Using physical computing to create a robot buggy
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Why this why now
This unit progresses pupils' knowledge and understanding of physical computing. It starts with the creation of basic circuits and builds up their usage and confidence each lesson, as it incorporates programming a new piece of hardware with different inputs and outputs. By the end of the unit, pupils should have a good understanding of microcontrollers and embedded systems in general, as well as conceptual and practical experience of physically connecting input/output devices to GPIO pins, obtaining data from sensors, and using this data to make decisions.
Prior knowledge requirements
- Pupils have experience of creating programs for a given purpose
- Pupils recognise that inputs are used by computer reactions to control their state
Threads
Why this why now
This unit progresses pupils' knowledge and understanding of physical computing. It starts with the creation of basic circuits and builds up their usage and confidence each lesson, as it incorporates programming a new piece of hardware with different inputs and outputs. By the end of the unit, pupils should have a good understanding of microcontrollers and embedded systems in general, as well as conceptual and practical experience of physically connecting input/output devices to GPIO pins, obtaining data from sensors, and using this data to make decisions.
Prior knowledge requirements
- Pupils have experience of creating programs for a given purpose
- Pupils recognise that inputs are used by computer reactions to control their state
Using physical computing to create a robot buggy
This unit introduces pupils to physical computing by building a robotic buggy. They will use a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller to explore inputs and outputs, and utilise a range of hardware components, including motors, reflective optical sensors, LEDs, and an ultrasonic sensor.
8 lessons in unit
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