The Robotic Dawg

1. The Robotic Dawg Virginia Ellis, Elizabeth Whieldon, Amber Schwarzenbach, HolliVarnadore, Caroline King; University of Georgia Introduction Results Lesson • Today, many elementary schools are trying to implement engineering concepts into their curriculum • Teaching students basic engineering concepts improves their math, science and technology skills as well as allowing students to use their creativity • We built and programmed a robotic dog and created a lesson plan for elementary aged students to illustrate these concepts • Begin the lesson by asking students to share what they already know about robots • Give students a brief background and introduction to building robots and their purposes. Explain and describe to them the different types of robots that they can choose to build • Introduce the students to the programming software that will be used along with the robot. • Divide students into groups of 5 or 6 and give each group a the necessary materials and a Lego Mindstorms Education-Robot Kit • Let each group decide which type of robot they want to build. As the students are building and programming their robots, walk around to keep them on track and assist them if needed. • When students are finished building and programming their robots, ask them to create a poster explaining their robot. Each group will present their posters to their peers so students can see the various types of robots that can be built and hear about their peers’ experiences with building them. Caption for your photo Conclusions • After completing this project, we learned that, although there are numerous steps involved in building a robot, the steps were very clear and easy to follow. • We feel that, with assistance, this project would be a good fit for advanced students in the 4th-5th grade. • This project requires hands-on manipulations and use of technical skills. • Students can really benefit from using robotics in the classroom because it pushes students to dig deeper and enhances their science, mathematics, and engineering skills. • Statistics have shown that it is very beneficial for students to be exposed to engineering concepts at a young age Our final robot was the RoboDawg. Our robot’s eyes are a distance ultra-sonic sensors. This sensor keeps him from running into things such as the wall and tells him when to turn. RoboDawg also has a sound sensor in his nose which helps him to respond to voices so that he comes in the direction he is called. RoboDawg in a loop so he continuously performs these actions. Objectives To explain the engineering process To introduce and explain how to program robots using the software given RoboDawg responding to voice when being called