Maurer Design Innovative Robots with LEGO SPIKE Prime

Seven creative STEM robotic designs to challenge your mind
1. Auflage 2022
ISBN: 978-1-80181-338-9
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 264 Seiten

The new LEGO SPIKE Prime is one of the latest additions to the LEGO robotics line of products. This book will help you to enjoy building robots and understand how exciting robotics can be in terms of design, coding, and the expression of ideas.
The book begins by taking you through a new realm of playful learning experiences designed for inventors and creators of any age. In each chapter, you'll find out how to build a creative robot, learn to bring the robot to life through code, and finally work with exercises to test what you've learned and remix the robot to suit your own unique style. Throughout the chapters, you'll build exciting new smart robots such as a handheld game, a robotic arm with a joystick, a guitar, a flying bird, a sumobot, a dragster, and a Simon Says game.
By the end of this LEGO book, you'll have gained the knowledge and skills you need to build any robot that you can imagine.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Maurer, Aaron

Fachgebiete

• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Technische Informatik Externe Speicher & Peripheriegeräte
• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Digital Lifestyle Mobiltelefone
• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Technische Informatik Großrechner & Minicomputer
• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Digital Lifestyle Handheld, Smartphone, Tablet

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Table of Contents - Getting Started with SPIKE Prime
- Building an Industrial Robot Claw
- Building a LEGO Guitar
- Building a Mechanical Bird
- Building a Sumobot
- Building a Dragster
- Building a Simon Says Game

Leseproben

Chapter 2: Building an Industrial Robot Claw

Industrial robots have been around for a long time. In many cases, industrial robots are not the humanoid-looking robots we imagine when thinking of robots. Instead, many are robot claws that can do a wide variety of tasks, such as surgery, welding, assembly, painting, and more. In this chapter, you are going to build a robotic claw to pick up an object to better understand how these claws work and operate. In the following image, you can see what you will be building:

Figure 2.1 – A robotic claw

In this chapter, we will break down the build and program, as follows:

• Building the base
• Building the Intelligent Hub frame to move multidirectionally
• Building the robot arm
• Building the cargo
• Writing the code
• Making it your own

Technical requirements

For the building of the robot, all you will need is the SPIKE Prime kit. For programming, you will need the LEGO SPIKE application/software.

Access to the code can be found here: https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Design-Innovative-Robots-with-LEGO-SPIKE-Prime/blob/main/Chapter%202%20-%20Robot%20Arm%20Code%20.llsp.

You can find the code in action video for this chapter here: https://bit.ly/3xkt1Mj

Building the base

Before we build this claw, let's explore the strategy being used for this claw. There are many LEGO robotic claws to be found online. This claw will use the following tactics and strategies:

• The claw needs to be able to be controlled by a human.
• The claw needs to be able to move from side to side.
• The claw needs to be able to move up and down.
• The claw needs to be able to open and close to grab various objects.

We are going to start this build using a large yellow base plate as the main building foundation for this robotic claw. Let's take the following steps:

1. Ensuring that we have a solid foundation is key, and the yellow base plate shown in the following image is perfect for building on top of when designing a claw:

   Figure 2.2 – The LEGO yellow base plate

2. We are going to need to add the second yellow base plate:

   Figure 2.3 – The second LEGO yellow base plate

3. On each corner of the yellow base plates, you will add a gray perpendicular connector piece, as shown in the following figure:

   Figure 2.4 – Add gray connectors to edges

4. Next up, you will now add six pins with friction ridges to the sides, as follows:

   Figure 2.5 – Three axles added to each side

5. Now that we have plenty of connectors in place, it is time to build out the next part of the base, which will provide spaces for you to move an object from one location to another. Start by adding a and to each side, as shown in :

   Figure 2.6 – Fill the space between the gray perpendicular connectors

6. From this step, attach an azure open center frame on each side. Hold this piece in place using an azure beam and one gray perpendicular connector on each side.

   Figure 2.7 – Attach the open frames for object delivery

7. The final part to assemble on the base is the beginning space for your object. Begin by first adding two gray perpendicular connector pins to the front of the yellow base plate. Attach a black panel plate to each connector. Next, attach the 8 black connector pins along this whole edge, as shown in :

   Figure 2.8 – Adding the black 3x11 panels

8. The next set of elements will help hold everything together. Attach an azure beam across the two black panels using the black connector pins already in place. Insert three black connector pins to this beam, as shown in .

   Follow the same process for the two black beams across the azure open frames.

   Figure 2.9 – Building the support for the front of the base

9. The final step to this section requires you to add two yellow beams to either end of the azure beam. Lock the black open center frame to the azure beam using the black connector pin still available and using two more gray perpendicular connectors, as shown here:

   Figure 2.10 – The final look of the base

   You now have completed the base for the robot arm and the playing field to move an object from one open frame to the other. Our next step is to build the frame for Intelligent Hub to serve as our arm controller.

   Building the Intelligent Hub frame to move multidirectionally

   
   

   One part of this kit that is different from previous LEGO MINDSTORMS kits is that the wires for all sensors and motors are set to a specific length. In previous kits, we could attach various cable sizes as we built our bigger structures.

   Because all wires are a set length that we cannot adjust, we must consider this creative constraint in the build design. With that being said, we need to build a frame to place Intelligent Hub at a certain height to allow the motors to be able to reach it while in motion.

   In this case, you will build a base that will provide adequate height along with an opportunity for Intelligent Hub to spin and pivot up and down. Let's look at the following steps:

10. To begin this aspect of the build, begin by securing two black biscuit elements to the yellow base plate using the blue connector pins. These are centered towards the back of the build and will be three pin holes from the edge. The following figure illustrates this:

    Figure 2.11 – Biscuit elements added to the yellow base plate

11. Next, attach the yellow axle to the middle of the two black biscuit elements. Slide the tire through the yellow axle. On top of the tire, insert two blue connector pins in the top and bottom pin holes and secure another purple biscuit, leaving space on top to connect more elements, as shown in :

    Figure 2.12 – Biscuit element on top of the tire

12. Once you have ensured everything is secure and connected, add one more tire to the top of the purple biscuit element, as shown in :

    Figure 2.13 – Second tire added to the top

13. Just like the previous step, you will add another purple biscuit element to the top tire using two blue connectors pins but using the left-side and right-side pin holes, as shown in :

    Figure 2.14 – Securing another biscuit element

    This next sub-model will sit on top of the two tires we just installed. This will serve as the housing unit for Intelligent Hub, allowing it to move forward and backward while using the tire build and spin right and left:

14. To begin, locate a purple open center frame and install four blue connector pins, as shown in :

    Figure 2.15 – Add four blue connector pins to the purple 7x11 open frame

15. Attach another purple open frame using the blue connector pins, as shown in :

    Figure 2.16 – Stack another purple 7x11 open frame

    Keep in mind that, for this next part, I suggest you build the black open frame piece first. As you look at , you can see how it fits within the purple open frame, but it is not locked in at this point.

16. For this step, there is a three-image process to help you see where all the pieces go in :
    1. Attach a yellow 3L beam to both sides of the purple biscuit. Connect the yellow 3L beams using two black connector pins on the outside pins.
    2. Insert this build into the black 5x7 open frame.
    3. Take this piece and add a gray pin with a bush stop to the middle pin hole on both sides of the black open frame. This will allow these pieces to pivot back and forth.

Figure 2.17 – Piecing the elements together

And here is how it fits into the purple 7x11 open frame:

Figure 2.18 – Pivot piece for Intelligent Hub

1. This piece will fit into the purple open frame but, as you can see, when building, it does not stay together, but for a point of reference, these will sit atop the wheels, as shown in :

   Figure 2.19 – Location of the piece on tires

2. Lock this piece into the purple open frame by using four more gray bush stop pins and connect two on each side, as shown in :

   Figure 2.20 – Pins with bush stops hold it all together

3. Add a tan pin connector to each of the gray connectors on the bush stop axle insert, as shown in :

   Figure 2.21 – Add tan connector pins to each bush stop

4. We will...

Über Autor(innen)

Maurer Aaron:
Aaron Maurer, also known as “Coffeechug” is the STEM lead for 21 school districts in Iowa helping to expand STEM, Computer Science, Makerspace, and Purposeful Play into classrooms K-12. Aaron is also a former FIRST LEGO League coach for 8 years with much success working with phenomenal kids. He has a Master Educator License with endorsements in 5-12 Psychology – 163; 5-12 World History – 166; 5-12 American History – 158; 5-12 Computer Science – 278; PK-12 Talented and Gifted – 107; 5-8 Middle School Generalist – 182; and K-8 Computer Science – 277. Currently, Aaron is a member of ISTE Making It Happen Award; Lego Education Ambassador and Master Educator; PBS Digital Innovator and All-Star; PITSCO Tag Committee; Microsoft Innovator Educator Expert; Microsoft Innovative Educator Fellow; Global Learning Mentor (formerly Skype Master Teacher); Minecraft Global Mentor; and Makey Makey Ambassador. Finally, Aaron was a finalist for the Iowa Teacher of the Year in 2014.