Robotic Engineering

Syllabus
2016-17

Instructor Information:
Teacher: Michael J. Pappas
Technology Education Certified K-12
National Board Certified Teacher - CTE
Project Lead the Way Certified Instructor – IED,POE, AE & EDD

Room: Belle Vernon Area High School, Room 007

Contact: Phone: 724-808-2500; ext. 2007

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.bellevernonarea.net//Domain/193

Required Text: N.A.

Additional Resources: www.my.pltw.org , www.rec.ri.cmu.edu , www.ri.cmu.edu

Course Description:
Robotic Engineering is a high school level course that is appropriate for 10th – 12th grade
students who are interested in the design, engineering and programming of robots or another
technical career. The Robotics Engineering course is designed to explore the past, current and
future use of automation technology in industry and everyday use. Robotic Engineering focuses
heavily on prior knowledge from STEM related courses. The students will receive a
comprehensive overview of robotic systems and the subsystems that comprise them.

With curriculum provided by Carnegie Mellon University and their National Robotics Engineering
Center, the students will program several autonomous robots using Robot C and Robot G.
There will be class competitions and engineering challenges using the radio controlled TETRIX
robotic system, smart phones with BLUETOOTH and the LEGO NXT package. Careers in
robotics, programming, and engineering will be discussed.
Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, the successful student will be able to:

1. Apply the Engineering Process

2. Create, maintain and work in a safe laboratory environment
3. Create engineering documentation and plan projects using a Gantt Chart
4. Create flowcharts
5. Write Pseudocode
6. Design and engineer autonomous robots using various sensors
7. Design and engineer an autonomous robot that can complete tasks using NXT 2.0
programming software
8. Design and engineer an autonomous robot that can complete tasks using RobotC
9. Design and engineer a robot that can be complete tasks using a smart phone and
Bluetooth
10. Design and engineer a robot that can be complete tasks using a radio controlled system
with wireless camera

Academic Honesty:
Any work submitted by the student shall be his/her own. Work taken from others shall be
deemed as unacceptable. Any doubts will initiate the completion of an alternative assignment
or a zero on the required effort, depending on the severity of the infraction.

Class Policies and Expectations:

1. Attendance: Perfect attendance is strongly recommended. Arrive to class on time –
Tardiness, without a pass, will be reported to the office. (see student handbook)
2. Be prepared to work - Bring all appropriate materials to class (Engineer’s
Notebook/Binder and pencil). Immediately take you assigned seat. Daily objectives
are posted in classroom. Study Quizlet terms for current unit while you wait for
attendance and wait for further instruction.
3. Pay attention – All lectures and demonstrations are important. These concepts will
be built upon. Lab demonstrations are extremely important because they often
involve your safety and the safety of everyone else in the lab.
4. Food or drink - Prohibited.
5. Electronic devices - Prohibited. Unless required in lesson. Ex. Use cell or digital
camera to capture evidence of work to upload to ePortfolio.
6. Computers – Are available and used regularly. Students must follow internet usage
policy. (see student handbook) Students caught using computer for reasons other
than associated with classroom assignment (during assignment) will fail that
assignment. Example: Playing games during programming of robot in Robotic
Engineering or on Craigslist during instructional time. Students who change settings
on computer will not receive help until settings are set back.
 7. Assessments – Include, but are not limited to, group and/or individual classroom
assignments, tests, quizzes (on-line), portfolios, e-portfolio, engineers book and lab
assignments. Students must successfully complete a safety quiz (100%) on specific
machinery that they will use in the lab. Failure to successfully complete this
assessment will not affect their grade, but will prohibit them from using this machine
in any lab situation.
8. Student’s responsibility – Each student is responsible for his/her actions. Each
student should monitor their progress utilizing EDLINE. Check it weekly on EDLINE.
It is the student’s responsibility to make up any incomplete assignment(s). To be
successful in my class, you must complete all assignments. Student’s also need to
activate and use your school issued email via Gmail.
9. Follow all lab policies and procedures – Lab policies and procedures are posted
throughout the lab. They are then discussed, reviewed and tested in great detail
within each course. This includes (but is not limited to) machine/material/tool use,
clean up procedures, behavior, lab dress code, and the safety of the individual
students and class. Violation of any of these policies/ procedures will not be
tolerated. Any violations will be reported to the office and will result in an immediate
and permanent removal from class. All students will be closely supervised in
classroom and lab situations. It is extremely important that the parent/guardian
emphasize, to their child, the importance of appropriate behavior in all lab situations
to support classroom instruction. Approved safety glasses, provided, must be worn in
the lab at all times.

Course Grading Criteria:

All quizzes, tests, and labs will be graded according to the Belle Vernon Area School District
grading policy. Total points will be accumulated for all evaluated efforts in this class rather than
having letter grades per each effort. The grading scale is as follows:

The Belle Vernon Area High School grading scale:

A----------100-90%
B-----------89-80%
C-----------79-70%
D-----------69-60%
F-----------59-0%

Assignments per Quarter:

Engineer’s Notebook Random Checks – Informal
Engineer’s Notebook End of Quarter/Year Check – Formal
ePortfolio – Optional
Quizzes (Key Terms) – Formal
Sketches – Informal
Projects – Formal
End Of Course Exam (EOC) – Formal
TOTAL POINTS = Points (varies due to numbers of lab activities)
*Assignments or assessments may vary due to pace of class and individualized
instruction.

Academic Standards:
Students will be reacquainted with the International Technology Engineering Pennsylvania
Academic Standards that have been adopted by the Department of Education, along with the
Common Core Standards that are in the process of being implemented nationwide. Students
will be made aware of the importance of the standards and the efforts to meet them.

Edline:
If
Grades will be updated every Friday on Edline. It is the responsibility of the student to monitor
and check their grade on a regular basis. If you lost or cannot remember log in information,
please contact our Child Accounting Department at 724-808-2500 ext. 1108.

Schoolwires (Website):
My website will be updated every Friday. Course Topics, Assignments, and Quizzes and Tests are also
posted weekly. A link to www.my.pltw.org is also listed. Students can access all course material there.
The following signatures state that all parties are aware of the preceding syllabus.

Student Signature____________________Date_______________

Parent Signature_____________________Date_______________

Teacher Signature____________________Date_______________
Course Outline:
1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter
I. Overview of I. Robot Behaviors I. Radio Controlled I. Design Challenge
Robots  Autonomous Robotic Systems  Capstone
 Past block  Transmitters assignment
 Present programming  Receivers that involves
 Future with Motors and  DC Motor the
Speed application
Sensors using
Controllers of The
NXT and Tetrix Design
platforms. Process to
create a fully
automated
system that
will work on
a continuous
loop for a
specified
number of
cycles
according to
a design
brief.
II. Basics in II. Hardware II. Design Options
Robotic  Parts Identification  Chassis
Engineering  Building  Direct Drive
 What is Instructions for the  Indirect Drive
Engineering? Tetrix platform,
 Engineering DC motor and  Gearing
Design Process servo motor wiring  End Effectors
 Programming configurations as  Wheels vs
 Motors well as power Tank Treads
 Sensors supplies.
III. Hardware
 Parts
Identification
 Building
Instructions
 The NXT

IV. Advanced
Prgramming
 Loops
 Switch Blocks
 DC Motors
 Servo Motors