Legos, The Internet and Physics

Yarmouth – Scientific thinking combining problem solving, math, physics, the Internet and Legos produces directed, creative learning in Kris Hansen’s Robotics I class at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School. At the close of a semester-long course, members of the all-male class have created, individually and in groups, a robotic hand, forklift, flying machine and tank, to name a few items.

“I make the class student-driven so it promotes scientific thinking,” Hansen says. “Students acquire skills through guided discovery and trial and error.” For the first four weeks, Hansen teaches robotics basics and introduces his students to programming. “There’s a lot of theory to learn, and the learning curve takes awhile, but by the time I introduce the engineering cycle, they’re ready to go,” he says. “Kids like the class, and enrollment for the spring term, which begins in a few weeks, is maxed out at 25.”

Last week, several dozen students in grades 10 to 12 immersed themselves in design, the final phase of an eight-step process that began in September with identifying a need or problem. “The two main principles are to serve a need and to program the robot to run by itself,” Hansen says. “Students use the Internet to research robots out there in the real world and Lego Mindstorms lets them design and program real robots that fill the needs they’ve identified.”

Senior P.J. Haberski has built and programmed a robot “that can knock over stuff, ultimately to be used as a kid’s toy. The kid could program the toy on his computer screen, send the program to the toy, place it on the ground, push ‘play’ and watch it knock over toy soldiers.” Haberski says his challenge is to create and fine-tune a program that works.

Following graduation, Haberski plans to study automotive mechanics at Universal Technical Institute in Norwood. His studies will depend heavily on the computer knowledge he’s acquiring in his D-Y classes.

Senior Mike Gannon built a forklift using physics to determine range, weight and thrust. His plans include firefighting and studying robotics at UMass Dartmouth.

Juniors Chuck DeSouza and Jesse Smith’s original plan turned into a team effort. “At first we were going for a zeppelin competition,” DeSouza says. “But after we did research on the first zeppelin and helium balloons, we decided to pool our efforts on the project.”

Research is the second step of the cycle, followed by generating possible solutions and selecting the best solution for building a robot that serves the identified need. Next, students build the robot, test and evaluate it and redesign for any flaws. Written documentation and explanations accompany final steps of the engineering cycle.

DeSouza and Smith calculate it would take 16 cubic feet of helium to lift their one-pound zeppelin. They researched the effects of weather on their zeppelin and used solar panels to give it more lifting power. Last week they tested and evaluated the robot in preparation for adjustments necessary in the final, redesign phase.

DeSouza hasn’t decided whether he’ll attend music college or technology school for robotics. Smith is exploring career possibilities working with animals.

Sophomore Alex Hill has a few years to think about his future. He’s concentrating on a robotic hand designed to pick up small objects. Nearby, sophomore Ahmed Hachem, junior Andy Ahern and senior Ben Morze are testing their robot that turns on computers. In conjunction with his computer programming class, Ahern is writing code for the robot.

Hansen will soon evaluate and grade the projects. Then, students will disassemble their robots, leaving incoming students the tools to proceed with projects of their own.

“I love it when students are about six to eight weeks into the course and they get that ‘ah ha!’ moment,” Hansen says. “There comes a point when everything just clicks and they’re just raring to start building and programming.” That’s when Hansen takes on the roles of coach and troubleshooter. He enjoys watching his students’ excitement in discovery while dodging the small contraptions zooming and flying around his classroom.

By Nicole Muller
www.wickedlocal.com