Technology for Social improvement: The "Kindness Sensor" Robot

The Instructions

Introducing the theme of the workshop

Try to see determine if any participants have prior coding experience. Ask about their experience with accessibility assistance and struggles faced by vulnerable people. From there, introduce the concept of human senses compared with digital sensors, explaining how sensors collect and interpret data from their surroundings.

Introduce the importance of accessibility in shared public spaces, and how technology can help create a more inclusive environment.

Engage with the participants by asking what are our five senses and the organs responsible for sensing.

What is a sensor

Explain the basic operation of Sensors and some common examples that the participants might be familiar with, in addition to the types of sensing that will be used in the session.

Comparing computers to the previously mentioned human senses by using real world examples.

What is an output

Explain how a computer produces an output from received information by comparing it to how traffic lights work. Use the traffic light analogy to introduce how if-then conditions control computer actions.

Explain that an output is how a computer displays data.

Explain the workshop goals

Introduce the topic of the workshop content and the function of the app. Then, brainstorm with the participants scenarios in which the app could be useful.

Opening OctoStudio and changing the sprite appearance

Guide the participants to find and open the app on their devices. Optionally, introduce them to the sprite customization tools and allow them time to create their own custom sprite.

Introducing the OctoStudio UI

Explain the concept of block coding within OctoStudio and the different code block categories.

Loop function

Beginning the actual app logic, this places a continuous "forever" loop after the initial trigger.

1- Drag the forever loop and attach it to the start button

Create variable (Y)

Explain the idea of a variable as a container that is used to hold information

2- Add the set variable block and create a new variable named Y

3- To display the sprite direction, drag the info block and set it to direction

Mapping the iPad tilt angle to 180°

This part is needed to allow the sprite to rotate with the horizontal movement of the iPad.

4- Create another variable and name it X

5- Use the multiplication operator to multiply the horizontal device tilt angle by 4.5

6- Use the addition operator to add 90 to the result of the previous step and set it as the value of X

This way, the sprite will also rotate left or right depending on how the iPad is tilted

Sprite parameters

This step sets the default color for the sprite when in safe conditions, and allows the sprite to rotate with the device movement by setting its direction.

7- Set the default sprite color to go back to normal

8- Map the sprite direction to 180° range of motion

Loop conditions

Setting up the IF conditionals to create the safety warning

9- Using the earlier if-then concept, add an if condition and set it to check if X exceeds 130, indicating an unsafe condition

10- Completing that condition, set the sprite color to red and add a call for help

11- Mirroring the previous block, this sets up the exact same alert if the tilt drops below 30

Start app

Add a physical shake trigger to simulate the motion for a fall, and shake the device to start the app.

12- To finalize the script, replace the start button with a physical shake trigger to test the app

Conclusion

Summarize the workshop activity, including how sensors and conditional logic can be used to create any app

Technology for Social improvement: The "Kindness Sensor" Robot

Lesson Details

Author

Summary

Gallery

What You'll Need

Learning Objectives

Reflection