<p>The thesis covers a new navigation algorithm for UAV to fly through several given GPS coordinates without any human interference. The UAV first gets its current position from GPS receiver via Bluetooth connection with the navigator computer. With this GPS point, it draws an optimal trajectory to next destination. During the flight, the navigator computer issues the information about which direction to turn and how much to turn. This information will be used to steer the airplane servos.</p><p>The algorithm is programmed in Java LeJOS. It uses built-in Java classes about GPS and Bluetooth. The main computer, where the navigation program runs, is a LEGO Mindstorms NXT and it is used a GPSlim240 from HOLUX as a GPS receiver.</p>

Syftet med denna rapport är att redovisa ett examensarbete på kandidatnivå inom elektronik. Arbetet har syftat till att skapa en modell av en automatiserad industri i en liten skala. Modellen skulle vara enkel att använda för att visualisera hur automatisering fungerar i praktiken och hur ett styrsystem byggs. För att få ett bra genomförande och en verklighetstrogen modell studerades exempel från industrin och metoder för att optimera. Eftersom enkelhet var viktigt byggdes styrsystemet från grunden för att få full kontroll över systemet. En modell byggdes med LEGO® Mindstorms® som mekanisk grund och två robotar programmerades i C# att hantera ett orderflöde. Orderflödet styrdes från ett webbaserat användargränssnitt och kommunikationen hanterades genom en databas.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-17T15:24:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-06-02. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2015-09-17T15:47:50Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000844410.pdf: 6315552 bytes, checksum: a59229cfd0305414a37830023c72d203 (MD5) / Este trabalho apresenta o resultado qualitativo de quatro atividades aplicadas no 6º ao 9º Ano do Ensino Fundamental e teve como objetivo principal elaborar, implementar e analisar uma sequência didática envolvendo robótica educacional e matemática (com enfoque aos números racionais). Essas atividades foram aplicadas em dezembro de 2014 na escola SESI de Andradina no estado de São Paulo. A escolha para o mês de dezembro foi intencional justamente para que os alunos utilizassem seus conhecimentos e habilidades adquiridos no decorrer desse ano letivo. A importância de se realizar tal temática, em conjunto, vem da necessidade crescente da utilização da tecnologia, que permeia o meio social no qual o aluno está inserido, a favor da educação e pelo fato das frações ainda serem um paradigma de difícil assimilação por parte dos alunos, de acordo com Silva (2006) e Demartini (2009). Com base na metodologia LEGO®, sintetizada em quatro verbos na ordem: contextualizar, construir, analisar e continuar, utilizamos três montagens de robôs dos fascículos da LEGO® Zoom para servir de suporte às resoluções das situações-problema desenvolvidas especificamente para a idealização deste estudo. O resultado desta pesquisa mostrou que além da diversão proporcionada, foi instigada a curiosidade dos alunos ao perpassarem por todas as quatro ações mencionadas anteriormente, pois consonante às situações-problema contextualizadas, os alunos, em grupo, assimilaram facilmente o objetivo de cada atividade / This paper presents the qualitative result of four activities applied in the 6th to 9th grades of Elementary School and intend to design, implement and analyze a didactic sequence involving educational robotics and mathematics (with a focus on rational numbers). These activities were implemented in December 2014 in SESI school in Andradina, São Paulo state. The choice for the month of December was intended precisely so that students would use their knowledge and skills acquired during that school year. The importance of conducting this theme, together, comes the growing need of using technology that pervades the social environment in which the student is in; for education, and because the fractions are still a difficult paradigm to be assimilated by students, according to Silva (2006) and Demartini (2009). Based on LEGO® methodology, summarized in four words in order: Connect, Construct, Contemplate, and Continue, we used three assembly robots LEGO® Zoom to provide support to the resolutions of problem situations developed specifically for the idealization of this study. The research result showed that beyond that provided fun, it was instigated the curiosity of students to go through all four aforementioned actions, as consonant to problem situations contextualized, students, in group, easily assimilated the purpose of each activity

In this thesis, I present my work on the modeling and control of a motor system using the Lego EV3 robot. The overall goal is to apply introductory systems and controls engineering techniques for estimation and design to a real-world system. First I detail the setup of materials used in this research: the hardware used was the Lego EV3 robot; the software used was the Student 2014 version of Simulink; a wireless network was used to communicate between them using a Netgear WNA1100 wifi dongle. Next I explain the approaches used to model the robot’s motor system: from a description of the basic system components, to data collection through experimentation with a proportionally controlled feedback loop, to parameter estimation (through time-domain specification relationships, Matlab’s curve-fitting toolbox, and a formal least-squares parameter estimation), to the discovery of the effects of frictional disturbance and saturation, and finally to the selection and verification of the final model through comparisons of simulated step responses of the estimated models to the actual time response of the motor system. Next I explore three different types of controllers for use within the motor system: a proportional controller, a lead compensator, and a PID controller. I catalogue the design and performance results – both in simulation and on the real system – of each controller. One controller is then selected to be used within two Controls Systems Engineering final course projects, both involving the robot traveling along a predetermined route. The controller’s performance is analyzed to determine whether it improves upon the accumulation of error in the robot’s position when the projects are executed without control.

This bachelor was written in regards to the recent implementation of the mandatory teaching of programming in Swedish schools. This extensive addition to our curriculum requires the further education of teachers and the needs to invest in specialised educational materials. In this bachelor, we have collected research through contacting various prominent educational institutions around Skåne which have implemented programming in their curriculum using various types of robots. We wanted to establish what resources these institutions provide their educators when they teach programming. We also wanted to better understand the ways in which these institutions work with hardware and their thoughts on how hardware may affect students computational thinking, learning and self-motivation. To answer these questions, we interviewed several educators who specialise in programming and its use in schools. Even though, the different institutions had little or nothing to do with each other they basically shared the same basic ideas regarding the concept. This study concluded that according to teachers, computational and logical thinking increases when students work with LEGO-robots. When working with these robots, students were able to exercise their problem-solving abilities by using robots that they have constructed and programmed themselves. The system is easily implemented in schools since most students have prior knowledge of the LEGO construction mechanism. However, prior to being used for educational purposes, LEGO has most likely been associated with playtime and might therefore make it challenging for some students to work with it in a school environment. Another disadvantage with LEGO-robots is that the system uses block programming languages. This means that students understanding of text programming will not be exercised while working with these types of robots, limiting the depth of learning. In conclusion, to promote students’ comprehension of programming when working in an educational setting, the use of robots is greatly beneficial and almost essential. Even if only block programming is used, it is important to engage students and keep them excited during learning. According to teachers, enthusiasm regarding the subject will be a determining factor in their willingness to learn.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:54:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AlziraFS.pdf: 2161764 bytes, checksum: 1d0222529ef56674661a66ce88796933 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-04-16 / In this work, we propose a methodology for teaching robotics in elementary schools, based on the socio-historical Vygotsky theory. This methodology in conjunction with the Lego Mindstoms kit (R) and an educational software (an interface for control and programming of prototypes) are part of an educational robotics system named RoboEduc. For the practical development of this work, we have used the action-research strategy, being realized robotics activities with participation of children with age between 8 and 10 years, students of the elementary school level of Municipal School Ascendino de Almeida. This school is located at the city zone of Pitimbu, at the periphery of Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte state. The activities have focused on understanding the construction of robotic prototypes, their programming and control. At constructing prototypes, children develop zone of proximal development (ZPDs) that are learning spaces that, when well used, allow the construction not only of scientific concepts by the individuals but also of abilities and capabilities that are important for the social and cultural interactiond of each one and of the group. With the development of these practical workshops, it was possible to analyse the use of the Robot as the mediator element of the teaching-learning process and the contributions that the use of robotics may bring to teaching since elementary levels / Neste trabalho propomos uma metodologia para o ensino de rob?tica no Ensino Fundamental, baseada na teoria s?cio-hist?rica de Lev Vygotsky. Esta metodologia em conjunto com o kit Lego Mindstormsr e um software educacional (uma interface para controle e programa??o de prot?tipos) comp?em o sistema de rob?tica pedag?gica denominado RoboEduc. Para o desenvolvimento dessa pesquisa foi utilizado o m?todo pesquisaa??o, sendo realizados atividades de rob?tica com a participa??o de crian?as com idade entre 8 a 10 anos, alunos do Ensino Fundamental I da Escola Municipal Professor Ascendino de Almeida, localizada no bairro Pitimb?, na periferia de Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. As atividades visaram produzir conhecimento sobre a constru??o de prot?tipos rob?ticos, sua programa??o e controle. Ao construir os prot?tipos as crian?as desenvolvem ZDPs, que s?o espa?os de aprendizagem que quando bem aproveitados proporcionam a constru??o, pelos indiv?duos n?o s? de conceitos cient?ficos, mas tamb?m de habilidades e compet?ncias importantes para as intera??es sociais e culturais de cada um e do grupo. Com o desenvolvimento das oficinas foi poss?vel analisar a utiliza??o do rob? como elemento mediador do processo de ensino-aprendizagem e as contribui??es que o uso da rob?tica pode trazer para o ensino desde o n?vel fundamental

The thesis covers a new navigation algorithm for UAV to fly through several given GPS coordinates without any human interference. The UAV first gets its current position from GPS receiver via Bluetooth connection with the navigator computer. With this GPS point, it draws an optimal trajectory to next destination. During the flight, the navigator computer issues the information about which direction to turn and how much to turn. This information will be used to steer the airplane servos. The algorithm is programmed in Java LeJOS. It uses built-in Java classes about GPS and Bluetooth. The main computer, where the navigation program runs, is a LEGO Mindstorms NXT and it is used a GPSlim240 from HOLUX as a GPS receiver.

TITLE: LEGO Mindstorms: Didactic utilization in mathematics with a focus on fractals ABSTRACT: The objective of this thesis is to determine whether the teaching of fractal geometry supported by computer and robotic LEGO Mindstorms NXT has its place in the education of primary and secondary schools pupils in the Czech Republic. The theoretical part focuses on key topics and personalities closely connected to fractal geometry problematics. It provides a brief historical overview of the fractal geometry development, its potential use in teaching mathematics (with reference to Turkish curriculum documents), and a description of LEGO Mindstorms NXT which can well serve as a manual for teachers and pupils. The practical part contains instructions for building a robotic turtle as well as a proposal of teaching block aimed to support pupils' algorithmic and geometric thinking including key competencies. Quantitative comparison of the results taken from Turkish studies and evaluation of the project by the author and pupils are a part of the experiment as well. KEYWORDS: LEGO Mindstorms NXT, fractal, programming, Logo, learning by doing, turtle, Papert, L-system, microworlds

The LEGO® MINDSTORMS® toolkit can be used to help students learn basic programming and engineering concepts. Software that is widely used with LEGO MINDSTORMS is ROBOLAB, developed by Professor Chris Rogers from Tufts University, Boston, United States. It has been adopted in about 10,000 schools in the United States and other countries. It is used to program LEGO MINDSTORMS robotics in its icon-based programming environment. However, this software does not provide debug features for LEGO MINDSTORMS programs. Users cannot test the program before downloading it into LEGO robotics hardware. In this project, we develop a simulator for LEGO MINDSTORMS to simulate the motions of LEGO robotics in a virtual 3D environment. We use ODE (Open Dynamic Engine) and OpenGL, combined with ROBOLAB. The simulator allows users to test their ROBOLAB program before downloading it into the LEGO MINDSTORMS hardware. For users who do not have the hardware, they may use the simulator to learn ROBOLAB programming skills which may be tested and debugged using the simulator. The simulator can track and display program execution as the simulation runs. This helps users to learn and understand basic robotics programming concepts. An introduction to the overall structure and architecture of the simulator is given and is followed by a detailed description of each component in the system. This presents the techniques that are used to implement each feature of the simulator. The discussions based on several test results are then given. This leads to the conclusion that the simulator is able to accurately represent the actions of robots under certain assumptions and conditions.

The research described in this dissertation examines the possible link between self-regulated learning and LEGO Mindstorms robotics activities in teaching concepts in an introductory university computer programming course. The areas of student motivation, learning strategies, and mastery of course objectives are investigated. In all three cases analysis failed to reveal any statistically significant differences between the traditional control group and the experimental LEGO Mindstorms group as measured by the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and course exams. Possible reasons for the lack of positive results include technical problems and limitations of the LEGO Mindstorms systems, limited number and availability of robots outside of class, limited amount of time during the semester for the robotics activities, and a possible difference in effectiveness based on gender. Responses to student follow-up questions, however, suggest that at least some of the students really enjoyed the LEGO activities. As with any teaching tool or activity, there are numerous ways in which LEGO Mindstorms can be incorporated into learning. This study explores whether or not LEGO Mindstorms are an effective tool for teaching introductory computer programming at the university level and how these systems can best be utilized.