Activity 1.3: Insect-o-Bot
Control System

Have students investigate a career in Engineering

• • The following site provides a complete look at the fields of Engineering and Engineering Technology and see how control systems are a part of many of the fields  (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/home.htm)

• As a warm-up/engagement activity, have students answer the following questions about a career in Engineering

  • • What is the minimum required degree for entry to a career in the fields of  Engineering and Engineering Technology?

    • What are the two differences related to a career in Electrical Engineering or Engineering Technology/Technician?

    • What is the salary average for a professional starting a career in the fields of Engineering compared to Engineering Technology/Technician?

The control system is divided into two subgroups: Movement control and Data input control

Movement control - the system that controls the drive and motion of the device. 

• For our Insect-o-Bot, the movement control system runs the motors based on a designed program.  The movement control is run through the Arduino and the motor control board.  The program runs the motors based on the speed input, from the Micro:bit and for a set amount of time or rotation as set in the Arduino program.

Data Input control - the system that manages the input and transmission of the data from the sensors in a device.

• For our Insect-o-Bot, the data input control system runs through the Micro:bit board and stores the data on the board for use to see what happened during a run. We will be looking at our data during the Investigation challenge.  

• The data from the Motor Encoder runs to the Screw Shield board and is then sent to the Micro:bit from the Tx port. This allows the Micro:bit to receive the rotation information that we see in our data table and graphs.

• The data from the Line Sensor is collected directly to the Micro:bit to show when each line is crossed.