Following the Advanced Sensor Calibration course section, it is time to extract the logic for getting a calibrated value into a new block. This block will have an input and on this input, we give the port number. The block will return the calibrated value for this port number. We've built all the other blocks only because of this almost final video here.
This lesson shows how you could use the rotation sensors of the motors of a LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robot. This technique is very powerful during the competition. We give ideas on how to show the value of the sensor on the display, how to check if you have completed a given job or you are still doing it and other even more advanced topics. Understanding the rotation sensor is a must if you want to use the full capabilities of the motors.
In this video tutorial we take a next step in programming reliable and consistent robots and this is to learn how to stop at a second intersection. We need this because most of the time when we want to reach a mission model on a robotics competition field, the model will be located away from us and we must use all kind of technique to reach it. In this tutorial - we stop at a second intersection.
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.
In this tutorial, we show you how to display all the values from an EV3-G array on the EV3 brick display. We are using an array Read Operation along with a loop. We are also detecting the loop counter and using it as an index to an array. It's basically the only viable way to do it. The process is commonly referred to as - "Iteration over an array" (although we still do not have an iterator in the programming language, we promise that one day we would do the super advance videos on "iteration" using the LEGO MINDSTORMS robots")
The scorpion is one of the most famous robots build with the NXT kit. In this lesson we are showing how to use the rotation sensor to program the scorpion and its strikes. The main challenge is how to return the spike for the same amount of degrees after it strikes. The other topic is how to use variable to keep the state of the scorpion. Both of this techniques are very valuable during the competition.
In this 10 out of 10 tutorials we do 10 runs that demonstrated how consistent and reliable it is to stop at the second intersection. This is useful as it is one of the main ways to figure out how to position yourself on the field.
In this video tutorial we follow a line 10 consecutive times. In this way we demonstrate whats the consistency that you could expect from the robot when following a line with a multi-states algorithm.
In this video tutorial we demonstrate a few ways to use the Distance sensor from the LEGO Mindstorms Robot Inventor on FIRST LEGO League competitions. We don't enter into the details about programming as we do in the LEGO Mindstorms Robot Inventor Programming course, because here we demonstrate the behavior of the robot when the sensor is use and we make the argument that you should always use sensors at FIRST LEGO League competitions
This is a 10 out of 10 video tutorial demonstrating the consistency and reliability of a configurable attachment. The attachment is designed to accomplish the FIRST LEGO League 2021-2022 Cargo Connect mission model called Sorting Center. The mission model has 3 cargo objects that could be placed in a different way. The attachment is configurable and before the run we configure it for the specific way in which the mission model is set up before the start of the round.
"Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not work" - this is the most common case in FIRST LEGO League competitions. In this tutorial, we demonstrate and discuss such a case where the first part of accomplishing the mission always works but the second part has about 60-70% success rate. The robot is not very consistent. Let's take a moment to see it and explain why so that we can resolve the problem in the next lesson.
In this video tutorial we demonstrate the behavior of a LEGO Mindstorms Robot Inventor robot when we use the Motion sensor. The Motion sensor was also referred to as Gyro sensor in previous versions of the LEGO Mindstorms Robot. We do not enter into the details of the programming and you can download the programs from the course lesson, but we make a demonstration of how the robot turns to about 95 degrees when we try to turn it to 90 degrees, we explain why and we suggest a way to improve the behavior of the robot.
This is a recording of a completely perfect, 10 out of 10 accomplishment of a two-part mission - Train tracks, from the FIRST LEGO League 2021-2022 Cargo Connect competition. Due to the proper use of motion and color/light sensors, the robot is 100% consistent and reliable for a non-trivial mission. Even when the robot makes a mistake, it auto-corrects and compensates for this mistake.
This animation demonstrates the principle of aligning to a line with two color sensors and a LEGO Mindstorms Robot Inventor robot. This is a useful concept for FIRST LEGO League competitions where you want to know exactly where you are on the field and to achieve consistent behavior. In the course lesson you will also find a live video tutorial where we enter into more details about aligning. We align the robot to a line by moving both sensors slowly until they both see a black line. When one of them sees the line we move only the other. At the end we return the first sensor back.
Following the Advance Sensor Calibration course section, we found the min and max values detected by each sensor. Now it is time for the real deal of the calibration. Detect the current value from the sensor and find what is the percentage of this value for the range between min and max.
With this video tutorial we demonstration the consistency and reliability of the using an intersection to position on the field. We move forward and we stop at the first intersection. We detect the intersection with a sensor. In the whole 10 runs there isn't a single mistake and you can see the precision of the robot on each run. Check it out and experiment with the same program for your robot.
In this video tutorial, we use the motion sensor and demonstrate 10 out of 10 times how we can keep the robot moving in a straight line. The program is described in the previous tutorial in the lesson where we enter into the programming. Here we visualize how consistent and reliable the behavior of the robot is.
In this video tutorial, we demonstrate how to gently push an object to accomplish the mission. "Gently" means that we are pushing but not with force. If we push using force, the mission model will fall, and we will not accomplish the mission. We use LEGO Education SPIKE Prime and the Ultrasonic Sensor.
This is a 10 out of 10 video tutorial where we demonstrate the consistency and reliability of a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime Active attachment connected to the motors of the robot. The goal of this attachment is to accomplish the Bridge mission where we have to push both parts of the bridge and bring them down to connect them. We use some line following.
In this video tutorial, we accomplish a FIRST LEGO League mission called The Bridge. We demonstrate how to use a really simple active attachment where the goal of the mission is to push down both parts of the bridge. We do not enter into the programming and we leave it up to you as an exercise.
In this short animation we demonstrate how the LEGO Mindstorms Robot Inventor Distance sensors could be attached to the robot and then use to stop at distance from a wall. This wall could be the border of the field or another mission model. We need an attachment, we need a sensor and we need the robot. In the live video in the lesson we enter into more details and explanations of how the sensor is used. Programs for the distance sensor are provided in the lesson and in the LEGO Mindstorms Robot Inventor Programming course we enter into more details about how to program the distance sensor
In this 10 out of 10 tutorial, we accomplish the Platooning Trucks from FIRST LEGO League (FLL) 2021-2022. The goal of the mission is to connect the trucks to each other and both of them to the bridge. The attachment and the robot pushes the trucks and we do it 10 times to see the consistency and reliability of the robot.
In this video tutorial, we demonstrate a configurable attachment used for accomplishing a FIRST LEGO League 2021-2022 Cargo Connect mission called Sorting Center. The mission model has three cargo objects that are placed randomly. The attachment is configured before the run based on the configuration of the cargo objects. This attachment is also very powerful as it aligns and auto-corrects the errors that the robot is making by squaring the robot.
In this video tutorial we discuss probably the most useful principle that we've found for FIRST LEGO League competitions and this is how to align to a line with two color sensors. We use the LEGO Mindstorms Robot Inventor for a quick demonstration of the principle. In the LEGO Mindstorms Robot Inventor Programming course we enter into more details of how exactly we program the sensors. The current tutorial demonstrates the use of such a program and makes clear why this could be very useful and is a must for any well prepared team and wants to achieve a good score on the competition.
This tutorial explains the use of motion and light/color sensors to accomplish a complex mission split into three parts. It gets into detail about how we keep a straight line with the motion sensor, follow a line with the color sensors, and transition between different parts of the program by aligning and detecting lines with the sensor. The goal is to get to a reliable and consistent behavior of the robot. On top of that, it is configurable, as we've left a few parameters that could be set to configure the behavior for a specific robot, venue, lighting, battery level, and wheels friction.
This is a 10 out of 10 tutorial for pushing gently on a mission model. We also discuss how to build robots that tolerate error and auto-correct their behavior.
In this video tutorial, we use the Unload Cargo Ship mission from FIRST LEGO League 2021 Cargo Connect robotics competition to demonstrate how we program the robot to keep a straight line while moving. Do we need that for this mission? Probably not, but we do it either way to demonstrate the solution in a fairly simple mission. The program uses the motion sensor to auto-correct the errors the robot is making while moving.