Video tutorials

Tasks for the Gyro sensor that you can use in STEM classes, while preparing for a competition or just to explore how the sensor works.

The Gyro sensor can be positioned horizontally, vertically or at a random angle. Have you ever wonder what does the gyro detect when it is positioned vertically. This is the subject of this video tutorial for the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Gyro Sensor.

Let's explain the problem of just waiting for the Gyro sensor to detect an angle and think of why the robotics systems work like that.

Turning with the Gyro Sensor on a specified angle and stopping there have never been easy. It is not going to get any better. However, this is not a problem of the Gyro sensor. The problem is in the way we develop our programs.

The Gyro sensor in LEGO Mindstorms EV3 sets is new for the sets and we answer basic questions about its usage. The sensor detect when the whole constructions turns at a particular angle, but there are a number of gotchas in using it.

The EV3 Gyro sensor is quite powerful, but there are some little tricks when using it. In the previous episode we showed a hardware solution to the problem and now we are exploring how could the sensor be calibrated from the EV3-G software. Thanks to Sharon and Faye (full names omitted) for the request for this video.

The robot uses one middle motor. This middle motor with the use of a few gear systems controls for different axsels. We have attached wheels on this axles so it is very easy to extend the robot construction for additional LEGO Mindstorms active attachments

This robot has a color sensor and this sensor is used for following lines. Additional Mindstorms EV3 sensors could be place on the robot, like a Gyro sensor or a second Color sensor.

One of the very good things about box robots is that you could easily align with them both to the front, to the back or to the rear sides. This aligning is helpful for FIRST LEGO League, World Robotics Olympiad or other robotics competitions with LEGO Mindstorms EV3/NXT robots. 

With the EV3 Mindstorms set you receive three motors. Two are large and one is medium. These three motors could be used in different configurations and in this video we show how to use the motors on the second box robot for competitions that we build. 

The course is very suitable for students and you don't have to buy a new set for each student. You can group them, divide them, organize the use of the sets and you could technically work with 70-80 student with only 6 sets. 

Time to experiment with the controller, the diode and the program that makes the diode blink. Don't be afraid to change the program. We've prepared a number of tasks for you in the course that you should definitely complete before moving forward.

In this episode we would modify the blinking diode program so that the diode will stay on for four seconds. 

Safety notice: There is current flowing in this device and you can touch the device with your bear hands. This is not dangerous, but there are a few things that you should consider especially in class.

As a result from the previous two videos we have a diode that is blinking. What will now happen with the diode if we remove the power and change the position of the legs.

To correctly upload the blinking diode program to the controller we must first check some of the configurations of software. These are the "selected controller" and COM port

For making the diode blink we just use one of the examples available in the Arduino Software. 

Arduino programs are developed with a software and this software is downloaded from the http://arduino.cc site.

Developing a program for the Arduino is very easy. We need to do again three thigs:

You have the controller, you have the diode. The controller has a number of pins (holes). Where should you put the diode so that it starts blinking? 

The small holes on the controller are called pins. On our controller we have 32 pins. The more pins that you have, the more elements you can controller with this microcontroller. For this video the interesting pins and 13 and GND

For the current specific example we need two parts - the diode and the controller. In this episode we would show you which part is the controller, which are the jumpers and finally we would choose a diode.

Why: It's an easy and fun example to introduce you to Arduino

How: Presenting questions and trying answer this questions. Experimenting with different tasks.

What: We would like to show you how to control a diode. We would build a device and write programs for this device.

End Result: A blinking diode

It is a hardware/software related course. You need a set with parts. And you need a number of sets for a class of students. You can buy the set from us, from other vendors, from online retailers. It doesn`t matter actually as long as you have the needed parts for the course. We have tried to create a very lean set, but if you can afford to buy additional parts you could create more complex and probably more interesting devices. 

The course is designed for classes of students, but it could also be used personally. Each module should take you about 20 minutes and depending on how long your student hours are and how much time you will leave the students to experiment and solve tasks you could include different numbers of modules in your class.

This is a course for beginners, but the tasks would be interesting and for more intermediate students. We do not expect any previous knowledge from you except for how to divide numbers and use a computer. 

Answering three questions:

Why - because we believe any student and basically anybody must have a basic understanding of how electronic works. This course gives us the chance to present it and to move forward to better and smarter robots.

How - we do videos, we set tasks. You solve them.

What - we are using Arduino. Because it is popular, it is easy and we like it.