Drifting

The challengeWe live in an exciting time with self-driving cars changing from fiction to mainstream reality. Autonomous vehicles drive by taking clues from the environment, making decisions about how to respond and where to drive.

You challenge is to make and program a robot to get the fastest time through the L-shaped course using the course’s built in cues. There is an A3 white paper on the floor at the turn. There is a vertical board on the left before the turn. There are two A3 white papers at the finish line.

The difficult part of this challenge is that I will move the starting line before the final competitive timing laps. You will not be able to change your program before the run.

EquipmentAn L-shaped course (around two sides of the table). Start and finish line. Plywood/cardboard wall at the corner. White paper warning track before the corner. White paper finishing zone.

ConstraintsYou must stop with at least one wheel on the white paper to get top marks.

Qualifying roundsBefore you can compete for time you must complete the qualifying tasks. There is example code for the qualifying tasks at the end of this Word document. You can get this challenge from the class blog (http://www.xpress360.net.au/robotics/robot-challenges/).

Every team member must do one of the four qualifying tasks. To get the team mark and individual must upload to Fronter the code for at least one of the qualifying tasks. Each team member must do a different qualifying task. You can get help with the programming from a team member or teacher.

Robot designFor this challenge you need to use the Engineering Design Process to optimise your robot build and code for a new purpose. In the Drag Race and Relay Race challenges pure top speed over a long course was important. Mobility, agility, quick acceleration and turning radius were not important.

Your robot will need to do the L-shaped course, using a sensor (or a button) to decide when to turn.

ProgramYou get to decide what elements of loops, decisions you include in your program. However, you need to have some way of deciding when to turn because the robot will not be started at the same place every time: time or distance will not work. You need to use sensors.

Bob Elliott, 2017

Qualifying rounds – sample codeStop-n-GoUse a loop, switch and the centre brick button to turn on/off the motors.

Beep on the runUse a loop, switch and the centre brick button to beep while the motors are running.

Two loopsUse two loops, a switch and the centre brick button to change the colour of the brick LED while the motors are running.

Bob Elliott, 2017

Wheel BlinkUse the motors as sensors, so that the colour of the LED changes when you rotate the wheel. Have the program continue until you press the centre brick button, then have the robot cheer before exiting.

AssessmentYour grade will be based these two criteria...

Grade PerformanceA+ You have completed four of the skills tasks,

uploaded one to Fronter, and your robot can do the L-shaped course from a variable starting point and stop in the white target zone; your robot has the best time.

A You have completed four of the skills tasks, uploaded one to Fronter, and your robot can do the L-shaped course from a variable starting point and stop in the white target zone; you are in the top two best times.

B You have completed four of the skills tasks, uploaded one to Fronter, and your robot can do the L-shaped course from a variable starting point and stop in the white target zone; you are in the top four best times.

C You have completed three of the skills tasks, uploaded one to Fronter, and your robot can do the L-shaped course from a variable starting point and stop in the white target zone

t You have completed two of the skills tasks, uploaded one to Fronter, and your robot can do the L-shaped course from a fixed starting point.

Z You run away!

CC image credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Google_self-driving_car_in_Mountain_View.jpg

Bob Elliott, 2017