Intelligent Transportation Systems
Using
LEGO Robotics
The Appalachian Transportation Institute sponsored
a series of three LEGO
transportation
workshops for students;
June
5-9, July
17-21, and July
31- August 5.
Linda
Hamilton, Coordinator, K12 Outreach Intelligent Transportation
Systems Workshops Using LEGO Robotics,
conducted the sessions. Sharon Simon, Classroom Instructor, provided technical
support.
Ursula Husted was the undergraduate student assistant.
Each
LEGO
workshop started with the group discussing
and defining "traffic systems". The students discussed local area
traffic control systems.
The first day students worked
with the materials from one of the "Cars", "House", "Bug", or "Gadgets"
sets in the LEGO
DACTA Starter Set to develop building and programming skills.
The rest of the week students used
the
LEGO
DACTA
Cities and Transportation Sets to model the transportation
needs of a city. Projects were on information and control technology
in the city, personal and public transportation, and on traffic systems.
Robotics groups built traffic
lights, motorized and intelligent gate, speed traps, line follower vehicles,
intelligent cars, and monorails. They programmed their creations
using ROBOLAB.
Students in each LEGO
Workshop planned, designed, built, and programmed a display using ROBOLAB
and LEGO DACTA
Transportation Sets. Students demonstrated their working models the last
day of each workshop.
Conducting workshops on transportation
related issues and technologies for elementary, middle, and high school
students will increase awareness and may lead them to a transportation
career as adults. Many areas of curriculum are integrated in these
workshops including sciences, programming, technology, math, environmental
studies, geography, and social studies. For more information please
contact Linda Hamilton at hamilton@marshall.edu.
Linda Hamilton
15 Sept. MM
