An Intro to Robots and Computer Programming

What is programming? How we communicate with the computer so that it can do what we want it to do. In order to do this, we have to learn a language that it recognizes and understands. Our objective: to learn how to program a robot so that it will move the way we tell it to.

The Robot and its components Sound sensor The main computer part; where all the programs are stored. UV sensor Touch sensor Light sensor

THE BLOCKS AND WHAT THEY MEAN… “Move” forward, backwards, or turn at any angle “Record” or “play” sounds “Sound”….Play sound file or tone “Display” an image on the screen “Wait”….use sensors on robot to trigger next task “Loop”…used to repeat the same task multiple times “Switch”…equivalent to an ‘if’ statement… If this happens, do this action. Else, do another action.

How to Program the Robot Drag the block onto the grid, making sure it connects with the previous block Connect the block in the order you want the robot to do the action- If you want to use the loop button, put all the steps you want the robot to repeat within the box. If you want to use the switch button, make sure you define what you want the robot to do in each instance.

What to do when your “code” is complete Hook the robot up to the computer using the USB cable given. At the bottom right hand corner of the grid, there are a set of buttons that look like this: Used to view files stored in the robot Used to download a program to the robot. Used to stop running the program. Used to test out the program by downloading the program and playing it right away (USB will still be attached).