There are two types of inertia to familiarize you with. You know of one intuitively, the other one is more obscure. Both must be considered when building your own robots, especially in the future for competitions.
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- #901
- 17 Dec 2018
What is inertia?
Inertia in physics is the ability of bodies to resist when trying to change their state of motion.
You can easily explain the inertia just by imagining that you are running very fast. Are you able to stop as soon as you wish? No. Another typical example is when you are cycling and you want to stop - you apply the brake, the tire stops spinning, but the bike continues to move, leaving black rubber strips on the asphalt, evidence of the inertia you had.
Take a look at an interesting video of a master pilot of a helicopter: https://youtu.be/JKnzzYk4vLo
Is inertia an issue when building robots
Yes, in many cases, the robots we design can have the wrong center of mass, and the center of mass is crucial for us to have well-balanced robots.
For the robots, we design in classes, the center of mass is the heaviest part of the robot, that is, the brick. Today's robot's brick is moved a lot ahead of the motors, third wheel, and tires. This causes the front of the robot to tilt and even tumble into the ground when stopped suddenly.
Of course, there are solutions to the problem - change the construction, so that the center of mass is in the correct position: between the three contact points of the robot.
In the field of robotics, there are two large departments: construction and programming. In some cases, one can fix the problem with inertia with changes in the program of the robot.
Second type of inertia: standing still
There is also this type of inertia when the object is still and tends to remain standing still. For example a plate on a silk cloth.
Do not try this at home: https://youtu.be/nSj_MVUsBzg
A teacher may demonstrate this experiment with a piece of paper and a smooth and heavy object, for example, a LEGO motor or the Intelligent Brick. We are not responsible if something falls to the ground and breaks!
Courses and lessons with this Tutorial
This Tutorial is used in the following courses and lessons
Level B1. "Spy gadgets". Robotics with LEGO
The third level of the Robotics with LEGO curriculum for students in second, third or fourth grades.
In these lessons, we stress on more complex and challenging robots. The concept of Condition is introduced. Students learn about physics concepts of inertia and center of mass. Robots with two sensors are built and students program both of them. Programming becomes more complex as robots now can make complex decisions. "Spy"-robots sneakily follow their targets, trying to be undetected.
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Lesson 4 - Inertia
Introduction
One spy, of course, has his own super-car. In order to use the car to the best of its abilities, one must be aware of some physics concepts. In this lesson, we will build a robot that practically demonstrates what is inertia.
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[In Development] The fun level - Game-oriented introduction to LEGO robotics
A level, designed for introduction in LEGO-robotics, focused mostly on games. We use goal-oriented challenges to make the students want to accomplish a certain task, learning a lot in the process. Some of the games we have included here are football, bowling, paper-plane competition and many more. It is suitable for studens 8 to 12 years old, but even older students will have a lot of fun with the activities.
This is a brand new course that we are experimenting with in a groups in June 2019. Keep in mind that it is possible to use it for summer camps and groups, but there are a few lessons that will be improved on the fly.
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Robotics with LEGO - Level 1.5 - Spy games
The second level of the Robotics with LEGO curriculum for students from fifth to twelfth grades.
Students build multiple robots with thread chains and become familiar with the physical concepts of momentum and center of gravity. The concept of gears, their use and basic constructions involving gears are studied.
The new concept of "condition" is introduced in programming. Robots are becoming smarter as they can make complex decisions on their own. "Spy robots" follow their targets and avoid being noticed. This level introduces the light sensor which the robots use to recognize the colors of the objects they are looking for. Robots can stop on a black line and follow a route marked with a colored line on the floor.
The spy's most complex mission in the end of the level is to turn into a sumo wrestler and defeat any other robot in the ring.
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