VEX Robotics Workshop at Taipei American School, Taiwan - May 04-05, 2012

It's been a long time since I participated in a true hands-on workshop. Last weekend, I was able to participate in a VEX Robotics Workshop at Taipei American School. A delegation of three ISB teachers travelled to Taiwan for a taste of VEX robotics kits and equipment. The first day was an introduction of robotics as TAS, the course offerings, an explanation of the cortex (brain), and a presentation of the VEX kit.

Squarebot

We then switched gears and quickly moved to building a Squarebot 3.0 (from the Protobot kit). TAS recommended not to buy any VEX tools. It's possible to find them in the local market at a cheaper price. Using the instruction handouts, we were able to build the Squarebot including an arm and all necessary sensors. Soon we learned that it was better to use the instructions and get familiarized with the pieces since there were so many that you can easily get confused. Once the Squarebot was built we had to connect all the cables to the microcontroller, also known as the CORTEX. An important step is to update the IFI Master Code of the cortex. This will allow the computer to communicate with the robot.

After lunch, we focused on programming the Squarebot in order to, autonomously, drive all around the VEX arena in the center of the room. We used EASYC for this. Let me tell you that if you have no knowledge of programming structures, you will spend some time getting your head around this before you can actually make your robot do what you plan. Some participants struggled with programming a bit. So basically we used instructions like SetMotor and Waits to start moving the wheels for a specific amount of time. Then by turning one of them on, we were able to make the Squarebot turn around the corners. For some people, the use of a loop made sense as the instructions repeated itself four times.

EasyC Programming Environment

The second day of the workshop, we took some time to practice using sensors and were given the task to move the Squarebot forward and if it touched something, it would stop and go backwards for a few seconds and then turn to a different direction. Some people used the touch sensor to carry out this assignment. Once comfortable, others ventured in programming the limit switch and ultrasonic rangefinder. Towards the end of the day, we were given the opportunity to test the wireless controls by programming in Joystick mode. EasyC has pre-defined functions that allow you to easily connect and program a joystick.

Before the end of the workshop, we all had to disassemble our robots and place the pieces back in the boxes and containers. This was certainly a task that demanded much patience. I now know what my students will have to go through after working hard on their robots. At some point, I had to make a modification in my Squarebot, that actually forced me to disassemble part, in order to remove two pieces. I really lost a lot of time doing this. So, bear in mind that once you place your nuts and bolts and rivets, you better be sure that you won't be modifying the structure much.

All in all, I was very pleased to have attended the workshop. The enthusiasm and effort placed in making this a success was very evident from the beginning. From simple things like providing a flip camera to record the learning experience and being able to document every stage, I believe TAS had all the intention to make this experience memorable and worthy of sharing to all interested parties. The participation of high school students sharing their experiences in the class as well as in the VEX competitions is much appreciated. Their support was present at all times.

I want to also acknowledge the fact that TAS Staff are highly supportive of other teachers coming to see what they are doing. Just before leaving from the workshop, I spent a few minutes with Andrew Vicars walking around the school to see the Lego Mindstorms NXT classes. He even showed me their FLL table and gave me wise recommendations on how to manage the Lego kits.

David Sinclair, Technology Director at Taipei American School and all the wonderful staff involved with Robotics have certainly started a tidal wave of innovation that will continue to spread all over Asia. To all the people that made this trip possible, simply thank you. One last message, once you start a robotics program, it truly goes viral. You can't help it. It's contagious. Make sure you get support from your admin, board, and community.

Photos of the workshop