In this video we wire Bit-zee's camera's shutter and power functions to some transistors on the bread board and then we connect the transistors to the Arduino. Created by Karl Wendt.

This video shows you how to reduce the complexity of your Bit-zee while improving the speed of your Bit-zee digital camera. Created by Karl Wendt.

In this video we show you how to craft the chassis for the Bit-zee using a $3 piece of Lexan and tap light housing. Created by Karl Wendt.

This video shows how Bit-zee's shell was modified to allow space for the bumper switches. Created by Karl Wendt.

In this video we show you how to connect Spider's motors to his tap light base. Created by Karl Wendt.

In this video we show you how and where to create the mounting holes in BIt-zee's Lexan base for the arduino, batteries, camera, on/off switch and wire routing. Created by Karl Wendt.

This course examines computers anthropologically, as artifacts revealing the social orders and cultural practices that create them. Students read classic texts in computer science along with cultural analyses of computing history and contemporary configurations. It explores the history of automata, automation and capitalist manufacturing; cybernetics and WWII operations research; artificial intelligence and gendered subjectivity; robots, cyborgs, and artificial life; creation and commoditization of the personal computer; the growth of the Internet as a military, academic, and commercial project; hackers and gamers; technobodies and virtual sociality. Emphasis is placed on how ideas about gender and other social differences shape labor practices, models of cognition, hacking culture, and social media.

Welcome to 2.007! This course is a first subject in engineering design. With your help, this course will be a great learning experience exposing you to interesting material, challenging you to think deeply, and providing skills useful in professional practice. A major element of the course is design of a robot to participate in a challenge that changes from year to year. This year, the theme is cleaning up the planet as inspired by the movie Wall-E.
From its beginnings in 1970, the 2.007 final project competition has grown into an Olympics of engineering.  See this MIT News story for more background, a photo gallery, and videos about this course.

Student teams create laparoscopic surgical robots designed to reduce the invasiveness of diagnosing endometriosis and investigate how the disease forms and spreads. Using a synthetic abdominal cavity simulator, students test and iterate their remotely controlled, camera-toting prototype devices, which must fit through small incisions, inspect the organs and tissue for disease, obtain biopsies, and monitor via ongoing wireless image-taking. Note: This activity is the core design project for a semester-long, three-credit high school engineering course. Refer to the associated curricular unit for preparatory lessons and activities.

Students quantify the percent of light reflected from solutions containing varying concentrations of red dye using LEGO© MINDSTORMS© NXT bricks and light sensors. They begin by analyzing a set of standard solutions with known concentrations of food coloring, and plot data to graphically determine the relationship between percent reflected light and dye concentration. Then they identify dye concentrations for two unknown solution samples based on how much light they reflect. Students gain an understanding of light scattering applications and how to determine properties of unknown samples based on a set of standard samples.

This video shows you how to "hotwire" a digital camera. This video outlines the first step in making our digital camera work in the Bit-zee robot. The required voltage for the camera was determined by adding the1.5 volt AAA batteries (there are three of them) together to get 4.5 volts (because the batteries are wired in series). Since new batteries usually have a voltage that exceeds their marked rating the camera can easily run on the 5 volts that the center terminal of our L298 motor controller provides. Created by Karl Wendt.

In this video we show you how to attach Bit-zee's camera and route the wires. Created by Karl Wendt.

In this video we attach and wire a digital voice recorder to Bit-zee. Created by Karl Wendt.

Students discover the mathematical constant phi, the golden ratio, through hands-on activities. They measure dimensions of "natural objects"—a star, a nautilus shell and human hand bones—and calculate ratios of the measured values, which are close to phi. Then students learn a basic definition of a mathematical sequence, specifically the Fibonacci sequence. By taking ratios of successive terms of the sequence, they find numbers close to phi. They solve a squares puzzle that creates an approximate Fibonacci spiral. Finally, the instructor demonstrates the rule of the Fibonacci sequence via a LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT robot equipped with a pen. The robot (already created as part of the companion activity, The Fibonacci Sequence & Robots) draws a Fibonacci spiral that is similar to the nautilus shape.

Exploring Computer Science is a yearlong course developed around a framework of both computer science content and computational practice. Assignments and instruction are contextualized to be socially relevant and meaningful for diverse students. Units utilize a variety of tools/platforms and culminate with final projects around Human-Computer Interaction, Problem Solving, Web Design (HTML, CSS), Programming (Scratch, Edware), Computing & Data Analysis, and Robotics. ECS is recognized nationally as a preparatory course for AP Computer Science Principles. Watch this video and view this fact sheet for more information.

This document is a history of the challenges of starting an FTC Robotics Program as a class (as opposed to a club). The intended audience includes anyone who is thinking of starting an FTC Robotics program whether class or club. The reason “FTC” is specifically mentioned is that involvement with a major national program has many positive (and negative) aspects. The goal of this document is to provide the reader a compendium of all the problems (and posited solutions) we encountered.

Students develop and solidify their understanding of the concept of "perimeter" as they engage in a portion of the civil engineering task of land surveying. Specifically, they measure and calculate the perimeter of a fenced in area of "farmland," and see that this length is equivalent to the minimum required length of a fence to enclose it. Doing this for variously shaped areas confirms that the perimeter is the minimal length of fence required to enclose those shapes. Then students use the technology of a LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robot to automate this task. After measuring the perimeter (and thus required fence length) of the "farmland," students see the NXT robot travel around this length, just as a surveyor might travel around an area during the course of surveying land or measuring for fence materials. While practicing their problem solving and measurement skills, students learn and reinforce their scientific and geometric vocabulary.