Robotics and Programming Finch Robot

What is Programming?  Programming is the process of developing a command or series of commands for a computer to follow.  There are several types of programming languages, just like there are many different languages in the world.

How can programming be used?  Programming can be used to tell a computer to do almost anything you can imagine.  Small computers can be installed in machines to operate them electronically or with programming.

How do robots use programming?  Robots are generally programmed to do a specific task or series of tasks.  How does that work though?  Command lines  If/Then statements

Commands  Think of a command as giving a soldier an order. The soldier does exactly what he is told, as soon as he hears the command, and does nothing more and nothing less.  If there is a flaw in your code, the command will be executed in a flawed fashion.  Generally this happens when there is a large series of tasks to be executed at once or in sequence.

If/Then Statements  These are conditional commands.  What does conditional mean?  Think of it like this:  If you press the up arrow, then the robot will travel forward.  If the robot senses too much heat, its fan will turn on to cool it off.  There must be a condition met (pressing the up arrow, or a high temperature) for the robot to execute a command (travelling forward, turning a fan on).  These can be simple, or extremely complex, involving multiple actions and commands per condition.

Let’s Program our Finch Robot! Instead of using a complex language, the Finch robot uses a programming language called SNAP! Blocks of codes are combined in sequences rather than thousands of lines of codes being manually typed.

Get to know your robot buddy!

Tips for Programming It’s useful to have Finch stand upright on its tail as you build and experiment with code. This will cut down on the chaos as students figure it out. Otherwise you’ll have lots of robots running dropping to the floor or running wild, when it would be easier to experiment and troubleshoot while it is stationary on the table. You’ll still be able to see the wheels move, the lights light up, and hear any sounds from the buzzer.