Robot Camp finished up last week with robotic games, autonomous robots, line following artificial intelligence, and one of the most epic Sumo Bot battles that WMSI has ever seen! In order to create these robotic masterpieces, campers used the design process heavily, testing their builds, discovering weaknesses and flaws, and fixing those weaknesses. Iteration and lack of fear regarding failure led to some very cool builds!
Some students (above) were very interested in the use of robotics in game design. One group even built and coded a basketball hoop to record their score!
Each student also designed some sort of artificially intelligent car, with the challenge being to design a robot that could move about the room using input from sensors. While each student completed the same challenge, builds were wildly different (above)!
The faces of engineering success!
For the final challenge, students created a robot that could push other robots out of a ring. This iterative design process led to tanks, robot flippers, chainsaw-like LEGO arms, and defensive shields. Students analyzed the failures of their bots, fixed those weaknesses, and then tested the design in new fights, allowing their builds to evolve into amazing structures!
Epic battles!
Autonomous robot flipper!
Some students took on independent projects, such as robotic musical instruments, autonomous line following robots, and even robotic stair climbers! We were so excited to see how proud students were of their builds. They took many opportunities to excitedly explain the intricacies of their design to others (above).
All in all, Robot Camp had an atmosphere of limitless possibility and glorious amounts of fun! We owe so much of that to our amazing participants, who took chances, smiled off failure, and shared their successes with others!
We hope to see you all soon for another WMSI program!