Robotics for Grandparents 2010, Day 1

We had a full class today - 8 people, which is just about right for the amount of equipment we have: 2 Mindstorms kits and 2 laptops.  Today's class covered a brief introduction to robotics and the Mindstorms components.  The class exercise was a simple one with no motion and no sensors.  It consisted of a 5 second wait, a 5 second beep, another 5 second wait, and a sound file "Brilliant!". 




Our first simple program


Predictably, the students were a little apprehensive, but were able to get started, write the program, download it, and run it.

Also predictably, they were excited when the program ran correctly! 

Next week we will program and run a robot to move without reference - simple dead reckoning.  During the six-week course, the robot and its tasks will become more complex.