In this activity, participants will build their very own robot companion! They supply the imagination, and we supply the electronic parts, building materials, and mentoring to bring their ideas to life. At the end of the sessions, each participant gets to bring their new robot home!

This event is designed to work best as a 3 hour activity, and is intended for makers of 8 or older. It requires a laser cutter to prepare the cardboard and plywood parts.

Students solidify their understanding of the terms "circumference" and "rotation" through the use of LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robotics components. They measure the circumference of robot wheels to determine how far the robot can travel during one rotation of an NXT motor. They sharpen their metric system measurement skills by precisely recording the length of a wheel's circumference in centimeters, as well as fractions of centimeters. Through this activity, students practice brainstorming ways to solve a problem when presented with a given scenario, improve their ability to measure and record lengths to different degrees of precision, and become familiar with common geometric terms (such as perimeter and rotation).

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Simple and efficient, locomotion is how many of earth’s creatures get around. It’s no wonder, then, that engineers have taught robots to move in the same way. In the _Journal of Bionic Engineering_, researchers report a new kind of worm-like robot that features a motion-correcting eye. The robot is composed of detachable silicone chambers that deform when air is pumped into or out of them. A central computer synchronizes different air pressures in the chambers to produce locomotion. Connecting two worms in tandem allows for steering left or right and gives this modular robot the ability to grip and move objects. Because rotation tends to send the robot slightly off course over time, the robot’s creators connected a camera that measures this error and reports how to correct it, making this robot not only mobile and multifunctional, but also smart..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Students learn about humankind’s search for life in outer space and how it connects to robotics and engineering. NASA is interested in sending exploratory missions to one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa, which requires a lot of preparatory research and development on Earth before it can happen. One robot currently being engineered as a proof of concept for a possible trip to explore Europa is the Icefin, which is an innovative robot that can explore under ice and in water, which are the believed conditions on Europa. This lesson provides students with intriguing information about far off (distance and time!) space missions and field robotics, and also sets up two associated robotics and arts integration activities to follow. The lesson can be used individually to provide new information to students, or as a precursor to the associated activities. A PowerPoint® presentation and worksheet are provided.

Join STEM in 30 to see the FIRST robots in action and learn how robots are used throughout the aerospace industry

Teachers, tune in to this special, 50th episode of STEM in 30 to learn all about STEM in real life.

Students develop an understanding of the concepts of "push" and "pull" as they "save" stuffed animals from danger using LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots. After learning more about the concepts through a robot demonstration, students explore the concepts themselves in the context of saving stuffed animala from the table edges. They choose to either push or pull the animal to safety, depending on the orientation of the robot and toy. They see the consequences of their choices, learning the importance of understanding these force concepts and the differences between them.

Students will be able to display their understanding of robotics by sharing their robotic hand.

The Software Engineering Program (SEP) is a multi-year, comprehensive, standards-aligned computer science education program for grades 6 to 12. The goals of the program are:

-Increase the number of high school graduates, particularly from traditionally underrepresented groups, that are ready to pursue new and emerging technology-driven roles across industries.

-Develop student computational thinking and problem-solving skills in real-world contexts.

The SEP curriculum gives students instruction and experience in the following areas: computer programming, robotics, web design, physical computing, and game design. SEP students participate in local and central hackathons, and in work-based experiences with major industry leaders and partners.

This course examines the issues, principles, and challenges toward building machines that cooperate with humans and with other machines. Philosophical, scientific, and theoretical insights into this subject will be covered, as well as how these ideas are manifest in both natural and artificial systems (e.g. software agents and robots).

In this video we review some of the parts and tools you will need to build a spider bot. Created by Karl Wendt.

In this video we show you how to hack a click n' stick tap light to make a body for Spider. Created by Karl Wendt.

In this video we show you how to connect and wire Spider's motor controller. Created by Karl Wendt.