What is a robot? What is a program?

This post will be reference to chapters one and two.

A robot can be defined as a piece of machinery that somewhat mimics humans and works independently without human interaction. Clearly average toasters do not mimic human behavior, therefore they are not classified as robots.
END OF CHAPTER ONE...
ON TO CHAPTER TWO...
In order for a robot to take action, it has to be programmed. In order to start programming, some fundamentals have to be covered - Program Structure is important, as it can affect how the robot reads and applies the actions programmed. A robot does not have "common sense" like humans do, instead they follow specific instructions, and they follow them in the order you put them in. In order to avoid ERROR, a specific program structure has to be applied. Construct a program structure like a set of very very detailed instructions; using a pseudo code can help construct a healthy program structure. A pseudo code can be a lot of help, it's like a rough draft of your program, and it just has to be simple so it'll be much easier to convert on to the NXT-G Software.

Full Speed Ahead

In the activity full speed ahead, we got the chance to use our taskbots of which we had built several days ago. We got the chance to program them whilst learning how; the activity had fulfilled one of my many firsts in life.

A robot can only "take action" if the user programmed the robot to "take action" - this is applied to the lesson "full speed ahead". Luckily for us, we have a NXT programming software of which is very simple to learn and use.

As this was our first lesson of programming, we were given a task which was to program a simple "run". We learned that there are three basic "icons" that can be put on to the planning field in order to fulfill such a task - move, wait and stop icons. Each icon can be configured to any desired setting (time, length, port, etc.). We also learned that an icon must be connected to the chain (planning field) in order for it to be recognized as an action. As a side tip, it is helpful to make notes on icons (which u are able to do by double-clicking anywhere on the planning field) so u know what the icon's settings are. Icons can be put in any (logic/practical) order by desire; in this task's case, we had to place two "move" icons (each one operates a motor) at the start of the chain (left). Then we placed a "wait" icon after; it sets how long, how far, how many rotations the "move" icon operates. You might think we were done, and ready for transfer, but we're not. In order for it to stop as soon as the set "distance/time" is met and not gradually slow down (thus surpassing the desired distance/time), we made use of the "stop" icon and placed it at the end of the chain.

...SUCCESS!!

e.g.

******************************************************************************
_ ^_____________^____________^__
Move (B) < - - > Move (C)< - - > Wait (rotation 720 degrees) - - > Stop
_^_____________^____________****

Chapter 1 - understanding lego robotics

In this chapter, it explains basic components of Lego robotics (parts).

The chapter starts off mentioning a bit of history behind Lego bricks, then explains the math and advantages of Lego bricks. Basically it explains how math is applied to the studless/technic bricks - proportion, Pythagoras' Theorem. It also explains how shifting from technic bricks/beams to studless beams/pins/connectors has opened up possibilities in design - less pieces are used to create a bot, weight reduction, countless connectivity options (Technic liftarms), stronger structure.

What defines a robot?

So far my time has not been wasted in my search for knowledge in the field of robotics. As I already gained a sufficient amount of knowledge in the first two classes. In those first two classes i learned what it takes for an object to be classified as a robot (and other basic info. as well). As this is my first blog post for Robotics, I will define "robot" and mention what it takes for an object to be classified as a robot.
A robot is an object with a mechanical background and consists of specific capabilities. In order for something to be identified as a robot, it must be able to sense, plan and act (S.P.A). Sense objects, sounds or even terrain in the surrounding area (recently in class, we were given the task of builiding a simple robot that is able to react to sound through the sound sensor attached to it). Plan its movement or actions through programming. And act out those plans of which is programmed. As you may have noticed while reading my definition, robots have similar features/qualities as humans do.