Students construct rockets from balloons propelled along a guide string. They use this model to learn about Newton's three laws of motion, examining the effect of different forces on the motion of the rocket.

Students create four-legged walking robots and measure how far they travel across different types of surfaces. They design and create "shoes" to add to the robots' feet and observe the effect of their modifications on the net distance traveled across the various surface types. This activity illustrates how the specialized locomotive features of different species help them to survive or thrive in their habitat environments. The activity is best as an enrichment tool that follows a lesson that introduces the concept of biological adaptation to students.

Students continue their exploration of the human senses and their engineering counterparts, focusing on the auditory sense. Working in small groups, students design, create and run programs to control the motion of LEGO® TaskBots. By doing this, they increase their understanding of the use and function of sound sensors, gain experience writing robot programs, and reinforce their understanding of the sensory process.

Students use the robot paths they documented during the associated Robots on Ice Engineering Challenge activity to learn about and then make artwork. During the previous activity, students recorded the path of their robots through a maze in order to collect data during a remote research simulation. Now, they take a new look at the robot paths, seeing them from an art perspective as continuous line drawings. Students learn about Picasso’s famous works of art that used the same technique. Then they learn the artistic definition of a line and see examples of how it is used in different art pieces; they practice making continuous line drawings and then create sculptures of their drawings using colorful wire. A PowerPoint® presentation is provided to guide the activity.

Students' understanding of how robotic ultrasonic sensors work is reinforced in a design challenge involving LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots and ultrasonic sensors. Student groups program their robots to move freely without bumping into obstacles (toy LEGO people). They practice and learn programming skills and logic design in parallel. They see how robots take input from ultrasonic sensors and use it to make decisions to move, resulting in behavior similar to the human sense of sight but through the use of sound sensors, more like echolocation. Students design-test-redesign-retest to achieve successful programs. A PowerPoint® presentation and pre/post quizzes are provided.

Using the LEGO® NXT robotics kit, students construct and program robots to illustrate and explore the Fibonacci sequence. Within teams, students are assigned roles: group leader, chassis builder, arm builder, chief programmer, and Fibonacci verifier. By designing a robot that moves based on the Fibonacci sequence of numbers, they can better visualize how quickly the numbers in the sequence grow. To program the robot to move according to these numbers, students break down the sequence into simple algebraic equations so that the computer can understand the Fibonacci sequence.

In this segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members use computers to program a robot in preparation for the FIRST LEGO League Challenge tournament. Despite meticulous planning and programming by its designers, an autonomous robot can encounter unexpected challenges. This is true for both LEGOŰ_í_Œ_ robots and Martian rovers. In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members enter the FIRST LEGOŰ_í_Œ_ League Challenge tournament and work as a team to program their LEGOŰ_í_Œ_ robot to navigate a complex obstacle course. Grades 3-8.

LEGO® robotics uses LEGO®s as a fun tool to explore robotics, mechanical systems, electronics, and programming. This seminar is primarily a lab experience which provides students with resources to design, build, and program functional robots constructed from LEGO®s and a few other parts such as motors and sensors.

Will robots take away our jobs? Will they have their own free will and – as some prophesy – have the power to take over the world? Or will robots offer a great contribution to our well-being and help us to achieve a sustainable future?

Many complex real-world problems can be solved using artificial intelligence. However, while combining artificial intelligence with robotics may offer positive implications for our society, it also raises ethical questions.

This course consists of four modules which can be followed in any order and accessed at any time. However, if you prefer to be part of a group with specific assignment deadlines and discussion forums, you can join and start the course on any of the following dates: June 25, September 3 or November 12, 2018.

In this course, you will be exposed to the potential societal and ethical impact of robots. We will touch upon the design principles that developers should adhere to and critically reflect on issues such as robot autonomy, consciousness, and intelligence.

At the end of the course, you will work with other participants to develop a groundbreaking solution that can be used by robot developers in the near future.

This course is a spin-off of the “Mind of the Universe” documentary series, created by the Dutch broadcasting company VPRO and professor Robbert Dijkgraaf, Princeton University. A number of universities in The Netherlands have used the open source material of the documentary series as a starting point to create similar learning experiences.

Through the two lessons and five activities in this unit, students' knowledge of sensors and motors is integrated with programming logic as they perform complex tasks using LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots and software. First, students are introduced to the discipline of engineering and "design" in general terms. Then in five challenge activities, student teams program LEGO robots to travel a maze, go as fast/slow as possible, push another robot, follow a line, and play soccer with other robots. This fifth unit in the series builds on the previous units and reinforces the theme of the human body as a system with sensors performing useful functions, not unlike robots. Through these design challenges, students become familiar with the steps of the engineering design process and come to understand how science, math and engineering including computer programming are used to tackle design challenges and help people solve real problems. PowerPoint® presentations, quizzes and worksheets are provided throughout the unit.

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 will be able to:

Describe the basics of Robots.

Describe basic hardware and software of the LEGO Robot.

Write sequential code for LEGO Robot to move.

Students learn basic concepts of robotic logic and programming by working with Boe-Bot robots—a simple programmable robotic platform designed to illustrate basic robotic concepts. Under the guidance of the instructor and a provided lab manual, student groups build simple circuits and write codes to make their robots perform a variety of tasks, including obstacle and light detection, line following and other motion routines. Eight sub-activities focus on different sensors, including physical sensors, phototransistors and infrared headlights. Students test their newly acquired skills in the final activity, in which they program their robots to navigate an obstacle course.

Student pairs first act out the instructions a robot is given with one person providing instructions and the other person following the instructions. This activity helps students understand how robots are programmed and with what type of precision commands must be given. Then students program LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT taskbots to navigate a simple maze. The goal is to teach students that robot computers simply follow directions exactly as they are given, thus one must be very clear and logical with programming instructions.

This lesson introduces students to the major characteristics of robots. The associated activity uses the LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT system as an example. Before studying robots in more detail, it is important for students to consider the many items they encounter in their daily lives that are robots so they can explore ways engineers can utilize robotics to solve problems in everyday life.The activity also serves as an introduction to the LEGO NXT system so that students may utilize it as an educational tool in subsequent lessons and activities.