MicroChallenge 2 – TEST FOR SUCCESS
Objective
This MicroChallenge is focused on programming a collaborative robot in a safe, modern, industrial environment without extra equipment. The gripper designed in MicroChallenge 1 will be utilised in this MicroChallenge. The program shall be able to palletize the parts made for the gripper.
The MicroChallenge starts with team building and icebreaker activities the first day. The second day and forward starts with lectures in robot programming, and is followed by practical work in positioning, variables and relative movements.
Each team will create a presentation, where they present their solutions and the process of getting there, to teachers and company representatives. Company representatives should be chosen from a field that is either directly associated with robotics or closely adjacent.
The students will learn how to work on a real project, time management, communication, how to perform rapid prototyping, and solve problems in a multinational team.
Acquired skills
Technical Skills:
- Programming
- In an absolute coordinate system
- In a relative coordinate system
- Utilising variables to make sequence control and intelligent decisions
- Utilising variables to make sequence control and intelligent decisions
- Scripting or Polyscope, both options work well
- Palletising
- Report and presentation development
Soft skills:
- Organization and Time-management
- Communication (Teams, Teachers…)
- Conflict Management
- Decision-Making
- Presenting for an audience
The case
The student teams need to work on mounting the gripper to a robot, planning the palletising, and program a palletising sequence for a 3x3x3 stack.
This can be achieved in multiple ways and there are plenty of opportunities for skill expression.
Required resources
Hardware:
- Computers
- Robots
Software:
- Text editor for scripting (Sublime text)
- Robot virtual machine
- Office 365 / Google Docs
Structure
Before the MicroChallenge
- Collect information of students who will participate in the challenge, and create groups where the participants’ abilities compliment each other. We used DISC profiling.
- Organise meetings for teachers to discuss upcoming challenge week.
- Organise an online meeting for students to meet the rest of their team. They should have ice-breakers activities, f.ex. find things they have in common, and decide upon a team name.
During the MicroChallenge
Each student team discuss their plans for programming a robot. Fast iterations and small incremental code tests will help students move forward towards their intended solution. Getting a feel of what they need to do underway.
Students should document their progress throughout the week, and gather this in a presentation which they will present on Friday. During the week there will be small social activities/tasks for bringing the groups together.
Program for MicroChallenge 2
Presentations/ Resources
| Activity | Resources |
| Welcome | 2.1 Welcome presentation.pdf or 2.1 Welcome presentation.ppt |
| Presenting the case | 2.2 The case.pdf or 2.2 The case.ppt – Handout to students: 3D-file of “Robot wrist attachment” |
| Introducing the concept of robotics and iterative design process | 2.3 Introduction to robotics and innovation.pdf 2.3 Robot Programming.ppt |
| Teaching about 3D-printing consideration when modelling | 2.4 Sensors for robots 2.4 Sensors.ppt |
Disclaimer
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them
Creative commons
This work; RoboCup – Teaching safety in robotics, is free of known copyright restrictions. CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication