Tucson Technics: September 2010

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

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Monday, September 27, 2010

Session 2 - Challenges

Today was the 2nd session of the Fall Season. We went over the various components of the LEGO Mindstorms NXT Kits, including:

NXT Brick (computer, display, buttons, ports)
Servo Motor
Touch Sensor
Color Sensor
Ultrasonic Sensor
USB Cable
Sensor/Motor cables

We learned the basics of programming the Mindstorms NXT.

The 11 members were broken up into 3 teams. Team A, Team B, and Team C.

Teams were given mission cards. They built each project and had them reviewed. This became competitive as teams tried to rapidly complete the missions and move onto the next.

Here are the challenges:

Motor Challenge 1 - Rotations Forward

Motor Challenge 2 - Rotations Forward/Backwards

Touch Sensor Challenge 1 - Laser

Assignment 2 - Word Search and Drawing NXT Brick

Here is Assignment 2 - these are meant to be fun and to stimulate the Engineering mind inside each of you.

When you do the word search, be sure to time yourself. There is a little chart on the right side of the sheet to help you collect this data.

Initial Questionnaire Results

Of the 10 members participating in the initial questionnaire/survey, here are the results:

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

1st Session and Assignment 1

Yesterday we had our first session. 10 future roboticists were on hand. We discussed robots, LEGO's, LEGO Mindstorms NXT, LEGO Digital Designer software, LEGO Mindstorms NXT Software. We programmed a Mindstorms NXT Brick and a Servo Motor.

A questionnaire was completed to get an idea of their experience, comfort levels and interests. Results to be published soon.

Assignment 1 had members drawing a picture of a robot.