Project Name: Drag Racer
Controlled by: Remote Control
Programming Difficulty: Easy
Construction Difficulty: Medium
General Comment. This is a very popular activity but may not be possible any more because software has become rare to find.
Controlled by: Remote Control
Programming Difficulty: Easy
Construction Difficulty: Medium
General Comment. This is a very popular activity but may not be possible any more because software has become rare to find.
Rules FOR STUDENTS
You must use:
-1 EV3 brick
-Up to 3 motors
-1 colour sensor
-a Tablet or Phone with the 'COMMANDER' app installed. (No longer available for EV3)
-A Computer, PC or Mac with the older ICON-BASED software. (Might be tricky to find if you don't have it already)
You must:
Build a robot that can win lots of battles against other robots by knocking them out of a circular arena.
Your robot must be remote controlled
Your robot MUST be designed so it can do a 360 degree turn before contacting another robot.
Tips For students
Tip: The stronger your robot, the better it will survive collisions. You won't win if your wheels or motors fall off!
Tip: Add a third motor to create a weapon.
TEACHER INFO
Please note. It seems as though the Commander App is no longer available in the app store. You should still be able to control it via the arrow keys through the older "icon-based" computer versions. The original PC version can be downloaded from this web site.
I found a PC and Mobile controller (NOT Apple) that may work here
Or another one from Google Play (NOT Apple) that may work here
If remote control is not an option, have you seen my coded alternative?
Grading option: Often battles depend on a bit of luck, so instead of a knock-out competition it is good to reward kids who are brave enough to battle as soon as they are ready. Make a copy of this Google Sheet to keep track of wins, losses and draws. Students get 1 point for a loss, 2 points for a draw, 3 points for a win. As with all my sheets, you need to go to FILE and MAKE A COPY. Then only fill in the yellow cells. It's helpful to put a two minute limit on battles.
I found a PC and Mobile controller (NOT Apple) that may work here
Or another one from Google Play (NOT Apple) that may work here
If remote control is not an option, have you seen my coded alternative?
Grading option: Often battles depend on a bit of luck, so instead of a knock-out competition it is good to reward kids who are brave enough to battle as soon as they are ready. Make a copy of this Google Sheet to keep track of wins, losses and draws. Students get 1 point for a loss, 2 points for a draw, 3 points for a win. As with all my sheets, you need to go to FILE and MAKE A COPY. Then only fill in the yellow cells. It's helpful to put a two minute limit on battles.
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It is possible to connect a Play Station controller to the EV3 hub, but it is a complicated process. One of your brightest students might like to complete this challenge!
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Additional Equipment needed.
Sumo wrestling arena. You'll have to make one of these yourself. I just got a large square of chipboard (or MDF) and drew a circle with a pencil and string, (string the length of radius). I then cut the circle with a jig-saw. Ideal size is about 120 cm diameter. The outer white ring should be about 10cm. Or better still, watch the video aboveto create perfect circles. |
SAMPLE COMMANDER CONTROL (No longer available from App store)
Open App and use arrows to "create and command"
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Click on any "+" symbol
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Scroll to find and add vertical slider
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Place slider on left then click another "+"
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Place next to other slider. (Take note of which motor they each control)
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Click red SPANNER (bottom right) then connect via bluetooth (bottom left)
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Please note, you will have to make sure your bluetooth turned on, on your tablet/phone AND on the EV brick.
Under the 'spanner' tab make sure the ticks are on for Bluetooth and iPhone/iPad/iPod
Under the 'spanner' tab make sure the ticks are on for Bluetooth and iPhone/iPad/iPod