though.
>
> I found a review of the VEX system that may be useful:
> <http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ZDM/story?id=817378>
>
> I haven't been able to find much detail about the
> microcontroller, except that it contains "dozens of ports for
> sensor plugs and jumpers." It's not clear exactly what that
> means, though. Nor can I find any information about how it
> is programmed -- apparently it comes with a preset program
> you can tweak in small ways via jumpers, but they also claim
> it's "programmable."
>
> I hope this gives some inspiration to both the engineers and
> the marketing guys at LEGO... I feel like LEGO robotics is
> falling behind, and has some catching up to do.
>
> Best,¬
> - Joe
>
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx, Elizabeth Mabrey wrote:
| |
I wonder if anyone has had a chance to use the new VEX robotic kit by radio
shack. I am trying to collect the info to evaluate this product vs LEGO
RIS + robolab in terms of educational values.
|
I haven’t used it, but I thank you for pointing it out. (For others, the link
is http://www.vexrobotics.com/.)
I hate to say it, but this looks like it rather blows the socks off of standard
LEGO robotics. The starter kit is $300, which is a 50% pricier, but comes with
some really cool features out of the box that are very difficult or impossible
to add to Mindstorms at all. For example, a radio transmitter and receiver,
that lets you interact with your robot by remote control (in addition to its
autonomous control via the programmable microcontroller).
Additional parts are nicely available and well-priced, too -- for example, $20
for a servo kit, $50 for a radio crystal set that enables four different
frequencies, $13 for an extra set of gears (duplicating all the gears in the
starter kit, plus two more), and $50 for a battery charger that can charge robot
and transmitter batteries at the same time.
The major drawback, of course, is that the dang thing isn’t based on LEGO, so
it’s going to be a PITA to build and comparatively limited in the physical
structures you can make. Looks surprisingly fun anyway, though.
I found a review of the VEX system that may be useful:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ZDM/story?id=817378
I haven’t been able to find much detail about the microcontroller, except that
it contains “dozens of ports for sensor plugs and jumpers.” It’s not clear
exactly what that means, though. Nor can I find any information about how it is
programmed -- apparently it comes with a preset program you can tweak in small
ways via jumpers, but they also claim it’s “programmable.”
I hope this gives some inspiration to both the engineers and the marketing guys
at LEGO... I feel like LEGO robotics is falling behind, and has some catching up
to do.
Best,
- Joe
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Hi
I wonder if anyone has had a chance to use the new VEX robotic kit by radio
shack. I am trying to collect the info to evaluate this product vs LEGO
RIS + robolab in terms of educational values.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Best Regards,
Elizabeth Mabrey Partner
of
Director
LEGO MINDSTORMS
3322 Rt. 22 West, Bldg 4, Ste 402 Robotics Community
Branchburg, NJ 08876
Ph: (908) 595-1010 ; M-F: 10-5; Sat: 11-4
Fax: (908) 891-2026
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx, Elizabeth Mabrey wrote:
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Hi,
I am trying to look for a few lego end effectors configuration. I got the
one from CMU’s robotics educator. Suggestion will be greatly appreciated.
--thanks
|
Do you mean robot hands? If so, try the one from my robot:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=82738
It’s actuated with pneumatics at the moment but the two 24mm pulleys have bevel
gears linking them, to keep the fingers synchronised, so you could use a motor
and low gearing to power it from an RCX instead. The fingers use parallelograms
to stay parallel with each other, so that they can grip any amount of the
object. In this case the object is a 2x10 brick, held vertically (11.2mm
thick).
The actual grippers are rubber tyres from 12V train motors, though wide rubber
bands would do.
In this robot, the gripper cylinders are in parallel with two cylinders that
move a much bigger load, that of a bank of 5 switch valves on the back of the
robot. Therefore the gripper moves before the bank of switches.
There’s also a diagram of the pneumatic circuit in the folder.
Mark
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Hi,
I am trying to look for a few lego end effectors configuration. I got the
one from CMU's robotics educator. Suggestion will be greatly appreciated.
--thanks
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Sue,
I am currently running a learning center which does use the lego mindstorm
center (lmc) materials. It is not a franchise, but similar. If you are
interested, feel free to ask me questions.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Best Regards,
Elizabeth Mabrey Partner
of
Director
LEGO MINDSTORMS
3322 Rt. 22 West, Bldg 4, Ste 402 Robotics Community
Branchburg, NJ 08876
Ph: (908) 595-1010 ; M-F: 10-5; Sat: 11-4
Fax: (908) 891-2026
-----Original Message-----
From: news-gateway@lugnet.com [mailto:news-gateway@lugnet.com] On Behalf Of
Suz
Sent: Monday, April 18, 2005 2:39 PM
To: lugnet.robotics.rcx@lugnet.com; lugnet.robotics.edu@lugnet.com;
lugnet.lego@lugnet.com
Subject: Mindstorms Centers
I would love to know more about this program and people's experiences with
it.
It seems like a franchise. I'm surprised there are so few centers in the US
on the map. Also, I notice that the URL is under FIRST LEGO League, but
there's no direct connection, is there?
Mindstorms Centers
http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=5
> From the above webpage:
"LEGOR MINDSTORMST Center activities are compelling hands-on robotic
challenges, guided by facilitators. They take place in specially designed
"cool"
environments. The Centers provide a forum for children from 8 years of age
to develop an understanding of - and extended interest in - the scientific
world."
-Suzanne
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx, Suzanne Rich Green wrote:
> I would love to know more about this program and people's experiences with it.
> It seems like a franchise. I'm surprised there are so few centers in the US on
> the map. Also, I notice that the URL is under FIRST LEGO League, but there's no
> direct connection, is there?
It appears to be a mirror from the Mindstorms site:
http://mindstorms.lego.com/centers/
-Rob.
> Mindstorms Centers
> http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=5
>
> From the above webpage:
> "LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ Center activities are compelling hands-on robotic challenges,
> guided by facilitators. They take place in specially designed "cool"
> environments. The Centers provide a forum for children from 8 years of age to
> develop an understanding of - and extended interest in - the scientific world."
>
> -Suzanne
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I would love to know more about this program and people's experiences with it.
It seems like a franchise. I'm surprised there are so few centers in the US on
the map. Also, I notice that the URL is under FIRST LEGO League, but there's no
direct connection, is there?
Mindstorms Centers
http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=5
From the above webpage:
"LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ Center activities are compelling hands-on robotic challenges,
guided by facilitators. They take place in specially designed "cool"
environments. The Centers provide a forum for children from 8 years of age to
develop an understanding of - and extended interest in - the scientific world."
-Suzanne
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1) The Call for Presentation and Papers for the Annual ROBOLAB Conference
(August 15-17th, Austin, Texas) has been extended to APRIL 1st. Please
consider submitting a presentation or a paper for the conference. Details
are available at the conference web site
http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu/events/robolabconference
2) Registration forms for the Annual ROBOLAB Conference are now available
at the web site! Sign up Soon!
http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu/events/robolabconference
3) The Northeast Regional ROBOLAB Conference is a happening on April 8 in
Enfield, CT. The event will feature presentations by local educators,
ROBOLAB workshops and event a factory tour. Visit the web site for more
details and registration forms.
http://ceeo.tufts.edu/events/robolabconference/regional/northeast.htm
-----------------------
Tonya L. Witherspoon
Educational Technology Specialist
Center for Research and Evaluation Services Fellow
College of Education, Wichita State University
1845 N. Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260-0131
316-978-6242 (voice)
316-978-3302 (fax)
http://www.wichita.edu/education/twitherspoon
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I don’t work for the LEGO Company, but I felt that this announcement should be
posted in the official .lego group. -Suz
http://news.lugnet.com/robotics/rcx/robolab/?n=386
I’m reposting the announcement of a special event. This conference, at the
LEGO Enfield HQ, is a big deal!
For those who don’t know about ROBOLAB, it was
developed at Tufts University in
Massachusetts while the RCX brick was developed nearby, at the MIT Media Lab
(MIT made Logo-based software). RoboLab is built on the LabView engine and is expandable.
Here is a comparison to
Mindstorms software. You can download the quick
start guide to learn more.
You may recognize the names Ben Erwin and Chris Rogers. Ben wrote
Creative
Projects with LEGO Mindstorms. Tonya Witherspoon is another
super-amazing person. Follow the link at the bottom of this page to see for
yourself. These are just three of the key people involved in The LEGO Company’s
education sector of RCX usage.
This event is mainly for teachers. However, I believe it includes folks
interested in using the ROBOLAB software in their after-school programs and
workshops. If you’ve never used ROBOLAB or its accompanying LEGO
Educational Division products, you can try them out at the conference! This
is the place to ask questions of the developers!! I should mention that the
First LEGO League is not related to this event. Registration includes a
lunch, demos by Master builders, and an optional factory tour. Teachers and
event leaders will be there showing off what they have done with the
product.
I know I’m going!
-Suz
Tonya Witherspoon wrote:
Northeast Region ROBOLAB Conference
Date: Friday April 8th, 2005
Location: LEGO Americas’ headquarters in Enfield, CT.
Purpose: To gather teachers and educators who use or plan to use ROBOLAB
and LEGO Mindstorms to teach math and/or science in their classrooms and
for these teachers and educators to:
- Try out activities that use ROBOLAB to teach math and science in the classroom-learning environment
- Share successes, obstacles and ideas for ROBOLAB implementation into the classroom
- Ask any questions to master LEGO builders and master ROBOLAB programmers
To Register and Learn More:
http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu/events/robolabconference/regional/northeast.htm
Tonya L. Witherspoon
Educational Technology Specialist
Center for Research and Evaluation Services Fellow
College of Education, Wichita State University
1845 N. Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260-0131
316-978-6242 (voice)
316-978-3302 (fax)
http://www.wichita.edu/education/twitherspoon
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx.robolab, Elizabeth Mabrey wrote:
> I tried to explain term firmware to middle school age children. The best
> that I can do without using the technical terms, like embedded software, ROM
> is this:
>
>
>
> "Firmware is a set of instructions which must be loaded into the RCX Brick
> in order for it to understand your programming language."
>
>
>
> This may work for a middle school kid. How about a 4th to 5th, ie. 9 to 10
> years old? Suggestion?
>
>
>
> --
>
> Elizabeth
Firmware is the Operating System for the RCX, the way Windows (or whatever) is
the OS for your PC. Firmware by itself doesn't do anything, it's just there to
run the programs that you write.
It's like the trays in the cafeteria that hold your lunch. You can't eat the
tray, but you can't eat lunch *without* the tray, either.
Tim (Smith)
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx.robolab, Elizabeth Mabrey wrote:
> I tried to explain term firmware to middle school age children. The best
> that I can do without using the technical terms, like embedded software, ROM
> is this:
>
>
>
> "Firmware is a set of instructions which must be loaded into the RCX Brick
> in order for it to understand your programming language."
>
>
>
> This may work for a middle school kid. How about a 4th to 5th, ie. 9 to 10
> years old? Suggestion?
A program that runs on the RCX that makes it easier to program.
Kevin
>
>
>
> --
>
> Elizabeth
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I tried to explain term firmware to middle school age children. The best
that I can do without using the technical terms, like embedded software, ROM
is this:
"Firmware is a set of instructions which must be loaded into the RCX Brick
in order for it to understand your programming language."
This may work for a middle school kid. How about a 4th to 5th, ie. 9 to 10
years old? Suggestion?
--
Elizabeth
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One activity I've used w/a huge age range is "A chair for Mr. Bear"
http://130.64.87.22/robolabatceeo/k12/activities/23/activity-nostandards.html
Despite being listed as a k-2 activity, I've used it on pre-K through college
level. The challenge is deceptively simple--build a chair that can survive a
fall from knee height. The older students usually approach it w/cockiness and
are quickly humbled. The trick is to be mean when you drop it. Aim so it lands
on an edge or corner.
Good luck w/the class.
Tom
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In lugnet.robotics.edu, Elizabeth Mabrey wrote:
> Hi,
>
>
>
> I am going to hold an afterschool enrichment class designed for 3rd to 5th
> graders. The organizer made a mistake of taking in a lot of 2nd graders as
> well. Now, the class has 8 2nd graders, 10 3rd graders, 10 4th & 5th
> graders. Yes, I do have one instructor and two assistants. However, I
> just think including 2nd graders in the same curriculum is just too
> unrealistic.
>
>
>
> Now, since the organizer has already informed and accepted the enrollment of
> these 2nd graders who most likely very much look forward to the class, I
> hate to disappoint them by removing them.
>
>
>
> My next immediate solution is to move the 2nd graders to another class, but
> it leaves budgeting problem as far as making payment to another instructor.
> I wonder if I can borrow ideas of the most sensible solutions to this
> situation.
>
>
>
> Suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
>
>
>
> --
>
> Elizabeth Mabrey
Hi Elizabeth,
As a favor to a community services manager I took on a class of 1st graders last
year (usually I teach 3rd - 8th graders). It was a bit like hearding cats but I
learned a few things from the experience.
They're a bit young at that age to understand and really work with programming.
Some will get it but quite a few just don't have the attention span to handle
the back and forth that needs to go into solving a challenge. You are fortunate
to have some older kids in the class. The younger ones will watch the older ones
and learn by osmosis. In the end I was happy if they could tell me what steps
needed to go into the program.
I use Robolab and tailored most of their challenges so that they could solve
them in Pilot. Simple competitions like drag racing and tug-o-war will keep them
happy and allow you to sneak in gear ratio theory and some simple sensor work.
Older kids can also participate in the same events but use Inventor to make more
elaborate programs.
You could also take the approach of assigning a larger project like a minature
golf hole or building an amusement park ride. These don't need as much
programming but allow you teach things like gear trains and other simple machine
stuff.
Hope that helps. Good luck,
James
http://robotics.megagiant.com
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