FORWARDS & BACKWARDS (& A BUILD!)

INTRO AND LEARNING GOALS
Here is a great lesson to get started with Mindstorms EV3. We will build and program a robot in a very short time!- Create a Robot Build in about three minutes – and learn about key LEGO pieces (ones we love!)
- Use LEGO Education Mindstorms software
- Create a program using the programming blocks to drive your robot forwards and backwards
- Explore what your robot can do!
LET’S DO A REALLY QUICK BUILD…
In the video Colin does a really quick build with LEGO Mindstorms EV3. This build allows you to get up and running quickly and to get focused on programming, while also giving you a great basis on which to develop your robot. It is not perfect (quite flimsy in places!) but it is a great starting point. Let’s get building…LET’S GET PROGRAMMING…
We are about to create a program to get our robot moving. There are two videos to explain this depending on whether you are using the desktop or tablet version.
SOME TEACHING THOUGHTS… from John
- Encourage(!) your robot builders to plug the two motors in to Ports B and C. This is where the software defaults to and it will make your life easier when trying to cure a broken robot!
- Make sure that the cables ‘click’ into place. Listen for that ‘click’.
- If a robot goes forwards rather than backwards – why not simply turn the robot to face the other way!?
- Rubbing wheels! When the wheel(s) rub against the motor(s) they can make the robot veer off. Ease the wheels away from the motor (there is also a ‘bushing’ you can put on the inside of the wheel to keep them apart).
(PS. This is what a ‘bushing’ looks like:
)

ROBOT WORKOUT (WHERE NEXT?)
- Why not set up a ‘start’ and ‘finish’ line a set distance apart – who can get a robot to finish on the line – how did they work it out?
- Get the robots racing – there and back! Boomerang robots!
- Do experiments using ‘Rotations’ and ‘Time’ – using varied power with each one. What conclusions can you draw?
- Make physical changes to the robot. Make one change at a time so that you can see the impact of the change! These might be different sized wheels, making a more sturdy robot, etc
- Everyone loves to make one motor go in one direction and the other go in the other (for example Motor B at 100 and Motor C at -100). Try it and see what happens!

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