If, like me, you were a fan of the Tomy robot collection from the 1980s, then you may also recall the tantalising sensation born out of an awareness of what those robots were unable to do, which was almost as invigorating as what they could do. Take Chatbot: it was equipped with a mechanical voice recorder that was primed by pulling a large level…
Delighted to announce the start of RRC -with the ever-wonderful St Mary's Primary School! We are currently exploring which kit works best, and hoping to develop this new club in support of neurodivergent pupils soon. Thank you to Colm and the team for providing every opportunity to explore new technologies with his wonderful class - from Unity-built gaming to the upcoming WatchBox - these…
Led by Zjeremy, (who retains what Steve (HoD GWA) affectionately refers to as a "prototyping look"!) - a number of Raspberry Pi upgrades are now taking shape. Zjeremy needs to run Scratch 3 with a bit of vim if he is to juggle multiple HATS for interfacing with. His secondary 3b board was not up to speed, but the 4b seems happier. To celebrate,…
From climbing trees in the woods of Northern Ireland whilst clutching Raspberry Pi units, to helping children who were on the cusp of quitting school to build adventure game-books, this year has been a real eye-opener to me. It is a rare privilege to become free to teach what one chooses. I hadn't dared believe that it could happen, but now Flickernet is full…
http://www.flickernet.net/microbit Hardly a day passes without a new Micro:Bit accessory becoming available. With Version 2 Micro:Bits having a bit more about them (!) and Primary Schools now having the offer of 30 free - it is a great time to explore the extra functionality that these offer. As a quick guide for ARC, I have put a page together that lists some of the…
This week in ARC we enjoyed the potential of Makey Makey units with a view to incorporating them into future robotics. Doom and Asteroids ensued!
http://www.flickernet.net/pacomp2 After a scramble to complete our two entries as far as possible - it is congratulations to Team Heat Hunters (Year 10/11) and Team Purple (Year 13) for readying their submissions in time. There was much more intended, but the experience of applying thermal imaging sensing and AI number recognition, gave both teams some valuable insights into these intriguing areas of robotics.
All three of the ARC entries are gathering momentum. There is just one month left before the closing date of this year's competition - which equates to four hours for us! Although only one entry (The Thermal Imaging project) could actually be described as a "robot", it has been wonderful to see each team applying their coding, construction, and debugging skills in earnest. http://www.flickernet.net/arc2
Christmas fun at ARC when we set our Kitronik Move Motor robots to race each other along a winding track around the classroom! Some pupils kept it simple - follow the line - others included their ultrasonics and yet others played Christmas carols en route! With a large chocolate first prize and spot prizes for best dressed robot - there was every incentive to…
Thank you to Stuart and the team at BCS for a most interesting day exploring the new BCS Level 1 qualification at BCS HQ. The twelve of us present were taken through the materials and provided with ample time to explore what delivery of this new certification will look like. As LPA are one of the first schools to offer this (through the STEM…
To support our latest Raspberry Pi adventures, here is a dedicated page for Pi fun! https://www.flickernet.net/rpi
Thank you to Grace and the judging panel for PA Consulting, part of Cambridge Network, who sent us an enormous envelope - inside which was a small, but perfectly formed Pico! The judges commented on our project: "Your objectives, although challenging, show the impact you wish to have. I also like that you see this as an interactive approach and not something that is…
Our thanks to Marcus and the team at Newbury Code Ninjas who has kindly offered to share the CAS Raspberry Pi AstroPi set with us. We look forward to comparing notes on what these Raspberry Pi units end up being part of! https://www.codeninjas.com/locations-list/gb/brk/newbury
ARC have created a gas-detecting patrol robot for the PA Competition - it really needs a name now.. Gasbot 3000 ?! https://www.flickernet.net/pacomp
the ARC demo robot has three functioning brains, two (Pi) on WiFi and one on Bluetooth but has not yet rumbled out of the door.. Sensor readings are rather erratic and the head-mounted servo obeys no known code. On the plus side Motors coping with the combined weight and Meccano providing a strong exoskeleton. Also the camera works! More details here: https://www.flickernet.net/zjeremy
The Advanced Robotics Club began today: so many competitions to choose from, and a talented team of enthusiastic pupils who knew exactly how to assemble the new kit! https://www.flickernet.net/arc
Aided by a batch of pre-loved Meccano, the ARC demonstration robot has got a form, of sorts!
The first parts have begun arriving for the new robot. This is an air quality sensor.. Details are here
