Coding Arduinos and robot building

Ok, so I got a cool grant! And I get to buy these: Amazon.com
AND these: Amazon.com

If anyone has any great ideas about how to use an RFID card, or any cool builds witht he Arduino kit, I’m all ears! THe class is for 8 to 12-year-olds. Ought to be fun!

That’s a nice variety for intro to robotics!

I’ll ask around the Media Lab to see if anyone has experience with that specific robot. Otherwise if you want a partner to getting used to breadboards, we can go over that together!

Thank you. I understand breadboards. And luckily, 8 year old boys, since that’s who mostly signed up. :slight_smile:
I could use some help figuring how to add on to a build. For instance, if we do the dual LED chaser Dual LED Chaser Arduino Project for Beginners how could we add the HRSC04 and a buzzer to that and make it a motion-activated alarm?

Oh, yeah, I want to do BIG things with these kids!

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That’s awesome!

TBH you’re more experienced in arduino circuitry than I am. Let me know if you’d like to meet to work out the bugs in the code, I’d be happy to join in some hard fun. :rock: :partying_face:

Cool! Congrats on your grants! I used to teach physical computing (though will forever and always consider myself a beginner circuit builder and coder) and am happy to help brainstorm.

Adding on pieces is really a simple process–you have to make sure the power in and out of the circuit remains balanced (5V from the Arduino is still enough for this) and that you have a digital I/O for the ultra sonic distance sensor and the buzzer. Here is a good example of a simpler motion activated alarm: https://www.instructables.com/Arduino-Ultrasonic-Sensor-HC-SR04-With-Buzzer/

Try building the alarm first and see what happens if you add on some additional LEDs and series resistors–can you get the code from the LED chaser to work with the code in the buzzer example? What looks familar–how might they work together to form a bigger project?

I also recommend looking into the components if you haven’t used them before–Arduino has a great site for learning (or there are articles like this too!). Happy to connect if it is helpful. Looks like so much fun!

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