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Smarter Than You Think! Unveiling the Logic Behind the LEGO Self-Balancing Robot

Remember the self-balancing robot from last time? Today, let’s unveil its secrets!

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Step 1: Understanding the Principles of a Self-Balancing Robot

A Self-Balancing Robot is a type of robot that can adjust its posture and remain upright at all times. This is mainly achieved through a gyroscope sensor and a PID control algorithm.

  • When the robot tilts forward, its wheels accelerate forward to shift the center of gravity back.
  • When the robot tilts backward, its wheels accelerate backward to regain balance.
  • The robot continuously detects its tilt angle and adjusts the wheel speed to stay upright.

Step 2: Designing Your Self-Balancing Robot

Before building, we will use BrickLink Studio for 3D modeling. This professional LEGO design software helps children plan their robot’s structure and part combinations on a computer, improving building efficiency.

The robot mainly consists of the following components:

  • SPIKE Hub: Acts as the robot’s “brain” and executes control programs.
  • Motors: Drive the robot forward and backward to maintain balance.
  • Gyro Sensor: Detects the robot’s tilt angle in real time.
  • Wheels: The robot moves using only two wheels, adjusting its tilt through control algorithms.

During the design process, children will learn:

  • How robot structure stability affects balance.
  • How sensors detect angle changes.
  • How mechanical design impacts the robot’s movement.

Step 3: Programming the Robot to “Stand Still”

To achieve real self-balancing, we need to program a PID control algorithm.

What is PID Control?

PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) control is a classic automatic control algorithm that allows the robot to adjust motor speed in real time to maintain balance.

  • P (Proportional) Control: Adjusts motor speed based on the tilt angle.
  • I (Integral) Control: Eliminates small, long-term tilt errors.
  • D (Derivative) Control: Predicts when the robot is about to fall and reacts quickly.

🔍 Think of balancing a pencil on your palm! 🖐️✏️

  • P Control helps you adjust your hand quickly based on the pencil’s tilt.
  • I Control prevents your hand from slowly drifting to one side.
  • D Control anticipates the falling motion and reacts in advance.

Sounds simple, right? 😌 In our course, children can choose Scratch block coding or Python programming to implement PID control, allowing the robot to balance itself and move forward or backward.

Step 4: Testing & Optimization for Greater Stability

Once the robot is built and programmed, we will conduct multiple rounds of testing to optimize performance.

  • Fine-tuning PID parameters to achieve smoother balance.
  • Observing the robot’s behavior and analyzing how it adjusts its balance.
  • Optimizing the code to improve self-balancing accuracy.

So, how does a self-balancing robot stay upright? The answer is revealed, but this is just the beginning of our tech exploration! 🚀

Through hands-on experience and problem-solving, children grow with every challenge. What other optimizations can they come up with? What even cooler robots can they create?

Join our LEGO SPIKE course and push the boundaries of imagination—where innovation becomes reality! 🤖✨