Welcome to the1st Interactive Science and Technology Open House

at George School!

Chris Odom www.basicxandrobotics.com

chris_odom@georgeschool.orgGeorge School, Newtown, PA

Session I• Introductions with personal/professional backgrounds• A plea for interactivity – too much material to cover• A Brief History of Computer Science at GS• The Evolution of Robotics Education at GS• What We Do Now• A Roundtable Discussion

– Success stories– What’s possible with robotics education

• The Future

A Brief History of CS at GS• The skill-level of the GS student• Desktop programming: Database applications• Desktop programming: Student driven applications• Kylan Turner, Brian Patton, Max, and ESRA• The birth of robotics at GS and the need for a textbook• Aim: Have fun with solid math and science education• Taking math and science for granted

Evolution of RoboticsEducation at GS

• The bumps and bruises of the early years• The transition from teacher-centered to student-centered• The role of the teacher, student, textbook, website• How to skip around• Challenge Problems• The benefits of peer instruction• The role of competitions and collaborations• From technical to creative: building on simple tasks• The cost: Individual purchases vs Classroom Packs

BasicX and Robotics Student Progress 2006-7

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31-Aug 10-Sep 20-Sep 30-Sep 10-Oct 20-Oct 30-Oct 9-Nov 19-Nov

Date Completed

Task

JimmyClaytonSamToriAndyAndrew LewRyanCliffOwenDrewChrisAnnieGregMichael

A Self-paced Curriculum

The BX-24 microcontroller• The BX-24 is a 24-pin

microcontroller made by NetMedia

• Small and Fast• Floating-point math• 16 I/O pins (8 built-in A-to-D

converters)• EEPROM storage

• About $45• Programmed with BasicX, a high-level language

compatible with Visual Basic. BasicX is free.

Exciting TechnologyThe BX-24 can be used to:• Autonomously control nearly any mechanical device

such as robots, vehicles, airplanes, vacuum cleaners, etc.

• Output electrical signals to (thereby controlling) motors, speakers, LCD panels, lights, LEDs, etc.

• Read data such as temperature, light intensity, magnetic field strength, force, distance, flame (IR), conductivity, etc.

• Record data in space, underwater, your back yard

Personal Computer vs BX-24

The PC:• Is faster• Has more computing power• Is larger, heavier and therefore more stationary• Is more expensive• Is dependent on AC power• Is better suited for gaming and desktop programming

Why BX-24?

The BX24:• Is smaller and therefore transportable• Is cheaper• Has no moving parts: data a programs are burned in to

the chip. Can be removed from power• Runs on a 9V battery• Is better suited for remote and mobile applications• Students love it!

Creating a Program• The program is written on the PC

in the BasicX language • BasicX can be downloaded for free

at www.basicx.com• The code is saved as a simple text

file. (New programs start with a blank page.)

• When the program is ready to run, simply press one button to compile the program into a language the BX-24 can understand

• The compiled program is sent to the BX-24 via a serial cable

The Robodyssey Motherboard• Robodyssey Systems in

Trenton, NJ designed and sells the RAMB

• Makes programming the BX-24 easy

• About $45• Could do it yourself but why?

Walking RobotsWheeled Robots (My students use the Mouse)

Expressive Robots(ESRA)

Kits

Just Toys?• Fun, but not a toy• Learn a real computer language• Learn logic skills• Learn electronics• Research universities are now using the BX-24 to teach

computer science• Microcontrollers allow the average person to do what

only NASA could do just a few years ago• Springboards into other “serious” fields such as

electronics, aerospace engineering, manufacturing, automotive and medical applications, etc.

BasicX and Robotics• Textbook written for novices and

beginners ages 12 and up (especially for high school and college)

• Only one of its kind• A teacher by your side to walk you

through material• Over 300 problems and 400 full

color images. 365 pages.• A complete and rich curriculum• $44.95 textbook• Who has it?

http://www.us.playstation.com/News/Editorials/38

Retail $499 (20GB), $599 (60 GB)

Robots in Action

• Tori’s Morse Code– Brute force vs. elegance

• Robot Dance– Art in motion

• Line Following Mouse– Not dead-reckoning but not so smart

• Follow Me– A bit smarter, but still constrained

• Obstacle Avoidance/Tabletop Rover– Human & robot intelligence are

required• Clean Sweep with Live Video!

– Smart and useful (sort-of)• Thor: Firefighting Robot

– Smart and useful (sort-of)

• ESRA Expressive robot– Used in psychological research

labs across the country including Yale

– Autistic research in high school?• The Roach

– A walking robot• RoboSapien Hack

– Brain surgery• The E-Bot and Crawler

– H-bridge technology• RC Toys and Car Hack

– H-bridge technology• Robot Soccer Junior

– 2050 Challenge• Mini Grand Challenge

– 2015 Congressional Mandate

Let’s take a look at a few robots controlled by the BX-24.

Scientific and Other BX-24 Apps

• Relays– The itty-bitty BX-24 can control household

appliances

• Spirit II– The BX-24 takes GS payload into space

• Environment Sensing Station– Inexpensive, robust, remote in situ data

collecting

• Helium Balloon Payload– Another in situ scientific platform

Robotics isn’t all that the BX-24 can do. Take a look:

It can be rocket science!In 2003, NASA, Penn State, and Clemson University launched a Terrier-Orion rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia. The rocket, part of the SPIRT II campaign, was in space for about 10 minutes and experienced nearly 20-G’s during liftoff.

SPIRIT II Payload• George School physics and

robotics students designed an experiment that flew onboard that rocket.

• A BX-24 and RAMB motherboard were used to measure the forces of liftoff and any changes in temperature within the payload.

• The experiment cost less than $100 (the force sensors cost 4¢ each) and returned excellent data.

SPIRIT II Results

Environment Sensing

Environment Sensing Data

See www.basicxandrobotics.com/apps/Environment%20Sensing%20Station/index.html

Environment Sensing Data

See www.basicxandrobotics.com/apps/Environment%20Sensing%20Station/index.html

Environment Sensing Data

See www.basicxandrobotics.com/apps/Environment%20Sensing%20Station/index.html

Balloon Research on the Cheap

Balloon Data

Balloon DataHeating During Ascent

T = -253982t2 + 353465t - 122950R2 = 0.9705

25.0

26.0

27.0

28.0

29.0

16:36 16:37 16:37 16:38 16:39 16:40 16:40 16:41 16:42

Time, t

Tem

pera

ture

, T(C

)

Cooling Due to Sunset

T = 360582t2 - 504942t + 176797R2 = 0.9938

22.0

24.0

26.0

28.0

30.0

16:41 16:42 16:42 16:43 16:44 16:45 16:45 16:46 16:47

Time, t

Tem

pera

ture

, T(C

)

Physics with Microcontrollers

• Stopwatch• Sonic and IR Rangers• Position, Velocity, and

Acceleration• Voltage Dividers• Force Meter• Temperature Sensor• Light Sensor• Pendulum Velocity and

Period

I believe this is the next wave about to hit physics education.

• Sound Waves and Beat Frequencies

• Optics• Voltmeter• Ohm-meter• Ammeter• Computer Modeling• Projectile Launcher

(Compare computer code with physics student’s derivations)

Physics: OpticsCalibrating and using the $0.75 light sensor:

Physics: Projectile MotionA collaboration between physics and robotics students.

Physics: Projectile MotionA collaboration between physics and robotics students.

Outreach

A Roundtable Discussion

The Future• The Intel Mac• Web-based content• Collaborations• Mini Grand Challenge• Competitions

– Trinity Firefighting (www.trincoll.edu/events/robot/)– Penn State Abington (www.cede.psu.edu/~avanzato/robots/contests/)– Robot Madness (www.robotmadness.org)– RoboCup (www.robocup.org)– RoboCup Junior (www.robocupjunior.org)– George School?

• Future workshops

Dinner and a Movie

• Robot Madness (and Robot Soccer) 2006• Thor the Movie 2006• Many short robot demo clips

During lunch I will have a few movies running on a continuous loop, including: