Mechanics of NXT Robots- An Update

Dan and I continue to teach the Mechanics of NXT Robots at Monday Co-op. We've been doing a lot with torque and turning radius recently.This particular day they focused on using wheels and how they move depending on whether they are connected by an axle or not. They learned that three wheeled cars turn best and that three points define a plane. Typically, we give them a building assignment and they have time to work on it and then we talk about the results. The classes after this one focused on getting the cars to steer with a swivel wheel alone and with a steering wheel. Tomorrow the plan is to compare two robots made with a different design.

cool "funny car" design- some kids really enjoy the style portion of building

Others go with the more functional designs

Another group of finished four wheeled carts

The purpose of this class has been to see what makes a good robot design based on what you want the robot to do. Something our FLL Team kids have difficulty with is making a robot that functions really well all the time. They have a great design up to a point and then they have trouble with an aspect of the robot that is time consuming and in the end costs them points at the competition table. We're hoping that by focusing on sturdy designs, the kids will be more successful with their overall robot design.