Sphero Poke and Sphero Carry

thingiverse

Designed to work with the Sphero SPRK, the SpheroHat enables you to use manipulators with the #Sphero. Students can investigate physics and math topics while controlling and programming the SPRK with their smart devices. In this project, the SPRK can carry or push objects using a tray and a poking device. These two new attachments for the SpheroHat will enable your students to conduct a #ScienceProject or #MathProject as they evaluate the carrying and pushing capacity of your Sphero SPRKs. Print Settings Printer Brand: MakerBot Printer: MakerBot Replicator (5th Generation) Rafts: Yes Supports: No Notes: The SpheroHat requires a bed like that of the #MakerBot Replicator. The clips have been constrained to be able to be printed on the #MakerBot Mini and I have included the straight STL files and ones that I created with #MeshMixer. Each SpheroHat can take up to 13 hours to print. The SpheroCarry and SpheroPoke each take about 2 to 3 hours, depending on your settings and machine. How I Designed This I helped develop the SpheroHat for the San Francisco MakerBot Makeathon and developed a series of universal adaptor clips to use with the hat. For convenience, I’ve included the SpheroHat.STL in this project, but more of the clips and lesson ideas can be found at our original project. The SpheroHat and the clips were designed using #Autodesk #Inventor. The SpheroHat is designed with round protrusions in its “hands” to help it retain the manipulators. The two manipulators have a protrusion that will poke the SpheroHat in the belly to keep them level. Standards NGSS Overview and Background The Sphero SPRK robot converts rotational motion into translational motion. The uniform harness adaptor enables students to design and attach devices that will help them investigate and explore physical concepts. In this project, students will be able to experimentally determine the carrying and pushing capacities of their SPRKs. The students will determine the coefficients of static and kinetic friction between the hat and the surface upon which it is driving. They will also be able to observe, record, graph, and predict the behavior of the SPRK under various loading conditions. In order to control the frontward orientation of the SPRK as it rolls inside of the SpheroHat, the hat features a “drogue.” The drogue drags behind the SPRK due to friction, which necessarily orients the opposite side of the SpheroHat as forward facing. With the addition of appendages, students may find that they need to increase the force of friction acting between the drogue and the surface. We’ve included a lip around the drogue to facilitate the addition of washers or coins to achieve that increase. Standards NGSS: -Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration. (Grades 9-12). -Create a computational model to calculate the change in the energy of one component in a system when the change in energy of the other component(s) and energy flows in and out of the system are known. (Grades 9-12). -Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy. (Grades 9-12) College Board AP Physics 1: -Objects and systems have properties of inertial mass and gravitational mass that are experimentally verified to be the same and that satisfy conservation principles. (1.C) -The interactions of an object with other objects can be described by forces (Big Idea 3) -The acceleration of the center of mass of a system is related to the net force exerted on the system, where a=F/m. (4.A) -Interactions with other objects or systems can change the total energy of a system (4.C) -The energy of a system is conserved. (5.B) Lesson Plan and Activity Each SpheroHat can take up to 13 hours to print. The SpheroCarry and SpheroPoke each take about 2 to 3 hours, depending on your settings and machine. You’ll want a set for each group of up to four students. You should allow five hours for introduction, observation, lab design, experimentation and communication of results. After an introduction of Newton’s Laws and the components of static and kinetic friction, an activity to determine the coefficients for these forms of friction should be undertaken prior to discussing the ability of the SPRK to push or carry an object. This example gives a good methodology for determining the coefficient of kinetic friction while this example is a good explanation for determining static friction. Once your students have experimentally determined the coefficients of friction in their groups, work together as a class to find agreed upon values that you will all use for the rest of the experiments. Students can be asked to hypothesize about the maximum mass that the SPRK can carry or push. This can be done as two separate activities or half the class can work on pushing while the other half works on carrying. When introducing these tasks, examine the dynamics behind how the SPRK rolls and how that energy will be transferred from the ball to the SpheroHat to accomplish motion. You can ask the students if they believe there will be a difference between pushing and carrying, and even ask them to declare their beliefs ahead of time to see if they were right or wrong. In the carrying task, students will need to be concerned with balancing the mass that is being carried by the SheroHat so that they don’t prematurely cause errors from torque. They can be asked to calculate the force of friction under a variety of weighted situations, graphing their results and determining whether the friction coefficient changed significantly as the mass changed. For the pushing task, students need to develop a way to measure the pushed mass without incurring error from interactions with that mass and the surface, or from being off-angled when applying the force from the SPRK. I recommend using a hanging weight, as that will encourage them to apply their understanding of (or develop an understanding of) tension, angles, and gravitational attraction. In these projects, students should be expected to follow the scientific method:Observe the SPRK and its behavior in the SpheroHatResearch the concepts that apply to its behavior (including determining the values for the friction coefficients)Question what the SPRK would do under specific conditionsHypothesize what the result would be, based on the observations and research conductedDevelop a laboratory investigation to collect data that would help test the hypothesisCollect and analyze data while conducting the laboratory investigationDraw conclusions, evaluate error, and project future investigationsCommunicate results Rubric and Assessment Students will develop a lab report that includes statement of problem, hypothesis, background, procedure, data table, graph of data, data analysis, error analysis, and conclusion. They can communicate this information with a presentation, poster session, or through a written report, depending on your preferences. This is a good handout for running a lab on determining the coefficient of friction between two objects.Cal Poly offers another good handout, though with less pictures. References http://www.sphero.com and https://sprk.sphero.com/dashboardhttp://www.wired.com/2015/09/physics-star-wars-bb-8-toy-workshttp://www.bermudarace.com/emergency-steering-drogue-new-approachhttp://www.bermudarace.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Steering-without-a-Rudder.pdf