Unit 4: Building a Smarter Planet

Building a Smarter Planet

Lesson 1: Sensor fundamentals

Lesson objectives

By the end of the lesson you should be able to:

Know where sensors are used at home and school;

Understand that sensors can be used for a much wider use such as inrobots;

Identify a problem that could be solved in your school day that coulduse a sensor;

What are sensors?

Sensors close to home

Discuss with a partner, different sensors that you might have in your ownhome.

Also, consider the following:

How do those devices save you time and/or money?

How much do you rely on the device?

What would happen if the device broke down?

Open the [Sensor Sheet] worksheet and identify the different devices withinyour home and where they are situated.

Future uses at home

Distant sensors

Honda Asimo

Go to the Asimo website an view the videos of the Asimo robot.

Look at how the sensors enable to robot to act like a human in the way it movesand behaves.

Design your own robot

Create your own robot using the following Robot Creator.

1.Choose a zone for your robot to tackle;

2.Look a the hazards on the map and decide what sensors and tools your robot requires tocomplete the task;

3.Test your robot and see if you can complete the map with the options you have chosen;

4.Try other zones and adapt your robot

Future schools

Your school life involves being monitored by a number of sensors foryour own security:

Smoke alarms;

Movement sensors;

Temperature sensors etc.

Think about how different sensors could be used in your school to make schoollife more efficient and more intelligent, for example:

Sensors detect when you enter the classroom and automatically register you in your lesson.

Complete the [Future School Day] sheet with your ideas