Junkbots

junkbots 3 - bring it all together

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 07:58:00 +0000

Junkbots session 3: Move the robot but now there are rocks in the way.

This is the last of three posts

- This one: Making decisions and bringing it all together.

What is the Junkbots project

The Junkbots project has been running for a number of years as an initiative to bring sustainability, computing and engineering together by building bots out of junk; details of the project can be found at. https://junkbots.blogspot.com/ . Junkbots is an extension of the Research into the teaching problem-solving going on at the University of Northampton please feel to visit https://computingnorthampton.blogspot.com/2019/01/problem-solving-research-outputs-and.html for more details.

What are we going to do?

· Play with a Scratch robot on the screen!

· Build on the routines from the previous session.

· Look at example of what happens when the junkbot and the rock met.

M Making decisions

· Adding key press to control the code to guide the junkbot around.

· Extend your solution

Activity 1: Reminder of the blocks we used previously? https://computingnorthampton.blogspot.com/2020/05/junkbots-school-outreach-1.html

This means when the green flag is pressed do whatever follows.

This means place our robot (go to block) to point on the screen roughly in the centre of the screen.

Do you want a challenge: What do think would happen if instead 0 and 0 in the white spaces in the go to block, we put in 50 and 50? Have a guess.

This means stop the scratch program for 1 second and then carry on.

We can use this block to move the robot 50 steps on the screen in the direction it is facing.

We can use this block to turn the robot to the right 45 degrees.

We are also going to look at two more ‘things’ today: one new block and a new type of blocks to make our programming easier – the control blocks.

We can use this block to change the direction the robot faces.

When we click on the control button at the side we see several more blocks we can use.

One of these we have played with before the wait block.

The other two we are going to use today in later activities.

When we want to repeat a combination of blocks so many times, we can use the middle block and then change the 10 to the number of times we want to repeat.

If we want it repeat something forever (or until we stop the program with the red button) we can use the last block.

Sometimes we want to change what the program does when something happens.

We will look at three types of instructions

- If this ‘thing’ happens then do this.

- If this ‘thing’ happens then do this else to this other thing

- When a key is pressed do this.

Activity 2: Have a go at guessing what it is going to do?

Follow this link to a new Scratch project https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/405642711

Challenge 1: Press the green flag and see what it does. THEN press the green flag and see what it does.

Tell others what you saw it do?

Challenge 2: Now go in the Scratch code for the rock (it should look like the scratch program shown next to this).

- describe what you think this does?

- tell others why do you think the if block is inside a forever block?

Activity 3: Modify and Make

· Staying with the same scratch code you might have noticed that the junkbot doesn’t always hit the rock.

· We are going change this so we can guide the junkbot to hit the rocks.

· Go to the code for the junkbot/robot/rcx.

· Challenge 3: Add instructions to move the junkbot by pressing the arrow keys. In the picture you can see two events blocks one group of blocks says what happens when the up key is pressed then other when the right key is pressed.

· Add blocks to make the down and left keys move the junkbot down or left.

Activity 4: Modify and make play

· Lets get it to add more blocks either using the program you have developed or https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/405650433

· Go to the stage code you will see a block saying create clone of Rocks every time this block is used a new rock is added to the screen.

· Challenge 4: Can you change the code so 20 rocks are put on the screen and now create a game where you have to hit every rock.

· Challenge 5 – looking at other scratch examples (for example https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/ghostbusters/4) could you add a scoring system to this game.

All three activities are available on Issu.com

All views and opinions are the author's and do not necessarily reflected those of any organisation they are associated with. Twitter: @scottturneruon

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

10 most viewed Junkbot posts in May 2020

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 06:55:00 +0000

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Junkbots: Move the robot

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Fri, 22 May 2020 16:13:00 +0000

3 MINUTE READ

Junkbots session 1: Move the robot

from Junkbots: Move the robot

by Scott Turner

What is the Junkbots project

What are we going to do?

Play with a Scratch robot on the screen! Guess what the routine does. Run the routine see if it does as we guessed. Consider what it did and if it is different to what we thought it was going to do. Change the routine a little bit to do another task.

Activity 1: What blocks are we using?

This means when the green flag is pressed do whatever follows.

This means place our robot (go to block) to point on the screen roughly in the centre of the screen.

Do you want a challenge: What do think would happen if instead 0 and 0 in the white spaces in the go to block, we put in 50 and 50? Have a guess.

This means stop the scratch program for 1 second and the carry on.

We can use this block to move the robot 50 steps on the screen in the

direction it is facing.

Do you want a challenge: How do you think we could get the robot to move 100 steps? Have a guess..

We can use this block to turn the robot to the right 45 degrees.

Do you want a challenge: How do you think we could get the robot to move 90 degrees to the right? Have a guess.

Activity 2: Have a go at guessing what it is going to do?

Using what you have learnt in Activity 1.

Let us look at this block of programming.

What do you think it is going to do? If you have someone helping you tell them what you think it does.

If you don’t get it exactly right, it is more important to have a guess.

Activity 3: Try it for yourself

Now go to the weblink: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/3 84342734 You should see something that looks like figure 1 Click on the box at the top of the screen that says see inside. You should a screen similar to Figure 2 Now press the green flag it should now perform a little dance.

Questions

Does the robot work the way you thought it would from Activity 2? If it did move the way you thought– great! If it didn’t move the way thought still good. What was different?

Figure 1

Figure 2

Activity 4: Change it a bit

Save your work from Activity 3 by going to the top of the screen: find file, click on it and the click on Save to your computer. Then press the save button. Now change the code so that the robot moves in a square. Hint: We need to move in a straight line and then turn 90 degrees several times.

Figure 3

Questions

Does the robot work the way you thought it would? If it did move the way you thought– great! Can you make it move in a rectangle where two sides are longer than the other two? If it didn’t move the way thought still good. What was different?

Activity 5: Try it for yourself

Save your work from Activity 4. Now produce a dance routine for the robot. It must include moving forward and at least three turns.

Figure 4

Figure 5

You could also try adding in  Making it move backwards (negative number in the move block)  Turning left

This story is from:

pg 1-8

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Junkbots two - move the robot

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Fri, 22 May 2020 15:56:00 +0000

from Junkbots two - move the robot

by Scott Turner

What is the Junkbots project

What are we going to do?

Play with a Scratch robot on the screen! Build on the routines from the previous session. Challenge to get around the rock. Challenge to do the same thing but by repeating actions Extend your solution

Activity 1: Reminder of the blocks we used previously?

This means when the green flag is pressed do whatever follows.

This means place our robot (go to block) to point on the screen roughly in the centre of the screen.

Do you want a challenge: What do think would happen if instead 0 and 0 in the white spaces in the go to block, we put in 50 and 50? Have a guess.

This means stop the scratch program for 1 second and the carry on.

We can use this block to move the robot 50 steps on the screen in the direction it is facing.

Do you want a challenge: How do you think we could get the robot to move 100 steps? Have a guess.

We can use this block to turn the robot to the right 45 degrees.

Do you want a challenge: How do you think we could get the robot to move 90 degrees to the right? Have a guess.

We are also going to look at two more ‘things’ today: one new block and a new type of blocks to make our programming easier – the control blocks.

We can use this block to change the direction the robot faces.

When we click on the control button at the side we see several more blocks we can use.

One of these we have played with before the wait block.

The other two we are going to use today in later activities.

When we want to repeat a combination of blocks so many times, we can use the middle block and then change the 10 to the number of times we want to repeat.

If we want it repeat something forever (or until we stop the program with the red button) we can use the last block.

Activity 2: Have a go at guessing what it is going to do?

Follow this link to a new Scratch project https://bit.ly/ScratchJunkbot2

Challenge 1: Can you describe using the chat what you see it do?

Challenge 2: Can you rewrite the routine so when you press the green flag it hits the rock? What happens when it hits the rock share on the chat? Can you do this using less than seven blocks?

Challenge 3: Rewrite the routine so when we press the green flag it goes around the rock in a square. Hints: You did a similar task last week so please feel free use what you have done before. You might have to change the starting position of the robot. It is worth putting the wait blocks in to help you see it in action.

Activity 3: Modify and Make

Now go to the weblink: https://bit.ly/Junkbot3 Press the green flag and see what it does. Challenge 4: Using the chat describing what it did, please include when do you think it will stop? Challenge 5: How can we change this so that it goes around the rock twice?

Activity 4: Modify and make play

Challenge 6: Try and change what you did in Activity 3 so that the robot goes around the block in a different shape Challenge 7: The really tough challenge. How to we get the robot to move in a figure 8? It must not hit the rock. Have a go yourself and if you want to see one possible answer (there are more than one way to do this) go to https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/398164007/

Questions

A series of Cool Videos from "Make with Me"

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Sat, 02 May 2020 14:31:00 +0000

I came across a series of very cool videos from a YouTubber "Make with Me", that fit very well with the ethos of the Junkbots project and this blog. Here are a few of them:

Worth subscribing to their channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZvmzmENvrnMmCd8ZAqcA2w

c

For plans and resources from Junkbot project go to https://junkbots.blogspot.com/2012/06/junkbot-project-case-study-and-session.html

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Big Bang for Junkbots

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 20:08:00 +0000

In tweets (Big Bang Northamptonshire https://www.learnbydesign.co.uk/event/big-bang-northants-2019/ )

Fantastic junkbots being built at Big Bang Northamptonshire #ttbbnorthants @UniNorthants @UoNComputing @UoNSchools pic.twitter.com/uGyYgSN6Oe
— Dr Scott Turner (@scottturneruon) February 27, 2019

Come and play with Red and junkbot #ttbbnorthants pic.twitter.com/WdbyL1AZLi
— Dr Scott Turner (@scottturneruon) February 27, 2019

Junkbot being built at Big Bang Northamptonshire #ttbbnorthants @UoNComputing @UoNSchools @STEMatUN @UniNorthants pic.twitter.com/EuH5rYOjZF
— Dr Scott Turner (@scottturneruon) February 27, 2019

Thanks for your support. Every time I looked across at yr table you were surrounded by happy children learning about robots 😀 https://t.co/k2hy5Dn9iY
— STEAM at UN (@STEMatUN) February 27, 2019

All opinions in this blog are the Author's and should not in any way be seen as reflecting the views of any organisation the Author has any association with. Twitter @scottturneruon

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

5 Most viewed posts on the junkbots blog in 2018

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 14:52:00 +0000

Controlling a junkbot with a Micro:bit

A new direction has been developed for the junkbot project ( http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/ ) ; previously Raspberry Pis have been used to...
Build yourself a Crumble Junkbot

Over the last eight years I have been working (off and on) on a project, junkbots ( http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/introduction.html...
junkbots at Big Bang Northants #TBBNorthants

Junkbots in the Big Bang Northants #TBBNorthants on 28th February 2018 at Silverstone. This event is part of the The Big Bang Near Me progr...
Junk Eggbot

This is a two-part series on a new Junkbots project. In this part building the junkbot itself is discussed. In the second part controllin...
Creative Computational Thinking Blog

A new blog has been launched by Scott Turner looking at Computational Thinking ( http://compuationalthinking.blogspot.co.uk/ - the typo ...

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

junkbots at Big Bang Northants #TBBNorthants

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 11:30:00 +0000

Junkbots in the Big Bang Northants #TBBNorthants on 28th February 2018 at Silverstone. This event is part of the The Big Bang Near Me programme bringing science and engineering to young people.The Big Bang Northants event celebrates STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) across Northamptonshire in its many and varied forms.

To give a sense of what happened here are some of the related tweets:

Had a fantastic (but tiring) day #TBBNorthants today building junkbots and playing the Red the Nao robot - meeting 100s of great students
Details on how to build the junkbot goto:https://t.co/s56Ej9hEgp @STEMatUN @DeanofFAST
— Dr Scott Turner (@scottturneruon) February 28, 2018

What a day! Who else is still buzzing from the excitement of #TBBNorthants yesterday?

Send us your pictures and thoughts from all the #STEAM fun! @UniNorthants @STEMatUN @AspireNorthants @_EngineeringUK pic.twitter.com/NopQZCGRsm
— Big Bang Northants (@TBBNorthants) March 1, 2018

Wow 😍 that’s incredible! #TBBNorthants https://t.co/FTWjakJlFB
— Big Bang Northants (@TBBNorthants) February 28, 2018

@TBBNorthants we have arrived pic.twitter.com/WyLHbWKH0o
— HoppingHill (@HoppingHill) February 28, 2018

All views and opinions are the author's and do not necessarily reflected those of any organisation they are associated with. Twitter: @scottturneruon

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

junkbots at mozfest 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 14:26:00 +0000

Capturing some of the tweets about Junkbots at Mozilla Festival 2017 #Mozfest https://mozillafestival.org/

great Crumble session 2day at #mozfest from @scottturneruon. Micro-egg bots!!! @RedfernElec @Baggiepr Great stepping stone into CrumbleBots! pic.twitter.com/0TZ2vr4Qat
— Nic Hughes (@duck_star) October 29, 2017

@AlwaysComputing Look at what you're missing... pic.twitter.com/DrpEAy51r8
— Alan O'Donohoe (@teknoteacher) October 29, 2017

Great day at #mozfest. Till next year. Again met meant inspiring people and saw awesome ideas! Plus anyone I missed! pic.twitter.com/eL52cRIMwE
— Nic Hughes (@duck_star) October 29, 2017

Details of the activity can be found at http://bit.ly/2yZ3dZT

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Crumble egg junkbot

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 14:03:00 +0000

This is a two-part series on a new Junkbots project. In last part building the junkbot itself was discussed. In the this part controlling the junkbot via Crumble is discussed.

So build the junkbot as discussed in the previous blog post.

Kit

· Kinder Egg (without the Chocolate and toy)

· Crumble

· 4x Crocodile clips and leads

· Battery pack and 3xAA

· Vibrating motor

· Tape (lots of)
. Sticky-tack of some form.

· Pens

· Paper

· Scissors

· Glue and Gluegun (optional)

Disconnect the battery connection (the connections on the motor can stay as they are). Connect the USB cable to the Crumble. To the right of the USB connect there are two connections marked + and -. Connect a Red wire to the + connection and the other end to the red wire of the battery pack. Connect a black wire to the – connection and the other end to the black wire of the battery pack.

Stage 2: Connect the Egg!

On the Crumble, on the right-side there are two motor connections connect the Motor to these connections. Don’t worry about which of the motors wires is need you swap them ar3age 6: Programming it – Making the bot moves.

The software can be found at https://redfernelectronics.co.uk/crumble-software/ it includes how to set it up on your own machine.

Start the Crumble software. Drag from the left the Program start, motor, and wait blocks. Now join the up start block at the top and the motor block next and the wait block last.

Your code should look like this.

Click on the stop within the motor block. It should change to forward. Now you are ready to make it move. Press the green arrow and with the battery pack on, it soud (hopefully )keeop moving.

If you put a second motor block after the wait blck with the stop inthe boSck. It su.If you put a second motor block after the wait block with the stop in the block. It such more.

- Drag a do-until block in (found in the control menu).

- Go to variable menu and add a new variable, I have used t, select the block marked let=, and drag a t into the blank space.

- Drag an increase block onto the screen and drag a t into the blank space.

Go to the operator menu and drag onto the screen an = block, go back to variables menu and drag a t into the first space on the = block and click on the second space on the block and type in 5.

Now for the challenge put all these together to copy what is shown below. Now, put the egg-bot on the paper, with the pen lids off, it should draw.

Junk Eggbot

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 12:55:00 +0000

This is a two-part series on a new Junkbots project. In this part building the junkbot itself is discussed. In the second part controlling the junkbot via Crumble is discussed. The work was first shown at Mozilla Festival 29th October 2017.

Three inspirations for this project

· Eggbot - http://www.instructables.com/id/Plastic-Egg-Bot/?utm_content=buffer9b065&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

· Femi Owolade supported by Nic Hughes ran a session at Mozilla Festival 2016 using the Crumble’s to make a wheeled robot.

· The junkbot project https://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/

Kit

· Kinder Egg (without the Chocolate and toy)

· Crumble

· 4x Crocodile clips and leads

· Battery pack and 3xAA

· Vibrating motor

· Tape (lots of)

· Pens

· Paper

· Scissors

· Glue and Gluegun (optional)

Stage 1: Fix the vibrating motor into the Egg.

Put the vibrating motor into the Egg with the motor electrical connections sticking out the bottom larger half of the egg. Make sure the unbalanced load is free to move – this is bit that causes the vibrations needed to move the egg. The motor can be held in place by sticky-tack or strong tape, or glue (when using glue this is done under adult supervision only).

Stage 2: Sticking the pens on.

This is the trickiest bit. The easiest way to do is cut a strip of tape. Place two pens onto the tape ensuring the pens are the same length from the tape to the nib and the distance between the pens on the tape are far enough apart to place the egg between them.

If you are using three pens, the third pen should be placed so that all three form a triangle with equal sides, that means the egg can stand-up on a piece of paper on the pen nibs, without anything supporting it.

If you are using four pens, the other two pens should be placed so that all four form a square with equal sides, that means the egg can stand-up on a piece of paper on the pen nibs, without anything supporting it.

Stage 3: Add the battery pack and go.

Using two wires connecting the battery, to the motors. Remove the nibs and set the bot off. It is hopefully vibrating and shaking and scribbling lines on the paper.

To see one in action go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRlntdmdQRo

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Build yourself a Crumble Junkbot

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 11:53:00 +0000

Over the last eight years I have been working (off and on) on a project, junkbots (http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/introduction.html), in which 'junk' is used to embed environmental, engineering and computing concepts. One part that has grown from this project is using drinks cans, motor, batteries and something to unbalance the motor to produce a vibrating 'bot' that move along a smooth surface.

To add a little more control both Raspberry Pis (http://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/raspberry-pi-controlled-robot-from-junk.html) and Micro:bits (http://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/do-it-yourself-remote-controlled.html) have been investigated.

In this post a Crumble controller from Redfern Electronics is used. The crumble controller is an excellent board for this project, it is relatively cheap, it is programmable with it's own graphical language, and it has motor drivers built in. In the figure to the left the parts (apart from adhesive tape) used can be seen.

1. Building the body.
Tape three pens (with their lids on) on to the drinks can - making a tripod arrangement. Add (tape it on usually) a motor with something on the axle to unbalanced the motor; I use broken toy propellors but mis-shapen blu-tak; clothes pegs could be used.

2. Wiring up
Using croc-clips ideally, but loops of wire if not, connect the battery to the controller and also the motors to the controller. Plug in the USB cable into the controller and the computer.

3. Running and Controlling
Make sure the Crumble software (http://redfernelectronics.co.uk/crumble/) is installed on the computer.

An example is shown below that drives the motor forward and then backward repeatly. You might need to change the percentage values based on experiment, for the motor used. In the video below the junkbot is shown in action.

Crumbly Junk robot

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 16:59:00 +0000

Guest Blogger Nathaniel Roberts, Nuffield Research Placement Student working at the University of Northampton. Nuffield Research Placement scheme provides students in their first year of a post16 course to work with STEM professionals http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/nuffield-research-placements.

Toilet Roll Junkbot

Nathaniel Roberts

Cut a slit in a toilet roll.

Cut another toilet roll in half, then arrange the pieces in a T.

Feed the bottom of the T into the slit, and tape together.

Cut two lines into the edge, and do the same on the opposite side of the circle. Copy this for the other side of the tube.

These geared motors from the Camjam EduKit 3 should fit into those gaps.

Stick a battery pack to the back, and use crocodile clips to wire it all up to a crumble. The battery pack can connect to the + and - on either side at the top of the crumble, and the motors connect to the + and - of their respective sides of the crumble.

Using a Micro USB to USB cable, the crumble can be plugged into a computer and can run code from the crumble software ( http://redfernelectronics.co.uk/crumble-software/ ).

This example code would make the junkbot move forward for a second, turn either left or right, then move forward for another second before stopping.

The back of the bot was extremely heavy (with all the batteries). The front wasn’t heavy enough to grip most surfaces very well so the wheels would often spin without the bot moving. Also, the toilet rolls were only just strong enough for the job. After a few uses, especially around the motors, they started bending. Eventually, the motors ended up 'wonky' despite attempts at fixing it.

Controlling 'junk' robot - three options

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 17:11:00 +0000

Three approaches to control it will be considered here:
- via Raspberry Pi;
- via Micro:Bit
-via Crumble controller

1. Raspberry Pi based

In this Raspberry Pi based Junkbot design a combination of Python and Pimoroni's Explorer HAT PRO are used to control it. Explorer HAT Pro is a good choice, it can control two motors with a library provided to simplify the programming. For this the Junkbot was the one shown above: a drinks can, pen, LEGO bits, motor and broken propellor.

Before the Explorer HAT can be used the library needs to be installed via the Terminal and the instructions below

curl get.pimoroni.com/explorerhat | bash

Python code to control the junkbot is shown below.

import explorerhat

from time import sleep

def spin1(duration):

explorerhat.motor.one.forward(100)

sleep(duration)

explorerhat.motor.one.stop()

def spin2(duration):

explorerhat.motor.one.backward(100)

sleep(duration)

explorerhat.motor.one.stop()

2. Micro:bit

what about the recently released Micro:Bits; can it be used to control a junkbot?

2.2 Approach used in the project.

A Micro:Bit was selected for two reasons. First, there was been a BBC supported project to give year 7 (or equivalent) students a Micro:bit (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4hVG2Br1W1LKCmw8nSm9WnQ/the-bbc-micro-bit), so they are available in the schools. Secondly, Kitronik produce a motor driver board, and provide quite a bit of support for it, for the Micro:Bit (the latest version of the board can be found at https://www.kitronik.co.uk/5620-motor-driver-board-for-the-bbc-microbit-v2.html ). Using Micropython via the online editor https://www.microbit.co.uk to program the board and therefore the junkbot connected. The board with the Micro:Bit attached can be seen in the figure above carried on the junkbot.

An example piece of code is shown below:

from microbit import *

def startIt():

pin8.write_digital(1)

pin12.write_digital(0)

pin0.write_digital(1)

pin16.write_digital(0)

def leftTurn(duration):

pin8.write_digital(0)

pin12.write_digital(1)

sleep(duration)

def stopIt():

pin8.write_digital(1)

pin12.write_digital(1)

sleep(2000)

while True:

startIt()

if button_a.is_pressed():

leftTurn(100)

if button_b.is_pressed():

stopIt()

2.3 Suggested Resource List

Small Electric Motor
Kitronik Motor Board
Battery Pack
BBC Micro:bit
Pens
Junk (Can or Bottle)
Wires
Tape
Scissors
Broken Propeller or un-balanced load
Screw Driver

3. Crumble

Lastly a Crumble controller from Redfern Electronics is used. The crumble controller is an excellent board for this project, it is relatively cheap, it is programmable with it's own graphical language, and it has motor drivers built in. In the figure to the left the parts (apart from adhesive tape) used can be seen.

3.1. Wiring up
Using croc-clips ideally, but loops of wire if not, connect the battery to the controller and also the motors to the controller. Plug in the USB cable into the controller and the computer.

3.2. Running and Controlling
Make sure the Crumble software (http://redfernelectronics.co.uk/crumble/) is installed on the computer.

An example is shown below that drives the motor forward and then backward repeatly. You might need to change the percentage values based on experiment, for the motor used. In the video below the junkbot is shown in action.

Related Links

http://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/python-junkbot.html
http://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/raspberry-pi-controlled-robot-from-junk.html
More details on junkbots can be found at http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/

The Page Turning Librarian: 10 Steps to Make a Doodlebot

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 17:55:00 +0000

The Page Turning Librarian: 10 Steps to Make a Doodlebot: Creating a doodlebot is one of my student's favorite makerspace activities. A doodlebot is a robot that is made from every day mater...

To read more go to The Page Turning Librarian: 10 Steps to Make a Doodlebot

All views and opinions are the author's and do not necessarily reflected those of any organisation they are associated with. Twitter: @scottturneruon

Junkbot Poster - PyCon UK 2016, 17th September 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 08:32:00 +0000

Poster presented at PyCon UK 2016, 17th September 2016.

Pyconuk16 junkbots from Scott Turner

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.28682.67520

For more details on the three builds:

Raspberry Pi based: http://bit.ly /2c87qex
Basic Micro:Bit build: http://bit.ly/2cmJo0B
Radio Control Micro:Bit Junkbot: http://bit.ly/2cMHpDa

Do it yourself: 'Radio' Controlled Micro:Bit Junkbot

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 21:05:00 +0000

I
In an earlier post, I showed how you could build a Micro:Bit controlled Junkbot. In this post I want to show a modification to it, to use one Micro:Bit to control the junkbot controlled by another Micro:Bit. A nice feature of the Micro:Bit using micropython, is it can send and receive simple messages via radio - so here is my take on it.

The first problem is the Python editor available on https://www.microbit.co.uk/ does not seem to work with the radio API. One solution to this is to change to the mu editor.

Two pieces of code are needed.

Sending Code for the 'remote' control:
Essentially it is set up to send two messages, via the built-in radio module, spinl or spinr depending on which button is pressed.

import radio
from microbit import button_a, button_b

radio.on()

while True:
if button_a.is_pressed():
radio.send('spinl')
if button_b.is_pressed():

radio.send('spinr')

Junkbot Code
This takes an adapted form of the previous Junkbot code to work by; on receiving spinl or spinr via the radio link; spin the motor clockwise or anticlockwise.
import radio
from microbit import pin8, pin12, sleep

def leftTurn(duration):
pin8.write_digital(0)
pin12.write_digital(1)
sleep(duration)

def rightTurn(duration):
pin8.write_digital(1)
pin12.write_digital(0)
sleep(duration)

def stopIt():
pin8.write_digital(0)
pin12.write_digital(0)

radio.on()
while True:
incoming = radio.receive()
if incoming == 'spinl':
leftTurn(500)
stopIt()
if incoming == 'spinr':
rightTurn(500)
stopIt()

All opinions in this blog are the Author's and should not in any way be seen as reflecting the views of any organisation the Author has any association with.If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Controlling a junkbot with a Micro:bit

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 13:41:00 +0000

A new direction has been developed for the junkbot project (http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/); previously Raspberry Pis have been used to control the junkbot’s movement (http://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/python-junkbot.html) – but what about the recently released Micro:Bits; can it be used to control a junkbot?

Matthew Hole, a student from Wrenn Academy, Northamptonshire ; has been investigating this idea whilst on a Nuffield Research Placement (http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/nuffield-research-placements) working with Dr Scott Turner, University of Northampton. The project was to look into developing junkbots controlled using a Micro:bit and also to produce some materials for schools to use with or without outside assistance.

What is a Junkbot?

For this project, it is a moving ‘bot’ made from waste materials, combined with an electric motor and a programmable device (in this case a Micro:Bit) to control (or try) it. An example is shown above. More details on junkbots can be found at http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/

Approach used in the project.

An example piece of code is shown below:

from microbit import *

def startIt():

pin8.write_digital(1)

pin12.write_digital(0)

pin0.write_digital(1)

pin16.write_digital(0)

def leftTurn(duration):

pin8.write_digital(0)

pin12.write_digital(1)

sleep(duration)

def stopIt():

pin8.write_digital(1)

pin12.write_digital(1)

sleep(2000)

while True:

startIt()

if button_a.is_pressed():

leftTurn(100)

if button_b.is_pressed():

stopIt()

Suggested Resource List

Small Electric Motor
Kitronik Motor Board
Battery Pack
BBC Micro:bit
Pens
Junk (Can or Bottle)
Wires
Tape
Scissors
Broken Propeller or un-balanced load
Screw Driver

Related Links

All opinions in this blog are the Author's and should not in any way be seen as reflecting the views of any organisation the Author has any association with.

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Wiggle and Wobble: Two related videos

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Thu, 31 Mar 2016 17:53:00 +0000

These two videos are very much in the spirit of the junkbots project (and I wish I had created them) - two fantastic robotic builds.

Wobblebot (construction details can be found at: http://researchparent.com/homemade-wobblebot/)

Wrigglebot (details can be found at: http://researchparent.com/homemade-wigglebot/) which is a drawing bot.

The plan is to try out some of the ideas with in the junkbots project.

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

video: Arduino the Cat, Breadboard the Mouse and Cutter the Elephant

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 09:23:00 +0000

A video about a related project.

Arduino the Cat, Breadboard the Mouse and Cutter the Elephant from hmt on Vimeo.

Two related posts

Rubbish – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle into toys!

How to build junkbots: Old toys

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Raspberry Pi - Python Junkbot using ExplorerHat Pro

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 08:58:00 +0000

Junkbots (http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/) are based around using materials such as drink's cans, broken propellors and motors to produce something that moves by vibration. Previous designs be found at:

The latest tweak to the Raspberry Pi based Junkbot design is to use the combination of Python and Pimoroni's Explorer HAT PRO to control it. Explorer HAT Pro is a good choice, it can control two motors with a library provided to simplify the programming. For this the Junkbot was the one shown above: a drinks can, pen, LEGO bits, motor and broken propellor.

Before the Explorer HAT can be used the library needs to be installed via the Terminal and the instructions below

curl get.pimoroni.com/explorerhat | bash

Python code to control the junkbot is shown below.

import explorerhat

from time import sleep

def spin1(duration):

explorerhat.motor.one.forward(100)

sleep(duration)

explorerhat.motor.one.stop()

def spin2(duration):

explorerhat.motor.one.backward(100)

sleep(duration)

explorerhat.motor.one.stop()

spin1(1)

spin2(1)

Essentially the code spins the junkbot one way and then the other.

If you do use or modify please leave a comment, I would love to see what others do with it.

All opinions in this blog are the Author's and should not in any way be seen as reflecting the views of any organisation the Author has any association with.

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Mark Tilden : l'homme qui sort des robots de son chapeau - H+ Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 01:12:00 +0000

Mark Tilden : l'homme qui sort des robots de son chapeau - H+ Magazine: "Mark Tilden est le roboticien au chapeau, l’homme aux 20 millions de robots qui a écrit ses 3 lois de la robotique, l’initiateur d’un courant de pensée avec ses BEAMS. Un homme dont la pensée et l’œuvre foisonnent d’idées nouvelles."

https://humanoides.fr/2015/11/mark-tilden-lhomme-sort-robots-de-chapeau/

'via Blog this'

All opinions in this blog are the Author's and should not in any way be seen as reflecting the views of any organisation the Author has any association with.

Junkbot Session overview

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 15:05:00 +0000

The School of Science and Technology at the University of Northampton have been working with local schools to create robots made from junk. This is an initiative by the University to introduce environmental sustainability, engineering and computing to students and has been funded by Northampton Enterprise Limited and east midlands development agency (emda).

For more details:

on the junkbots project go to: http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/
on the work developed and a case study can be found at: http://www.hestem-sw.org.uk/project?id=16&pp=540 or http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Junkbot_june_northampton.pdf
in-school session plan can be found at: http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Planning_Process_junkbots_KS3_4_longer.docx
STEM club session plan can be found at: http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Planning_Process_junkbots_primary_short8.docx

This and other posters at Engage 2013 can be found at: https://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/engage2013/poster-party

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

See the new JunkBot interface for Primary Education

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 13:15:00 +0000

The aim of the project is to give students in Primary Education an introduction to programming principles and basic programming language structure via physical feedback, in the shape of robotics. To do this, research and development into available methods currently available toke place, possibilities to do with JunkBot programming such as JunkBots using Scratch and other potential languages were explored and developed upon.

History of JunkBots

The JunkBot concept originally comes from the University of Northampton JunkBots Project[1]. The aim of the concept is to introduce the concept of Environmental Sustainability through the use of recycling “junk” to create the JunkBots and introduce computing and engineering to students. JunkBots were selected for this project due to several factors. Firstly, they are cost effective ways of delivering fun, creative ways of teaching computing and engineering principles to young students. JunkBots also have scope to be flexible, in terms of creativity and scope for more developments upon the existing concept. JunkBots vary in terms of design however all have the same factor in common; they are powered by a motor of some sort. The design does have an impact on the functionality of the bot, for example a robot with pens can draw whereas a robot that has an eraser attached to it can potentially rub out. The flexibility and creativity ties in with the project aims.

Summary

The project overall flowed as one major project with sub-stages, these came in the form of Scratch, Python and the Blockly stage. Before these stages could be advanced onto, initial research and experimentation was carried out. The case study of existing projects, such as the JunkBot concept were investigated into. As the project was to be based around JunkBots and education, surveys were carried out in order to provide a base set of requirements and an understanding of what needed specifically to be developed. Once this was achieved, concepts and already existing developments with JunkBots were researched into. This involved Scratch, Raspberry Pi and JunkBots which led to the Scratch stage of the project. The author did not develop this stage, which meant that it was simply a base to work from. The findings from this section led on to the Python implementation due to its high level programming nature in a simple formed syntax, unlike other similar languages such as Java, C++. It was found during research and both experimentation of the Python language, that the language principles of Python and simple syntax structure are essential elements in an Educational environment, which showed that to be successful the project from that point needed to implement a similar Scratch-like concept, in the form of a graphical programming interface to be successful.

The Python implementation was primarily a stepping stone to achieving the
graphical programming interface element, as it would be used in conjunction with the final stage, Blockly to achieve the required specification and combine the findings from the Python Implementation with Scratch via Blockly. The findings from the Python implementation showed that on its own, being a completely code-based implementation and had no graphical programming meant that a combination between Blockly and Python was needed. The Python implementation itself was successful and led on to the final development stage of the project, Blockly.

The Blockly stage involved utilizing the Blockly platform to implement the Python solution with both a graphical programming style and allow for the use of code unlike Scratch. This proved success, providing both a graphical programming interface which generated code based on the Block structure. This implementation adhered to the original requirements found via surveys and research initially, which were to provide Primary Education with a physical entity that could be programmed via a graphical interface in order to teach programming principles. The application also had to allow creativity for experimentation and logical/computational thinking. A key focus on both graphical and having a physical feedback element are the key points for a successful implementation. The findings of the Blockly stage were a success, as the implementation provided a fit for purpose product and also was found to adhere to relevant points of the Computing National Curriculum for both Key Stage 1 and 2 as set out in Section 1.2, National Curriculum Changes.

The Blockly application itself is considered by the author as a development rather than a finished product, which means the application can improve certain aspects. The main improvement that can now be fulfilled as the initial implementation is complete, is the creation of a standalone application to implement Blockly inside of. This is mainly due to accessing direct control of the JunkBot via the application rather than having to use the Raspberry Pi terminal to access Blockly generated code. This can be considered a weakness of the project at its current stage, similar to how the Python implementation was a stepping stone that led to the Blockly application. However, this can also be considered a strong point in regards to the transitional benefit in Education from Scratch based learning to Python. In its current state, the application allows the generation of code via Blocks which can power the JunkBot after placing the code into the appropriate place. This can potentially be taken further in an Educational setting by having activities starting with Scratch and leading up to the Python using Blockly to power the JunkBot and then potentially leading onto actual Python language programming rather than using Blockly. The benefit to this method would be the pupil gets to see the process gradually and gives a reason to write a program to power the JunkBot rather than just learning Python syntaxes. This can be combined with Syntax learning. This also makes the application beneficial between Key Stage 2 and 3 of Education, as the Python language is generally considered to be used more so in Key Stage 3 than Primary Education. This means the application potentially bridges Primary and Secondary Education programming teachings and could even be used at a higher level of Secondary Education.

In addition to a standalone application, further advancements into the development of Blocks to achieve a broader range of uses. This could range from motor control variations to other JunkBot control.

External sources towards the end of the project have had a major interest in the project, for example at a recent BCS Teaching Scholarship interview in Manchester, a recommendation by representatives of BCS stated that "I urge you to continue the work you are carrying out with your dissertation project, as it is a key area of Computing and a very interesting project". Other sources have taken an interest in the project and have requested a copy of the finished project report and have asked for the developed product to be even demonstrated at a Teaching event. This also shows the potential advancements of the project and the need for it to be continued to be developed. The author in conjunction with Dr. Scott Turner also intends to publish both the Blockly application and Python implementation as a ComputingAtSchools (CAS) resource, which is designed as a resource bank for teachers.

In conclusion to the project, the final conclusion is that the overall project was a success. A Blockly-JunkBot application was developed towards and has met all of the requirements originally set out and has proved the concept will be a positive impact on education via testing and review of the application.

Sources of further information

[1] Turner, Scott. (2013). JunkBots Blog, Available: http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/

[2] Turner, Scott. (2013). JunkBots Project, Available: http://community.computingatschool.org.uk/resources/1190

[3] Turner, Scott, Teyley, Hayden. (2014). JunkBots Project, Available: http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/junkbot-project-evolves1-idea.html

[4] Mitchell, James. (2014). Teaching Programming in Education, a study of Physical Computing, Available: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1PNFH08OOQMeydcvzvco5abG8Zxfy-FwTbxD0eVsw8SY/viewform

If you'd like to find out more about Computing at the University of Northampton go to: www.computing.northampton.ac.uk. All views and opinions are the author's and do not necessarily reflected those of any organisation they are associated with

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Computational Thinking of Junkbots

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Turner) — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 22:51:00 +0000

A recent presentation as part of the Department of Computing and Immersive Technologies, University of Northampton Research Seminar series, looking a on going project within the Department.

Junkbots has been a ongoing and ever evolving project since 2009 around the use of 'junk' as part of activities to developing skills in STEM subjects. In particular in the presentation (below) shows the links between these activities and Computational Thinking were discussed.

Junkbots and computational thinking from Scott Turner

Junkbots

junkbots 3 - bring it all together

10 most viewed Junkbot posts in May 2020

Follow b

Junkbots: Move the robot

Junkbots session 1: Move the robot

What is the Junkbots project

What are we going to do?

Activity 1: What blocks are we using?

Activity 2: Have a go at guessing what it is going to do?

Activity 3: Try it for yourself

Activity 5: Try it for yourself

Junkbots two - move the robot

What is the Junkbots project

What are we going to do?

Activity 1: Reminder of the blocks we used previously?

Activity 2: Have a go at guessing what it is going to do?

Activity 3: Modify and Make

Activity 4: Modify and make play

A series of Cool Videos from "Make with Me"

Big Bang for Junkbots

5 Most viewed posts on the junkbots blog in 2018

junkbots at Big Bang Northants #TBBNorthants

junkbots at mozfest 2017

Crumble egg junkbot

Junk Eggbot

Build yourself a Crumble Junkbot

Crumbly Junk robot

Controlling 'junk' robot - three options

The Page Turning Librarian: 10 Steps to Make a Doodlebot

Junkbot Poster - PyCon UK 2016, 17th September 2016

Do it yourself: 'Radio' Controlled Micro:Bit Junkbot

Controlling a junkbot with a Micro:bit

Wiggle and Wobble: Two related videos

video: Arduino the Cat, Breadboard the Mouse and Cutter the Elephant

Rubbish – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle into toys!

How to build junkbots: Old toys

Raspberry Pi - Python Junkbot using ExplorerHat Pro

Mark Tilden : l'homme qui sort des robots de son chapeau - H+ Magazine

Junkbot Session overview

See the new JunkBot interface for Primary Education

History of JunkBots

Computational Thinking of Junkbots