08249 Robot Fun and Games

These are the first ever cohort on our 08249 Electronics and Interfacing module. On the left we have the controller team, on the right we have the robot team. Today they got together to link their two .NET Micro Framework programs together so that the controller could send the robot off to traverse a room and measure the size of it. The packet of cigarettes that you see near the robot is actually a really important part of the setup. This is what they stood the robot on to make sure that it didn’t jump off the desk and run away when they were testing the motor code…

It was very interesting to watch the two teams work together as they developed a communications protocol and then implemented it at each end. By the time they had finished they the two devices passing messages backwards and forwards and actually understanding what was going on.

Great fun. Next we are are going to have around 27 or so students on this module. Time to buy a few more robots methinks.