Companion Guide for ROBOTIS Spark

Product Description

The OLLO SPARK robotic kit was released by ROBOTIS® in 2024 and this kit includes various plastic frame parts and a programmable Hardware Controller named RB-88. The RB-88 is preprogrammed with a Block-oriented program that allows it to perform 5 separate demonstration modes, depending on how many times the user presses the Power Button at power up. It comes with a Standard User Manual providing instructions for building and operating the first set of 12 robots, along with short materials describing various science and engineering topics that are appropriate for each particular robot. Although the 12 robots were presented with a well thought out scaffolding flow, this 104-page manual did not include any explanation of the mechanical design principles or software programming techniques used in the creation and operation of these robots. ROBOTIS also provides 12 Lesson Plans (suitable for classroom instruction) corresponding to the first set of 12 robots, and a downloadable Additional Assembly Manual for the 2nd set of 12 robots which complements the 1st set of robots.

To further complement these ROBOTIS manuals, this book was written with two main goals:
1. To provide explanations of the mechanical principles used in the design and operation of each robot, and when appropriate to include variations or alternate applications of those principles (Chapter 2 through Chapter 13).
2. To provide a Primer for Robotic Programming using the ROBOTIS R-BLOCK tool which is a web-based IDE as well as a social gathering place. This Primer starts from a beginner level and would take the reader to an intermediate skill level (Chapter 14).

This book consists of 14 chapters:
• Chapter 1 presents an overview of the RB-88 hardware and software capabilities. The Sense-Think-Act paradigm used in developing the contents of this book is also described in this chapter.
• For Chapters 2 through 13, each chapter is geared towards a specific robot model and its companion robot. Each chapter contains several Sections:
“Assembly Notes” expands on robot construction techniques and their effect on motors and sensors usage in subsequent robot programming and runtime performances.
“Mechanism Usage” drills into the mechanical principles of the particular mechanism(s) implemented in this specific robot model.
“Ideas For Further Explorations” presents alternatives/modifications in construction techniques or mechanism design to further enhance the reader’s understanding of robot construction and design. Glimpses of the same robotic theme, but implemented on more advanced robotic kits, are provided as a means for “Looking Forward”.
“Standards Alignment” allows mapping of the Chapter’s instructional materials with popular educational standards used in the USA Education sector.
When appropriate, the robot’s features as a Motion Platform are also discussed.
• Chapter 14 is a Primer for Robotic Programming using the R-BLOCK IDE, taking the reader from a novice to an intermediary level regarding robots programming with a Graphical Block User Interface. Based on the Sense-Think-Act Paradigm, an Event-Programming Approach is developed to guide beginning roboteers from project goals to actual R-BLOCK programming. Topics included: Logic Control via Sequence, Condition and Repetition; Remote Control via Claps and Bluetooth; Object Detection and Line Tracking; Position Control of Actuator.

This book also provides appropriate source code and tutorial videos (via YouTube®) to illustrate the presented concepts. Please visit www.cntrobotics.com/spark for access options to the source codes and tutorial videos.

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