Lesson 6

Milestone 1: Ask

Identify a user, investigate their motion needs, and the context.

Key Deliverables:

User interview notes (open-ended questions, daily challenges, and context)
Clear, human-centered problem statement (user-action-outcome format)
Short reflection on the significance of the problem for the user
Initial “need-to-know” list about the user’s challenge and project requirements

Circles in Motion: Modeling Robotic Arms with the Unit Circle

How can we use the unit circle and angles to model and understand the motion of a robotic arm for a real user, and what do we still need to learn to design a solution that meets their needs?

Learning Intentions:

Describe how circular motion relates to robotic arms, recognize and label key angles on the unit circle, explain how sine and cosine represent the tip’s position as it moves, connect their users’ real-world motion to mathematical models, and generate need-to-know questions to guide their design process.

Today's Concept:

We've analyzed the motion. We've measured the arc length. But if you want to tell a robot exactly where its hand is at any moment, you need a map.

Imagine the robot's shoulder is at the center of a graph. As its arm swings, the tip of its hand traces a perfect circle. Today, we're going to learn how to read that map. It's called the Unit Circle, and it's the Rosetta Stone that translates an angle (like 45°) into an exact position (like 'go over 7 inches and up 7 inches'). This is the first step in actually programming the robot to follow your user's path.

The Chinese artists Sun Yuan and Peng Yu participate in the 58th International Art Exhibition in Venice with their work “Can’t Help Myself” (2016). For this piece, Sun Yuan and Peng Yu use a Kuka industrial robot, stainless steel and rubber, cellulose ether in colored water, lighting grid with Cognex visual-recognition sensors, and polycarbonate wall with aluminum frame.