Project ID: 924
| Description | U3A Robot Challenge 2019. Robots have proved to be an endless source of fun and more importantly, for learning new skills and technology for many science groups. Cannock Chase U3A organised a challenge event for creating controllable or automated projects. |
| Topics | Technology |
| Type | U3A-led research (not an SLP) |
| U3A | Cannock Chase U3A |
| Year started | 2019 |
| Source of reference | Sources Online 18th October 2019 |
| Output | After a call for interest at the end of 2018, Cannock Chase U3A in Staffordshire organised a challenge event day in October 2019 to bring all these teams together. The hall became bedecked with laptops,
displays, WiFi routers and equipment galore. The variation and ingenuity of the
robot constructions and their adaptations were amazing and were a credit to U3A
member abilities and team efforts. Amongst the
challenges for the day were a Crazy Golf Course, The Egg and Spoon Race, The
Maze, Follow the White Line and Skittle Alley. There were winners for the six challenges, and the
overall day winner was Paul Taylor of Grantham U3A. |
| Notes | There are now several small programmable computer boards on the market at very low cost, which are ideal for creating controllable or automated projects. Why not use them to create a moveable robot that is capable of undertaking physical challenges or tasks? These programmable devices need serious learning of the new technology, software programming, electronics, mechanical engineering, and most of all, a lot of thought for the design of attachments to the robot for accomplishing a challenge in the most efficient way. Teams came from as far away as Devon, London, Grantham, Gloucester, Cheltenham and Lancaster. |