Noel Ríos | Robotics Course | American Nicaraguan School

1. Robotics American Nicaraguan School Managua, Nicaragua

2. Course Introduction The hot new technology within five years will include: computer programming electronic embedded systems engineering design and mathematics Robotics has the ability to teach these concepts. At the same time 21st Century skill sets like: Time management, resource allocation, teamwork, problem solving, and communications.

3. Three Laws of Robotics “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.”- Isaac Asimov – I, Robot

4. The Myth of the Three Laws of Robotics – Why We Can’t Control Intelligence –Singularity Hub - by Aaron Saenz May 10th, 2011 “…intelligent machines that would coexist peacefully with humanity” – a myth “The Three Laws of Robotics are a myth, and a dangerous one.” “…never bet against intelligence, even when it’s human.” -”Here in the real world, I’m not sure we can avoid it. Our machines are our tools, and the human with the best tools wins. We have strong economic and political pressures to build intelligent machines. Already we’re surrounded by narrow AI, computers that can learn a little in particular areas of expertise and get better over time. It may take a century, or as little as a decade, but I’m pretty sure we’ll have general, human-like AI as well. It could be in a computer, or in a robot, doesn’t really matter. Machine intelligence is coming”. –A. Saenz

5. Welcome to ANS - Robotics What are the goals of this class? What is the definition of a robot? What is the definition of engineering? What is the definition of programming? What is the definition of a system? What does it mean to manage a project? Safety – an Attitude

6. The NXT Hardware Introduction…… then ongoing The NXT Controller – Revision of NXT Manual Motors, Multiple Sensors & Gears Introduction to NXT Sensors – Basics of electronics Lego Mindstorms NXT Parts Identification – Building your first robot – Basics of Programming Planning – Brainstorm Designing – Flow chart basics Building – Hand-on operations Testing & Evaluating

7. ROBOTC Software Introduction to programming in C. Introduction to ROBOTC 2.0 Download Program Samples Manage Challenges and competitions Programming Programming ROBOTC - Programming Syntax lessons Behaviors/variables/functions & psuedocode Loops & Whitespace/Comments/ reserved words

8. Forward/Backward/Turning - Movement – NXT Speed and Direction - Turning Engineering Lab Labyrinth Challenge – LOGO algorithms Moving Forward/Backward & Turning Motor Power Engineering - Synchronizing Synchronized Motors & Sensors Synchronized Motors Engineering Lab – Programming algorithms Introduction to Encoders – Flow charting - Testing

9. Class organization Rules & Safety Measures Grading/Rubrics for Evaluation Lab Procedures – Safety* Keeping an Engineering Journal * Safety is an Attitude - What safety is and what safety is not. It’s a fact that most accidents are preventable with the development of a safe attitude.

10. Instructor Noel S. Rios (Mr.) I am starting my 18th year of teaching at ANS Love computers, and Robotics has been my dream for years. I am so excited about this course that I already feel it’s going too fast. Click on the boxes below to link to our first videos: Team 1 Project 1: Team 2 Project 1:

11. References The Myth of the Three Laws of Robotics – Why We Can’t Control Intelligence – Singularity Hub– A. Saenz – May/2011 - http://singularityhub.com/2011/05/10/the-myth-of-the-three-laws-of-robotics-why-we-cant-control-intelligence/ The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University is our source of academic information on basic and applied robotics technologies relevant to industrial and societal tasks. http://www.ri.cmu.edu/ Lego – Mindstorms NXT - Education – Hardware & Software - http://education.lego.com/en-gb/preschool-and-school/secondary-11-18/ http://education.lego.com/en-gb/products/mindstorms/9797/ Robot C Software – Mindstorms - http://education.lego.com/en-gb/products/mindstorms/2000081/ LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 - http://tinyurl.com/3vh2kec With Inspiration and Assistance of a Teacher & Friend: Mr. Nael Faraj, Technology Manager American Community School P. O. Box 310 Amman 11831 www.acsamman.edu.jo