Instruction Guide: Arm Control

In this lesson students create a gripper attachment using a third NXT motor and learn to control this gripper using the Motor Block from the Complete Palette.  Have students

work through the "Arm Control" lesson in NVT2 (Advanced) and complete the Arm Control Task Assignment Sheet.

Fruit Picker Challenge (pdf file)

Students are required to use precision movement of the drive wheels and gripper motor to successfully harvest two pieces of fruit. 

  • Most students will use dead reckoning or odometry to maneuver the robot.
    • The accumulation of errors in movement can make such a long challenge difficult
  • Encourage students to use other sensors to aid in navigation (touch sensor to locate box, US sensor to find trees/box
    • Decide whether you want to allow student to use the sound sensor for "remote control" by the operator
    • If student want to use the US sensor for the trees, rectangular tree trunks (rather than cylindrical) will provide better results.
  • This can become a complex program, so flow charts and NXT-G comments are important tools