This part of the site is for Special Topics Robotics 497, a class I was invited to for Spring 2013, in the hopes of developing a program to engage sophomores in the EE and CS fields of study and to help the growth of Micromouse Competitions. We will be specializing in motors (DC, Servos, and Steppers), sensors, and build competition-ready autonomous maze solvers. Not to be confused with line-followers.
Specifically, this will start with a focus on the ATMega324P microcontroller, STM32F4 Discovery board and the DFRobot MiniQ 2WD pre-built kit and progress into discrete parts and kit building.
The problems: How do you design a robotics course for 200-level students that will:
A. not scare them off in the first week
B. give the students ownership and investment in a program that is difficult and requires tenacity
C. keep them excited about the program long enough to stick with it as it becomes more challenging
D. Create an emphasis on quality code, instead of "I wrote this code last-minute because I was dinking around with the hardware for too long". Who doesn't like messing around with hardware? But let's face it - the code needs attention too.
E. the students should be able to walk away with something complete and useable (bot-wars and autonomous maze solving anyone?)