For those Wooster students interested in the field of physics, many would say one of the biggest draws to the department is Don Jacobsís Physics 220 class. Rather than having a cumulative exam or final research paper, the electronics class, offered during the fall semester, provides students with the opportunity to create their very own robot. During the fall semester, four different groups totaling ten students, spent three weeks working, tweaking and learning all about the tedious process and the hours of effort it takes to put together a robot.
ìThe goal of the project was to have students learn how to interface a sensor to the microprocessor [computer] of the robot, to program the robot to use the sensor and then to build a robot and task that was appropriate for the sensor,” says† Jacobs. Students began the project last November and in preparation for the project, had one lab every week since the class began in September to learn ìas much about the basics that we could in order to get to work,” added Patrick Butler í12. Two weeks before the start of the project, the students went through a tutorial on the program they would be using in creating their robots to learn about the necessary modem, wires and gears.
The students were then broken into four groups ó two groups of three and two more of two.† As a group they had to decide what they wanted to do with the sensors; more specifically, what type of task they hoped for their robot to accomplish. Each robot was started from the industry standard LEGO Mindstorms NXT Robot kit, which features the NXT, or brain, of the robot. The NXT is a computer-controlled LEGO Brick which allows the robot to ìcome alive” and act out the necessary task. ìThe robots were built from a kit so the microprocessor/computer, motor for the wheels and some basic sensors were already at hand. This allowed the students to focus on their new sensors (measuring force, radioactivity, acceleration and direction [compass] and the ways to get those measures into the computer,” added Jacobs.
Jacobs gave the class options for what they could do, but ultimately it was the studentsí decision to ìbe creative with the project,” said Alison Huff í10, whose group included Margaret Raabe í12 and Blake Sword í12. The group, which featured the only two female students in the class, created a robot that was programmed to read a compass. The group had successful results, ìWe were lucky because we thought we were having difficulties, but we were really just over-thinking,” says Huff.
Each groupís projects spanned a wide range, with one group creating a robot who worked with differences in terrain based on accelerometer, another which could determine radioactive substances and even a robot who was named ìBoris the Fisherman.”
However, not all groups faced smooth sailing, ìIt was challenging because we didnít know exactly how to do what we wanted. It was like working backwards ó we knew what we had electronically, but we wondered how do we get there?” said David Simpson í12.
On Dec. 2, each group had to present their creation to a number of faculty and other students. All but one group was able to get their robot to successfully cooperate. When asked if he would do anything different given another chance, Alex Saines í11, whose group was unable to achieve their goal with the robot, said, ìI wouldíve called tech support.”