Robots Toe the Line

In this lesson plan, students will learn how to use the Python programming language, Raspberry Pi computer, and a robotics kit to create a robot that moves and responds to its environment. It assumes that students are already familiar with programming fundamentals in Python. Students will assemble their robot, applying knowledge of circuit design and electronics basics. They will then hard-code their robot to perform specific actions, noting how small differences in ground material and the robot motors themselves throw off the robot’s accuracy and illustrate the need for sensors. Students will finally connect and program a light sensor to detect whether the robot is over a line, and behave accordingly. In the culminating activity, students will design their own line following algorithm and test their robot’s performance on a teacher-created, surprise maze!