Introduction to mobile robot control using Smart Cutebot and micro:bit

If the Smart Cutebot hasn’t been assembled yet, this is a great opportunity to have the students put the system together. It is verry easy and will give them confidence for the tasks ahead.

The students explore the different parts of the robot and try to identify each of the components, specially those that make it possible line following. They can put the sensors over the printed line on the paper track to see how their states change. That way they can see that the system is reacting to the different conditions on the physical world.

After that they can look for information (web sites and videos) about how these sensors work and why they can be used to detect lines.

The students will go to the MakeCode website, and get into the section for programming the micro:bit. Once there, if they don’t have any previous experience with miceo:bit, they can start exploring and following some of the tutorials presented there. That way they can learn the basics of micro:bit programming with MakeCode.

Once they feel comfortable with the system, they will go to the extensions sections and look for the Smart Cutebot Extension.

After loading it, they can explore the new blocks that will appear in MakeCode. They can build some test programs to see how the robot’s motor s and LEDs work. After programming the micro:bit, they can put it on the Smart Cutebot and see the result of their programming. They can keep doing this until they feel confident programming the robot for basic movements.

Students follow the instructions for Lesson 5 in the booklet included with the Smart Cutebot. Those instructions will help them build a basic line follower. They will build the program, save in on the micro:bit and test it with the Smart Cutebot on the paper track.

Students will test if their programs work without problems, and if they find any they will have to check their code and fix any error they find, and test it again. They can also test changes to the sample code to see if they can improve it, making the robot go faster or turning more precisely, etc.

Students are presented with a laser cut modular track that the teacher has previously prepared based on the atteched design (shown on the following image):

The idea is that by cutting the provided pieces many times (and creating new pieces with different paths) a kit for track building can be had that is adjustable and can be changed depending on the level of difficulty the teacher wants to present to the students. Teachers can use the provided file as a template to create more complex paths with steeper curves, bifurcations, etc.

Students then will have to adapt their programs to have their robots navigate succesfully on the new track. They will have to, collaboratively, propose changes to their codes based on their navigation strategies.

Each team will show how their robots work for the modular track, explaining their solutions, what worked and what didn’t work. At the end everyone can share their thoughts on how to improve teh robot design, the track, and how this activity and what they have learnt can be applied to real life situations.