Day 3

The Mayan Monkeys created a little robot called Monkey Bot.  This robot was able to pick up the crystal, but it wasn't able to hold on to it for long enough to carry it anywhere.  On one run, after it dropped the crystal, it made a nice turn and headed out across the diagonal line, straight to the golden plate.

Points for Mayan Monkeys

5   for robot picking up a ball
5   use a sensor
5   following the diagonal line
3   sketch before build
7   Team work 

25 Total points for Monkey Bot 

Team Teamwork created a robot called Discoverer.    It used the ultrasonic sensor to know when it had gotten close enough to the wall behind the crystal to scoop up the clear crystal.   Then it came straight back to the platform.  It took two runs to retrieve both of the crystals.  Then Team Teamwork pointed Discoverer towards the golden plate and had it head out to deliver the crystals.  They used the sound sensor to stop the robot, open it's arm, and deliver the crystal.  Even with programming challenges, Discoverer was the first robot to pick up a ball and the only robot to actually deliver a ball to the plate. Well done!

Points for Team Teamwork

5     for robot picking up a ball
10   use switch and sensor
4     crystals in the right spots
10   Team work 

29 Total points for Discoverer 

Tomb Robbers created a large robot called Crystal.  It was a much more stable design and you used the compass sensor for the first time.   The compass sensor was much more effective once it was raised in the air away from the metal parts of the robot! 

The team tested their grabber mechanism and it worked.  But they had a hard time actually picking up the one large gold crystal.  On all the test runs, Crystal got stuck in the middle of the crystals and the walls in that corner.

On the first test run, the robot almost died due to lack of battery power.  It was taking a lot of energy to move the robot and raise the arm!  The team plugged in Crystal to recharge while the other teams finished their runs, and we read the end of the story.  Just before lunch, they took crystal back to the temple for their final two runs.  Some of the their team was suggesting we just have lunch since it didn't seem likely they would get any more points.

Crystal started out from the platform and headed straight for the gold crystal.  The arm closed perfectly and then the motor wound up the string and up went the large crystal!  Everyone held their breath to see what would happen next.  In no test run had they gotten this far.  Their compass sensor had been mounted too close to the metal arm the last time they picked up the crystal and the robot couldn't figure out which way to go.

This time, Crystal was holding the ball and slowly started to turn, but just a little way, and then a little bit more, and then a little bit more.  The team almost called for a rescue, when Crystal made the last bit of the turn and headed straight for the golden plate.  Crystal stopped with the ball hanging perfectly over the plate.  They had never gotten this far and no one had programmed the arm to lower the ball!

It was amazing to watch, and an incredible improvement in robot building from the day before.

Points for Tomb Robbers

5     for robot picking up a ball
10  Tetrix and Robot Design
8    crystals in the right spots
5    follow diagonal to plate
3    sketch before build
9    Team work 

40 Total points for Crystal 

Library Challenge

While the kids had free time at lunch, we did a quick redesign of the temple and created the library room.  There's a basket in the middle of the floor with an obsidian knife that came from Mexico.  It will be the key to unlock the next door.

Continue reading Mayan Adventure Robot Camp  Day 4

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