Instructional Material: The Cog Video: A Quality Result Takes Persistence

The Robo-Tagger challenge can be a very daunting task, requiring many iterations with the Engineering Process, and leading to some frustration for young engineers. This Honda Cog Video is a great example of perseverance in achieving high quality results. Although the Rube Goldberg-esque commercial strikes one as being computer generated/enhanced, it was not - everything is real, shot in two continuous takes (not one, because no sound stage was big enough to fit the entire apparatus). However, it took 606 takes (attempts) and months of preparation to get everything to work as shown. You can learn more about the commercial here and here.

Material Type: 
Case Study
Education Level: 
Middle School
High School
Focus Subject: 
Computing / Computer Science
Engineering
Mathematics
Robotics Hardware
Robotics Software
Technology
HW Platform: 
NXT
SW Platform: 
NXT-G
Interactivity Style: 
Mixed