Robots in Hartwell

On 19th December 2013 the  junkbot project visited  Class 4 of Hartwell C of E Primary School, Northamptonshire, UK.

The session was split into two.

Robonova in action

The one part  involved using robots to create a routine based around either Robonova robots (an image to the left taken from an earlier event) and a Sphero were  were brought in. 

• Two groups use the Robvova (robots to create a dance routine. Infrared controllers were used to select the movements. 'Memory' came from the children writing down the key presses used in the dance routine to be repeated later during a 'dance off'. 
• The third group used the Sphero (http://www.gosphero.com/) robot; both programming them (using an App Sphero Macrolab on the iPad) and directly controlled it using another App (OrbBasic)on the iPad. 

So all three groups did some of the basic principles of programming/problem-solving by deciding what they wanted to do and create a routine to do it.

The other part was building a drawing junkbot  from cans, small electric motors, broken propellers, wires, pencils, pens, and drinks cans. An example from a previous group is shown to the left.






More details on the activities/session plans can be found at:

• on the junkbots project go to: http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/ 
• on the work developed and a case study can be found at: http://www.hestem-sw.org.uk/project?id=16&pp=540 or  http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Junkbot_june_northampton.pdf
•  in-school session plan can be found at: http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Planning_Process_junkbots_KS3_4_longer.docx
• STEM club session plan can be found at: http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Planning_Process_junkbots_primary_short8.docx