Course Overview
This 2-week immersive program introduces participants to the exciting world of programming, robotics, and software engineering through hands-on projects with the Arduino ShieldBot. Designed for beginners, the course emphasizes core skills such as planning, writing, and debugging code to control a robot. By combining theory with practical implementation, students will develop foundational software concepts, integrate sensors, and create autonomous robot behaviors.
Through an iterative approach to planning, testing, and improvement, participants will explore key topics, including open-loop navigation, sensor integration, and camera-based navigation. By the end of the course, students will have built and programmed a fully operational ShieldBot capable of solving real-world challenges.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, students will:
Target Audience
This course is ideal for:
Prerequisites
No prior programming or robotics experience is required. Participants will need:
Course Schedule
Week 1: Foundations in Robotics and Programming
Day 1: Introduction to Arduino and ShieldBot
Day 2: Robot Subsystem Assembly
Day 3: Open-Loop Navigation
Day 4: Introduction to Sensors
Day 5: Sensor Integration and Debugging
Week 2: Advanced Navigation and Capstone Projects
Day 6: Camera-Based Navigation
Day 7: Camera Programming for Autonomous Tasks
Day 8: Mini-Project: Sensing and Movement
Day 9: Final Project: Autonomous Navigation
Day 10: Final Presentations and Course Wrap-Up
Learning Outcomes
By completing this course, students will:
Materials Provided
Participants will receive and keep:
we are changing this course to a once a week course over multiple weeks until the student is finished (most likely 10 weeks to one for each class day, but maybe 4-5)