Make a Hungry Robot with Cytron Maker Pi Pico board, a distance sensor and a servo.
This is based on the tutorial presented at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfP_LfUiwdc as suggested by Michael Creggan.
Funding has been provided curtesy of the Teaching Innovation Fund.
TARGET AUDIENCE: P6/P7 Children SCHOOLS: GROUP SIZE: 20 LENGTH OF WORKSHOP: 90 minutes VENUE: DATE: TBA - need to Book TIME: TBA
TO DO:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
PURPOSE linked to research
BENEFITS including LINK TO CURRICULUM CCEA and the stages
PHOTO/VIDEO PERMISSION FORMS
FOOD ALLERGIES AND MEDICAL/LEARNING ETC REQUIREMENTS
FOOD
RISK ASSESSMENT
BADGES
TUTORIAL
GITHUB
EVALUATION FORMS
WEB SITE - EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
HARDWARE:
More information on the Cytron Maker Pi Pico Board can be found here: ** https://github.com/CytronTechnologies/MAKER-PI-PICO/tree/main**.
Cytron Maker Pi Pico Board [donated by Michael Creggan] x 1 USB Micro B cable x 1 IR distance Sensors x 1 Servos x 1 Cable Ties x 10 Googly Eyes x 2 Screwdriver x 1 Screws Blue Tack Glue Dots
3D FILES
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2824451
From top left to bottom right we have:
- Bottom
- Hand
- Head
- Inner Body
- Linked
- New Body
SOFTWARE CODE Go to makeplaypiper (https://make.playpiper.com/). Copy the block code given below (Python Code in Folder).
CONNECTING THE SENSORS TO THE HARDWARE: I have connected the servo to Grove 1 and the IR detector to Grove 3 (use Grove 4 for digital example whilst using the prototype code). makeplaypiper (https://make.playpiper.com/)
I have also tried out which has the advantage of seeing the code alongside this. The great advantage of using this board is the great sound it produces.
For troubleshooting see: https://make.playpiper.com/assets/documents/Piper%20Make%20Troubleshooting%20Guide.pdf
TEACHER NOTES
FEATURES OF THE CYTRON MAKER Pi PICO You can see the features of the Cytrin Make Pi PICO on the table below on the right hand column. The robotics board on the left also looks very interesting.
ALTERNATIVE IDEs
THONNY
The Thonny app is the orginal suggestion: https://thonny.org/
A: SETTING UP MICROPYTHON: I have orginally added prototype code for Micropython. To use Micropython on the board I choose Configure Interpreter from the Run Menu. I selected Micropython Raspberry Pi Pico as the interpreter and tried to detect the port automatically. I clicked on the link Install or Update Micropython. It tells you to plug in the board while pressing the BOOTSEL button on the green Pico board to enter bootlaoder mode and then you can select the version of MicroPython you require. Once finished unplug the board and plug it in normally and you shoudl see the status message on the bottom right of the screen which teels you the language and the COM port.
RUNNING THE SOFTWARE: Chose Save as from the File Menu and then save the code on your computer and do again but this time store on the raspberry pico. Press Play to run and end the script with Stop.
BLOCK CODING
LANGUAGE: Micropython or Circuit Python or Block Coding? It may be useful to evaluate other methods to code using blocks for instance using: https://wokwi.com/pi-pico or https://mindplus.dfrobot.com/ Evaluate benefits of teaching hands on.
I have for example set up the sensor and the servo to work together on MicroBlocks..You can see how to install the software on the board here: http://microblocks.fun/get-started#board
ARDUINO CODE Example code provided for Arduino : https://github.com/happythingsmaker/TrashEatingRobot
POWERPOINT SLIDES https://1drv.ms/p/s!As0G1JCrieYhgcYsszbgMaFhzVVlMA?e=nXppNs
OTHER INSPIRATION: https://www.cytron.io/tutorial/diy-piano-paper-with-raspberry-pi-pico
EVALUATION