Video tutorials

We use a sensor so the robot must be reliable and accurate right? Wrong. The robot is not reliable and accurate only because we use sensors and that's really important during FIRST LEGO League competition. There is a reason for this and in this tutorial we demonstrate and explain how the robot behaves with a basic use of the Motion Sensor to move straight. As a result you will learn why is it important not to stop at this stage and to go to the next level with more advance use of sensors.

Counting lines and stopping on the third is the subject of this video. It is important to know how to do this in order to conduct more than one experiment in STEM classes (if we consider that each line is an experiment)

In this video tutorial we use the LEGO Education SPIKE Prime Motion Sensor to reach a mission model on the field. It's a basic use of the motion sensor that we will extend in the next few tutorials and in the same time we take the opportunity to demonstrate what a MyBlock is and how to develop one. As a result of this video you will learn how to make the program easier to read and maintain by organizing the blocks in the program in special MyBlocks that couple them all together.

The robot attachment build in this tutorial gives an idea on how to release a rubber band at a specific moment using a motor. It's a simple, but yet powerful technique on using rubber bands. 

Recap on the attachments, their purpose and how you should use them. 

In this video we discuss part of the pinless attachments build by the ELM team. Without pinless attachment it is nearly impossible to achieve a good score at the FIRST LEGO League competition. 

This video tutorial reviews the EV3 Gyro Sensor and the HiTechnic Gyro Sensor for the LEGO Mindstorms NXT robotics Kit. We compare the two sensors and demonstrate them in action.

The program from part 3 should be refactored and improved to make it easier to understand and support. We extract most of the repeatable behaviours in a loop and this reduces the size of the program three times in terms of the number of blocks used. 

In this video we are showing how to use two light sensors to do basic aligning on a black line. This is always needed at the competitions. We also show an example for following a line with two sensors. 

In this episode we continue from Episode 55 and we improve the durability and stability of the attachment for a LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robot. Many times attachments are not very stable which results in gaps between parts. The goal of the video is to give basic construction ideas.

This is where the confusion really comes. We are keeping the robot orientation straight while the robot moves, but at the end the, robot is not at the fiinal location that we would like it to be. The robot is still about 2-3 centimeters away after moving for about a meter.

Tasks for introduction on building robots.

This tutorial in an animated demonstration of how a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot turns to the left and to the right. To download the program check out the courses in which the tutorial is used.

Rubber bands can be quite powerful. Based on several requests from you we are starting a series on using the LEGO Rubber bands available in the Mindstorms set. 

This tutorial demonstrates how a robot moves forward in a straight line with the use of the LEGO Education SPIKE Prime Motion sensor. While the robot is moving we push on the robot at the back, simulating that "something has happened" and the robot then again returns back to the moving straight. To download the program check out the courses in which the tutorial is used.

This video is about a lever that should be pushed and this lever is connected to an axle. This means the lever should rotate. It is a common mission on robotics competitions like FIRST LEGO League/World Robotics Olympiad. The inspiration for this mission is the FLL 2012 Senior Solutions Oven mission. The tutorial uses Luly, a small LEGO Education SPIKE Prime competition robot with 3D building instructions as a robot base.

In this video tutorial we will show you three ways for making your robot stable on the field. We will present each one of them with their advantages and disadvantages - it's up to you to choose which one is the best for your case.

Cable management is very important on each competition. Cables could get in the way of attachments, levers, different wheels and so on. Brick accessibility is also very important. Do not forget that the brick should be charged from time to time and that you should also be able to access the buttons. 

The color sensors supports different modes of working. In this video we are working with the Reflected light, which is not actually the detected color. Most robotics sensors actually work with reflected light and you should definitely learn how to use this mode.

The way you move the robot is always imprecise. Don't TRY to fight with this. Programming motors for competitions like the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) or World Robotics Olympiad (WRO) is not very different from programming the motors in the STEM classes. But there are a few things you should have in mind. 

This one is very special- an attachment that could lock itself on purpose while working. 

Enchansing a previous attachment, but only this time we are solving the FIRST LEGO League 2012 Medicine mission. There is a lever and a rubber band. When the lever is released the rubber band activates the attachment. 

Here we continue examining FLL 2014 World Class missions. We show different ways, for putting the insert in place as well as taking the loop from the robotics arm. Some of them are quite specific, which reminds us, that you need to think out of the box, while solving the missions.

In this video tutorial we experiment with different ways of solving the sports mission for throwing the ball. We show seven different LEGO MIndstorms EV3 and NXT robot constructions and attachements. Most of the techniques could be applied for any mission involving throwing a ball or an object.

Let's try to integrate more of the things we have learned into a single attachment. One that could accumulate energy, conserve it and use it at the appropriate time. All this because of a Rubber Band and a Flywheel - and if you don't know what a flywheel is you should definitely watch this videos