Kids from the Arco-Iris Club “Playing with Rolling Robots” @ ISUS Group/FCT/UFP

20 Dec 2019 · Events

Kids from the Arco-Iris Club “Playing with Rolling Robots” @ ISUS Group/FCT/UFP

The ISUS group, represented by Bruno Gomes, Nilsa Melo, Rafael Rodrigues, Pedro Costa, Christophe Soares and Rui Moreira, developed an activity for kids visiting the ISUS group at FCT/UFP. The event entitled “Playing with Rolling Robots”, was held in December 19th 2019, and was integrated in the scope of the activities of the project Clube Arco-Íris.

The group of kids, with children from 6 to 10 years old, came to the University Fernando Pessoa in a rainy morning but full of enthusiasm and energy to participate in the prepared activities.  These activities incorporated interactive demonstrations with a “Sniffer Sumo Robot”, able to sniff and follow lines drawn in an arena; a “Central Defense Sumo Robot” that followed closely a nearby kid; a “Self-Parking Sumo Robot”, which was able to follow a planned path to go back to its home-base; and finally, an interactive “Singing Christmas Tree” where kids could control the on/off status of the Tree LEDs, while playing a Christmas song on the monocordic buzzer.

The hectic audience was able to play around, about one and a half hours, with the Sumo Robots, interacting and controlling the behavior of these small electronic machines. In the end the kids elected the “Central defense Sumo Robot” and the “Singing Christmas Tree” as the best experiments they have tried.

Some photos of this event may be found here…

  • Researcher drawing a black line track on white sheets on the floor
  • Researcher standing next to the line track for the rolling robots
  • Classroom with children seated around the robot line track
  • Children watching a robot on the line track
  • Children and researchers around the robot track in the classroom
  • Researchers preparing laptops and robots at a desk
  • Children gathered around a desk watching a demonstration
  • Children looking at an Arduino board connected to a laptop
  • Arduino and breadboard circuit shown to the children
  • Close-up of an Arduino board and breadboard circuit next to a laptop