By Eric Greene RMS / I. S. 192 Q

Smart Start Question How would you get the robot to flirt with disaster by touching the edge of the “table” as many times as possible without falling off? Using a Light Sensor, students will be able to program their robot to touch the edge of a without falling off. Students will also program the robot to run for 90 seconds and perform random turns.

Calculating a Threshold Turn on your NXT Press the arrow button until you reach View. Select View, go to Reflected Light. Select Reflected Light, then select the Port that your Light Sensor is attached to. Select that Port, then place your Light Sensor over the dark surface and then the white surface, take the readings, add them up, and then divide by two to find your Threshold.

Rules for this Activity The robot must run randomly for 90 seconds. The robot must “touch” the edge of the table. There must be two students counting to verify the number of touches the robot makes. A robot that goes off the edge of the table is disqualified. A robot must turn itself off after 90 seconds. If it does not, it will be disqualified.

Summary Meeting all the requirements successfully completes the activity. If more than one robot competes, the robot that “touches” the table edges most often wins, as long as it meets all the other requirements. Students are to record the data from the “touches” and compare them with other groups. If you finish early, experiment with changing motor power levels and “Loop” time durations, and record and compare the data.

Sample Program