Our final project was a success! We enjoyed sharing our project at the Robotics Exhibition at the end of the course, where students, faculty, and children were able to interact with projects from our class. Our final project was able to search for its target by rotating in a circle. Once it locates the light from the flashlight, it moves towards its target. At an appropriate distance from the target, it begins a sequence of attacks, including throwing its "spiderweb" (silly string), punches, and candy.
Our project was inspired by two concepts. The first was an attack robot that could sense where a person was, move to the person, and then attack. As this is an exhibition for children and their families, we decided to combine it with our second inspiration- Spiderman! We thought we would use Spiderman actions and create a SpiderBot that would locate a person, throw a spiderweb and a few punches. Of course, our robot is the friendly, neighborhood SpiderBot, so he gives the intruders candy after attacking.
It was great to be able to utilize the variety of skills that we have acquired over the course and apply it to this final project. We combined our lessons on building strong Lego structures, gearing, working with HandyBoards, and sensors to create the SpiderBot. We learned that many things can change from the initial design of a project. Considering our time constraint as well as limitations in materials, we were able to make a project that was both interactive and interesting.
Next: How Does Spiderman Operate?