August 4, 2009
Morning class learned about gears and other simple machines.
We connected to the LEGO Robot at Marshall University and drove it around.
Wheels and axles are used two different ways in this lawn mover.
Separate axles work better for turns.
The pneumatic press can squeeze water out of the wash cloth.
Levers can increase force depending on where the fulcrum is.
A winch can be used to bring in a boat.
Compound levers can move even farther.
Gears can be used to make fans move fast..
Meshing gears can make great spaghetti.
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The afternoon class started working on teamwork by doing a LEGO Sudoku.
THen they learned what kind of actions a robot can do.
Those motions will be used to do missions like those in FIRST LEGO
League.
The robots will be programming using RoboLab.
Mission Mars
Another kind of robot programming is We Do.
It can be used to program an airplane to go faster and slower.
Or an alligator open or close its mouth when food comes near.
