Turn assignments in at the beginning of class on the specified due date. Late work will be accepted with a grade loss per class session. Robot Construction / Programming Assignments can be done in teams, using no outside resources.
Tankbot0: Due 18 Sep. Complete construction of Tankbot IAW chapter 5 of the book. Do LEGO Mindstrorm tutorial and familiarize yourself with construction and the parts. Check your kits to ensure that all major pieces (motors, wheels, etc.) are included. Install the firmware on your bricks.
Tankbot: Due 25 Sep. Use NQC to program your Tankbot to:
1. Continually go in circles, but at a preset circle do a circle in the opposite direction (creating a figure
8). The preset time to do the other circle should be a constant defined at the top of the program.
2. Do a ladder search. Starting every third cycle in the ladder beep for 5 seconds.
You must use a function and a task (in addition to main) in at least one of your programs.
Bumpbot: Due 2 Oct. Use NQC to program your Bumpbot to:
1. Move forward at a constant speed until it hits something. At that point it should go into reverse for a set
amount of time and then turn for a short plus random duration. Then go forward again.
2. Add to the program above. Start at power level 4. If within 5 seconds it hits something slow to the next
slower power level and start beeping for 5 seconds. Keep repeating this as long as it keeps hitting objects
within 5 seconds. If it goes greater than 5 seconds without hitting anything it should speed up by one power
level. Keep repeating this until you reach the max speed. Depending on how long it takes for your reverse and
turn, you may need to increase the 5 seconds to 10 or 15 to make it interesting.
Both these programs should work for the robot running on the floor.
Bugbot: Due 14 Oct. Use NQC to program your Bugbot to drive around corners through a corridor. It should not be possible for it to get stuck in a corner.
Tribot/Onebot: Due 21 Oct. You should build and demo both, but only Onebot will be graded. Do the programs in the book. In addition, use NQC to program your bot to stop when it gets out of the light (such as under a table). Challenge One: Due 30 Oct. Design and construct a robot that can go over multiple 2x4s laying flat. The angle of approach will be less than 30 degrees. Extra credit: design and construct a robot that can go over multiple 2x4s laying flat and/or upright (stationary, with a height of almost 4 inches). Challenge Two: Due 11 Nov. Program a robot that will go toward the light. It should stop when the robot gets near the light (within one foot). Final Project: Due 25 Nov, 2 Dec, 4 Dec, & 9 Dec. Build and program a robot that can solve mazes. The mazes will be in a 6x6 foot area with 1x1 foot obstacles. Your robot will start at the center of one end of the maze facing the light. The goal will be at the other end with a light marking its position. Your robot will be required to run two different mazes. Neither maze will have traps. Maze One will be set up on 25 Nov and your robot will be required to solve it at the start of class on that day. Maze Two will be set up on 11 Dec and your robot will be required to solve it at the start of class on that day. Your robot must solve each maze in a reasonable time (approximately 3 minutes) or be showing continual progress toward the goal (judged by the instructor). It will be graded on it's first attempt, although further adjustments and subsequent attempts will be allowed for less than full credit. The robot should be designed to solve any maze so having initial movements adjusted for the particular maze will not be allowed. After all the robots ready to run have completed the maze on 2 Dec, we will have a race involving all of the robots on 4 Dec. On 9 Dec we will meet in Olin 014 for a public demo. Each team will present their robot (this will be graded) and do a demo of how it works (about 5 minutes total time). After this we will have 2 or 3 races depending on time. Please invite anybody who may be interested.