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Level Of Difficulty
Level Of Difficulty
Exercise 1.
On the computer, place the correct icons on the
ERP simulator according to the pedestrian crossing model. Drag
and drop the necessary blocks inside the flow diagram in order
to create the following program that simulates main traffic
lights control for the car (don’t forget to use appropriate times):
Ÿ
green light on (cars free to go);
Ÿ
amber light on (cars ready to stop);
Ÿ
red light on (cars stop);
Ÿ
red and amber lights on at the same time (cars ready to go);
Tip: if you put the program into loop, there is no need to add
green light as a final step, as it already exists in the beginning.
Exercise 2.
Make the appropriate changes on the program of
exercise 1 in order to add the pedestrian crossing lights. These
will work in parallel with the main traffic lights so that:
Ÿ
when is green light for cars, it should be red for pedestrians;
Ÿ
when it changes to amber light for cars (ready to stop), it should
still be red light for pedestrians;
Ÿ
when it changes to red light for cars (stop), it should be green
for pedestrians (go);
Ÿ
when is red and amber lights for cars simultaneously (ready to
go), light should change to red for pedestrians.
Exercise 3.
Make the appropriate changes on the program of
exercise 2 in such a way that:
Ÿ
the lights interchange between the pedestrian crossing lights
and the main traffic lights should occur only if the pedestrian
pushes the button.
Tips: read the safety requirements below and adjust your
program accordingly. Remember that before the interchange,
lights should still work!
SAFETY REQUIREMENTS:
Exercise 1.
It is a hot summer day! Engino-man is returning to
his house after a pleasant walk at the park. Tired as he is, he
wonders whether is it possible to install an automatic system
that would open the front door at the press of a button. Can
you help him?
On the computer, place the correct icons on the ERP simulator
according to the automated house model. Drag and drop the
necessary blocks inside the flow diagram in order to create the
following program:
Ÿ
if
the touch sensor is pressed, the motor should open the door.
Tip: note that the motor should work accurately so that the
door will not close back.
How to program a real-life example of
pedestrian crossing.
What safety requirements should be
followed.
How to program a real-life example of an
automated house.
How to make a building more energy
efficient using robotics.
After experimenting thoroughly with all features of the Engino
Robotics Platform, you are now ready to put your knowledge into
practice! This can be achieved by programming real-life example
models, just like the one of pedestrian crossing that follows. Can
you make sure that Engino-man crosses the road safely?
Another real-life example is the automated house. One of the
main advantages of using robots is their ability to work only
when specific conditions are met. This can come in handy if we
want the air-condition of a house to work only when doors are
closed, thus saving energy. Can you simulate the same?
Real-life example: pedestrian crossing
Learning about:
ROBOTICS
Real-life example: automated house
ROBOTICS
Learning about:
Procedure:
1.
Find the instructions in
pages
68-70
and
build the
automated house
model.
With the
remaining parts you can create again an
Engino-man (page 65, step 6), who will trigger
the sensors of the house.
2.
When building a house, usually the wires
are inserted inside the walls for safety and
aesthetic reasons. Twist the wires of your
model around the “columns” of the house to
simulate this, but keep the same ports.
3.
Besides wiring, another problem is to
construct buildings that are as much
energy
efficient
as possible. And by this we mean
that the house should use power only when
is needed and at the least amount possible.
Follow
exercises 1 and 2
in order to create
an energy efficient robotic house.
4.
You can make your Engino model more
energy efficient structurally if you close the
walls entirely or even place an Engino solar
panel on the roof (available in solar set).
Answer
question 3
about real-life houses’
efficiency, but from robotics perspective.
Materials Needed:
®
-
Engino
Robotics PRO (STEM70).
- Computer with ERP software installed.
®
Engino
automated house
Procedure:
1.
Find the instructions in
pages 64-67
and
build the
pedestrian crossing
model. You
will find the carton paper for the road inside
your Robotics package.
2.
Follow
exercise 1
in order to simulate the
main traffic lights control for the cars.
3.
Programming real-life traffic lights is a very
important task. People entrusted with this,
need to make absolutely sure that when one
light is green the vertical side light is always
red. This way cars or pedestrians will never
cross each other’s paths. With this in mind,
add the pedestrian crossing lights in your
existing program by following
exercise 2
.
4.
Here comes Engino-
man wishing to cross the
road! To do this safely he
must use the pedestrian
crossing. Follow
exercise
3
in order to create a
program that meets all
the safety requirements.
When you finish, tick the boxes below for
every point you got right.
Materials Needed:
®
-
Engino
Robotics PRO (STEM70).
- Computer with ERP software installed.
®
Engino pedestrian crossing
Is the amber light’s time adequate enough to warn car
drivers to stop?
Do the lights interchange in the correct order, not
conflicting with each other? For example, green light for
cars and pedestrians should never occur simultaneously.
Is the green light’s time adequate enough for pedestrians
to cross the road?
Did you add buzzer sound to warn pedestrians when to go?
Exercise 2.
Engino-man can now enter his house in automatic
way. But why stop there? He thinks that it will be nice if there
was a way for the house to “sense” his presence so that the
door would close back and some devices would start working
after. These can be the
air-condition
(simulated by the fan) to
cool his house and the
LED light
to brighten the room. Can you
be so kind to help him again?
Make the appropriate changes on the program of exercise 1 in
such a way that:
Ÿ
if
the IR sensor detects motion inside the house, then the door
should close back. After this, the fan should start working and
the LED light should be on.
With this program you save energy because the air-condition
works only if the door is closed, keeping the cool air inside the
house. You can make your program more energy efficient if you
add minimum time for the fan to work. In real life, air-
conditions stop when a pre-set temperature is reached.
Exercise 3.
Can you think of some other ways to make real
houses more energy efficient using robotics?
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