Programming

While building our group's Lego robot, the robot had to be programmed in order for it to know how to do certain tasks. The programming was relatively simple, as most of the tasks were already pre-programmed in the 'intelligent brick.' The user simply had to tell the software the order in which to do these tasks. Depending on the purpose of the robot, the brick could be programmed to follow certain instructions, either put in manually on the brick, or inputted on the computer and then downloaded onto the brick. The tasks could be changed depending on time variations, visual/UV sensor choice, and motion variations.

Programming Software on a computer

'Intelligent Brick' and its various buttons and functions

Lego Robotics

A robot is a mechanical or visual mechanism guided by computer software or electronic circuitry. Lego robotics is a way of building a basic robot (out of Legos, obviously) and being able to program it using their easy to use programming software, named an 'intelligent brick.' The robots run on battery that is charged using an outlet on the wall. Lego robots are fully functional, and instructions are included for many robots including the Puppy, Color Sorter, and Gyro Boy. In the world of science, robots are used for many things. They are used in factories, to build cars and electronics. They can also be used for the military, in schools, and in space. Robots are often used for jobs that are either harmful, unrealistic, or unattractive for humans, such as diffusing a bomb, fixing a part on a remote space station, or even picking up trash. Modern robots can be used for functional uses, and many depend on them for every day uses.

The Color Sorter

My group, consisting of myself, Luke and Amechi, built a color sorter for our group's final robot. The color sorter used visual technology to sense which color was being shown and temporarily saved it into the software. When the color block is placed in the slide, the robot remembers the order in which the colors were placed and moves along the tracks in order to place the colors in their own respective cups. The color sorter takes advantage of the visual sensor in order to sort colors with no regard to which order they are placed in.

Parts of the Robot:
-Tracks: Moves robotic slide across tracks
-Slide: Place where the colored blocks are placed after placing them above the visual sensor
-Robot: Place where programming happens and visual sensor is placed

Catapults

How Catapults Work

A catapult is a device in which tension is accumulated and then suddenly released in order to hurl a projectile. The device works entirely on the collection of potential energy in the form of tension. Potential energy is the energy of a particle, or system, due to position or condition rather than motion. The potential energy is stored when the arm is brought back and tension increased. When the arm is released and then quickly brought to an abrupt stop, the projectile retains the kinetic energy from the motion of the arm and is launched at the target. 

Newton's First Law

Newton's First Law helps us explain the launch of projectiles using catapults. Newton's First Law states that an object in motion tends to remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force, so when the arm is stopped but not the projectile, the projectile keeps moving forward. The projectile eventually falls to the ground because of gravity, or the "outside force" in this situation. If we were in outer space, where there is no gravity, the projectile would keep on moving forever.

The Importance of Angles

When the tension from the spring or wire is released, the projectile goes flying. Let's say that x is horizontal velocity and y is vertical velocity. In order to gain maximum velocity in both x and y, I released my projectile at a 45 degree angle. Simple trigonometry tells us that when the sine or cosine of an angle is taken, the angle in which both the sines and cosines are equal is the 45 degree angle. Therefore, if released at a 45 degree angle, the projectile would have the exact same velocity in x as in y. This makes sure that it does not go too far upwards so that it does not get a lot of displacement in x, but also does not get so little displacement in y that it does not go far. If the figure below had had a 45 degree angle, then the velocities in x and y would've been equal. 

Mousetrap Catapults

Mousetrap catapults use the tension collected from the spring in order to snap abruptly and swing forward. When a bar of some sort stops the arm's forward motion, the projectile keeps moving forward using the kinetic motion from the arm. This rapid snapping motion from the mousetrap arm causes the projectile to be launched forward quickly. 

The Challenges of Honors Physics

Honors Physics is a big change from various middle school sciences. It is a class that requires you to think and use logic, which, although not vastly difficult, is a step up from previous courses . So far, the problems are not extremely challenging, I just need to apply what I have learned and use logic to solve them. This is a step up from the middle school, which just required us to regurgitate facts and substitute variables into formulas. Once I can get into the mindset of thinking on my own, this will help me think through each problem carefully and not make careless errors. Finally, Honors Physics cannot be learned just by paying attention in class. Voluntary extra work outside of school is required in order to understand and retain the problem solving skills.