Somerset Berkley Regional High School Robotics Engineering with LabView

1. Engineering Design Central Concepts: Engineering design involves practical problem solving, research, development, and invention/innovation, and requires designing, drawing, building, testing, and redesigning. Students should demonstrate the ability to use the engineering design process to solve a problem or meet a challenge. Ma.Science and Engineering Framework 2006

Standard 1.1 1.1 Identify and explain the steps of the engineering design process: identify the problem, research the problem, develop possible solutions, select the best possible solution(s), construct prototypes and/or models, test and evaluate, communicate the solutions, and redesign. Identify the problem Research the problem Redesign Communicate the solutions Develop solutions Select the best solution Test and evaluate Construct a prototype Ma.Science and Engineering Framework 2006

We were told to design, build, and Step 1 Identify the problem We were told to design, build, and program a robot that could climb the rope provided then ascend back down the rope. Ma.Science and Engineering Framework 2006

Step 2 Research the problem the internet sites that were helpful. Research results A : We learned from our research that we needed a tight grip on the rope. B : We learned that most people created a three wheeled robot that worked very well for them. C: We learned that the lighter the robot is the less weight it has to pull. Ma.Science and Engineering Framework 2006

Step 3 Develop solutions BRAINSTORM COLLABORATION Student : Share your ideas with your design team. List your ideas below. I had the idea to take the tires of the wheels and use two plastic pieces to grip the rope and allow the robot to climb Nick had the idea of to use one grey piece of a wheel along with a complete wheel to increase the grip and keep the rope from slipping out of the mechanism that allows the robot to climb We also received ideas from outside sources. They recommended the use of four little wheel and the bare motor in order to keep the mechanism from having to much grip meaning that the rope would get stuck and wouldn’t be able to move because the mechanism is to tight. Nick and I both agreed that the robot should be lightweight because the lighter the robot the easier it is to drag the robot. Nick and I also agreed that we needed to find a mechanism that would have just the right amount of grip to allow the robot to climb the rope without getting stuck Ma.Science and Engineering Framework 2006

We decided to try my idea first. The idea of using two bare Step 4 Select the best Possible solution(s) We decided to try my idea first. The idea of using two bare wheels to grip the rope. We also kept in mind that the robot should be lightweight and the mechanism should have grip on the rope Ma.Science and Engineering Framework 2006

The Somerset Berkley writing rubric will be used for assessment. Student : Our first robot was quite simple. We first took two wheels and removed the tires leaving only the grey pieces underneath. We took these two grey pieces and attached each one to a separate motor. Next we attached the motors together trying to keep the right distance between the two gray pieces so that the robot would have just the right amount of grip. The motors were connected simply using grey bar pieces and the little black and blue pieces that are used to connect objects. The two grey pieces were attached to the motor using the long black pieces that have a cross sort of Shape on the ends. We also used two bars on either side of the grey pieces in order to keep the rope in between the grey pieces. Lastly since we wanted our robot to be lightweight we simply attached the motors to the battery pack using only wires. This way the motors would simply lift the battery pack and we wouldn’t have to add extra weight by attaching the motors to the battery pack.

Build a robot with your NXT lego kit Step 5 Construct a prototype Build a robot with your NXT lego kit Create a computer program for your robot. Use the next slide(s) for the digital pictures of your prototypes and computer programs. Ma.Science and Engineering Framework 2006

Step 5 evidence 1st Prototype picture and computer program

Step 6 Test and Evaluate the solution(s) No our first prototype didn’t work because it couldn’t get a good enough grip on the rope 2. No our first prototype didn’t perform as expected because it kept slipping off the rope 3.The program we used was working perfectly fine but we needed to adjust it so it would have enough grip on the rope. 4. We used only pieces that are included in our kit so our first prototype did meet the design constraints . 5. Yes the robot was safe and nothing was harmed during this task. Ma.Science and Engineering Framework 2006

Step 6 evidence 1st modified prototype picture and computer program

Step 6 evidence Final design and computer program

We didn’t make a fourth design

Communicate the solution(s) Step 7 Communicate the solution(s) Provide the YouTube link of your video that shows how your robot meets the challenge. YouTube video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_31eFgRUtE Ma.Science and Engineering Framework 2006

We tried many different ways to get our robot to climb the Redesign We tried many different ways to get our robot to climb the rope and our final design was very similar to our first design. One of the differences was that we used tape to keep the two grey pieces touching so the robot would have grip on the rope and so the rope would remain in between the two Pieces. Lastly instead of using bars to hold the pieces together we used gears Ma.Science and Engineering Framework 2006