Summer SAVY, Session 2 Day 2, Programming and Robotics (3rd – 4th)
Today, we reviewed and discussed new teamwork strategies to help us with our group work. We explored ways to organize and delegate work, what to do if a team member isn’t doing their job, and how to get others to engage in tasks. We also talked about when to ask for help from an adult. We had several builds today that allowed us to put these new strategies to use.
We continued work on our dancing robot toy, learning how to synchronize motor movements to keep rhythm with lights and beats. With this toy prototype, students used different data types including time (seconds), speed, and degrees of rotation to operate their robot. We used and modified existing code, media, and libraries to create improved programs. Finally, teams developed the next viral dance routine using pseudocode to create an algorithm, and then we worked to program their toy to perform the dance steps.
Our toy companies found themselves in a predicament: sales are through the roof! It’s time to improve logistics. We took a virtual tour of an Amazon fulfillment center for inspiration for our distribution center. Students created an automated machine that identifies, sorts, and ships packages based on color and then brainstormed ideas for design iterations that would double capacity. This project allowed us to explore how hardware and software components can collect and exchange data, as well as iterative testing and modification to optimize the design.
Dinner table questions:
- How many miles of conveyor belt do you think Amazon’s Fulfillment Center has?
- How do robots help fulfillment centers work more efficiently?
- What were some of their favorite features in other teams’ dancing robots?
- What does pseudocode mean?
We look forward to continuing learning together on Thursday!