Young robotics enthusiasts from throughout Great Britain will compete for robotic domination at the second annual VEX UK National Championship during The Big Bang: UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair held at ExCel London on 14 - 17 March 2013.
The exciting event will see 40 teams from around the country compete for the title of VEX UK National Champion in the exhilarating, fast-paced robotics game of Sack Attack. Three winning teams will then qualify to compete in the Vex World Championships in Anaheim, California with thousands of competitors from around the world.
Four years ago, Stanborough School started its LEGO Robotics Club. Our goal was to introduce pupils to the principles of robotics and computing, and to give them an enthusiasm for engineering.
The club offers an initial six-week course in which pupils learn to design, build and program standard robots from instructions provided with the LEGO Mindstorms kit. They then move on to build and program machines of their own design.
To build a robot, pupils first construct a basic flat four-wheeled platform, following the instructions in a user guide. This acts as a chassis for the NXT brick - the mind of the robot. Next, pupils are given access to a large range of parts - including sensors for sound, touch and colour - which they attach to their robot to enable it to perform desired functions, such as stopping when it has reached a wall or firing a ball. When adding these components to robots of their own design, pupils realise the importance of careful planning: they need to ensure the motors and wiring can be connected to the NXT.
Minirobots are launching Moway Smart City - a new accessory for the Moway robot that simulates a futuristic city and the way interactions with the urban infrastructures and elements within it will occur. Control of the Smart City is provided by an Arduino controller board.
Moway Smart City is available in three different kits:
Students from the Park Road Primary School have made their own video explaining how to programme with the mOway robot.
Aged between 9 and 10, the students have been learning robotics and programming with the robot for some time now. Their teacher says that they have dedicated a lot of time and effort in preparing this tutorial but have been very enthusiastic about their work.
The Moway robot is an educational tool created with the aim of bringing robotics technology to classrooms throughout the world.
Moway is a didactic tool designed for the world we live in. By bringing the world of robotics, programming and technology into education centres and schools, it enables these subjects to be taught using high-quality methodologies that allow students to become familiar with and understand the technology that surrounds us in our daily lives.
mOway is a complete solution for learning: a controllable robot packed with sensors. Discover creative programming and electronic control through the simple and intuitive mOway software allowing you to control the robot's input and output devices so students can develop their own programs. The mOway moves forwards, backwards, rotates, follow lines and avoids obstacles.
Connect mOway to the PC via the supplied USB cable, program and go! The mOway kits provide everything you need to get the mOway up and running. Students create the control program in the graphical software and then download the instructions into the mOway at the click of button.
The many sensors and controllable features of the robot give plenty of opportunity for the new and experienced programmer. The simple flow chart and object based programming software will let students control the robot within minutes of unpacking the mOway. The programs are written and developed on a PC using mOwayGUI, a software tool based on flow charts and objects. Multiple sub routines are available for the more advanced programmer as is the ability to use programming languages such as C or Assembler.
