Middle School Robotics Spring of 2018 - Chapter Three

We've been moving along at a decent pace with our middle school robot.  I always set these projects up with very ambitious goals, really pushing the limits of what a small group of absolute newbies might accomplish with a few hours of after school time.  It has been a good group, and if they've made mistakes, well, that's part of the learning process.

With about a month - that translates to roughly seven more build/programming sessions, we had this:

You might think that a picture of a boxy robot parked in a closet is about the most boring thing imaginable, but I'll let you in on a secret.....a secure storage closet is one of the crucial elements to any school based robot program.  Without it you can't assume that your tools and laptops will be where you left them.

In this picture we have dropped the FIRST control board onto the robot and have mostly finished the drive train.  It moves about at a pace appropriate for a crowded environment....slowly.
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I've come to the conclusion recently that robots really do have a rudimentary personality.  Whimsical, difficult, reliable, these are all traits you might encounter.  But they are not so much like humans, maybe more like dogs.

And as with any dog it will wait patiently in its kennel but is never really happy until its humans turn up.  A couple of pics from a more recent build session.

Here I have been made happy by the addition of Delrin bearing blocks.  This helps keep the motor mounts from bending in when the robot gets a bit heavier than it should.  The students have been made happy by the addition of a rotating "Highway Department" light.  Hey, we need something for a Power On indicator so it may as well be showy.

The design goal of this robot is to cruise around the cafeteria and dispense cartons of chocolate milk.  Here a servo gate opens and closes to drop the carton lowest down in the stack.  We will be adding small solenoids that pop in and out to hold the other cartons in their place until the gate is closed again.  The whole assembly rotates on a pivot so as to go left, center or right.

Not a bad project, but it is about even money whether we get it fully operational by the end of class sessions.