#spike prime

[gramotnynevezdaen]

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FIELD OBSERVATION: STRAIGHT-LINE RACING PROTOTYPE

Assembling a racing car based on LEGO Education SPIKE Prime at a summer school.

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The concept was beautiful. We called it 'Strela'. The idea: a long blue nose for aerodynamics when travelling in a straight line, a reinforced rear section and a forward-shifted centre of gravity for stability. It sounded like a Formula One car. It looked convincing.

We didn't win the race. Because there wasn't actually a race.

We switched it on – it drove straight ahead – and crashed into the wall. We switched it off, repositioned it, switched it on again – it drove straight ahead until it crashed. There were no turns. At all. There was nothing to steer.

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And it wasn't our fault. The summer school robotics course didn't require it to turn anywhere. The programme simply didn't include a steering function. And structurally, there was nothing there to turn. It wasn't a racing car, but a straight-line projectile.

But we'd made a mistake. And we'd made it as early as the assembly stage.

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What went wrong (and what we'd already realised, but had simply kept in mind):

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False aerodynamics. The long front nose seemed like a progressive solution to us. But at LEGO robot speeds, aerodynamic force is zero. In reality, this nose acted as a lever and a sail. At the slightest resistance (or if we'd tried to turn), it created a bending moment that could have lifted the front section off the floor.

Centre of mass. We positioned the white hub high up and far back, on the yellow brackets. This shifted the actual centre of gravity upwards and behind the rear axle. We knew that a 70/30 weight distribution and a high centre of mass are bad for cornering. But with the 'straight-line' design, we simply decided to ignore this fact for the sake of getting it built.

Traction. Black plastic wheels on a smooth table mean minimal friction. There's no lateral grip whatsoever. Even if we'd had a servo, it would simply have skidded sideways on tyres like that.

We didn't lose because we didn't try hard enough. We lost because we accepted the terms of the challenge: to build it, drive it in a straight line for a couple of minutes, take it apart — and understand how it works from the inside. And we did understand. Every mistake was recognised and added to our 'knowledge bank', but we deliberately didn't correct them, because this was just a warm-up model.

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Mistake analysis (for the future):

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— Shorten the nose. A long wheelbase with high

moment of inertia is the enemy of cornering. A

truss-type structure with a short wheelbase is

required.

— Lower the hub. As low as possible and

precisely centred between the axles. This will

provide ideal 50/50 weight distribution and

eliminate roll.

— Fit a full-fledged steering system. Either a front

servo drive on a split axle, or a differential

drive. Otherwise, the robot is doomed to be

'straight-line only'.

— Change the wheels. To small rubber rims with

tread, so there's at least some lateral grip.

The race didn't happen. The experience did.

'Strela' will go down in history not as a racing car, but as the first step towards understanding why engineers bother with suspension geometry and trajectory algorithms in the first place. Now we know that speed isn't just about going straight, but also about turning at the right time.

In the next version, we'll fix everything. And perhaps we'll even teach it how to turn.

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[gramotnynevezdaen]

FIELD OBSERVATION: ROBOSUMO

Building and taking part in a sumo robot battle using the LEGO Education SPIKE Prime kit. (Курсив, маленький)

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The concept was brilliant. We called it ‘The Bucket’. The idea was not just to push the opponent, but to scoop them up from below. The protruding blue beams at the front were designed to work like an excavator bucket — scooping up the enemy, destabilising them and forcing them out of the ring.

It sounded cool. It looked convincing.

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The ‘Bucket’ design (front view). The robot before the fight. The white SPIKE Prime controller, the blue bucket beams. Note the height at which the ultrasonic sensor is mounted — 10–12 cm from the floor.

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We lost the match.

Our opponent used a classic strategy: dense front blocks, a low centre of gravity and high pressure on the wheels. Four blocks on top — no buckets, no frills. Just a wall. Upon impact, our bucket acted as a lever: the opponent pushed against it, the front of our model was lifted, and the wheels lost traction with the surface.

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Face-off in the ring (left — the opponent, right — us). On the left is the classic design with a solid front end and a low centre of gravity. On the right is our ‘Bucket’. The moment just before the collision.

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No pressure on the ground – no friction. No friction – no thrust. We were simply rolled over the edge.

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The moment of ejection (video). The opponent pushes against our bucket, which acts as a lever. The drive wheels lose contact with the ring, we lose traction, and we’re rolled over the edge. The physics of the error in action.

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We got it wrong. Not the idea — the physics.

The SPIKE Prime controller and sensor were positioned at the front and high up. This naturally shifted the centre of gravity forwards and upwards. The front end was already overloaded, and the bucket only made matters worse.

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Profile of the robot (side view). The forward shift in the centre of gravity and the height of the sensor are clearly visible. It was precisely this high-lever architecture that caused the wheels to lose traction upon contact.

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When the opponent struck it, the drive wheels lifted off the ring. We made ourselves too light.

We positioned the sensor too high — almost 10–12 cm from the floor. In robot sumo, opponents are often low-slung, at 5–7 cm. Our robot could only see its opponent when it was right up close. A sudden movement — wheel spin — led to a loss of stability. It didn’t have time to brace itself for the impact.

And one more thing. We decided against the idea of adding weight to the rear. It seemed that extra weight at the back would impair manoeuvrability — after all, the robots spin round until they find their target, and then head straight for it. The motion sensor is located at the front, and we were worried about creating an imbalance. But that was a mistake. The position of the sensor isn’t affected by where the weight is placed. Weighing down the rear axle would have pressed the drive wheels against the floor — and we wouldn’t have slipped when pushing. Gravity in the sumo ring is more important than motor power.

Our opponent didn’t win because they were more powerful. They had a low, compact front end that kept their wheels in contact with the floor. They targeted our weak spot — and calmly pushed us over the edge.

Speaking of the bucket, incidentally. At major tournaments, elements protruding beyond the hull’s dimensions that come into contact with the ring are often prohibited by the rules. Usually, only the hull’s projection onto the ring is permitted. So our design not only lost on the physics front, but would also have been unlikely to pass the technical inspection. A flat front end isn’t just more reliable; it’s also more compliant with the regulations.

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Fixing the issues:

— Remove the bucket. The front end must be flat and fit snugly against the ring. Black strips at floor level — no protruding levers.

— Shift the weight backwards. The white controller should be positioned across the frame, directly above the rear wheels. The front should be as light as possible.

— Lower the sensor. To a height of 3–4 cm from the floor, so that even a short opponent can be detected 30 cm before a collision.

— Add a time-out to the search algorithm. If the robot spins for more than two seconds and cannot see the target, it should start moving in a square pattern to physically bump into it.

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The battle is lost. The experience is invaluable.

We’ll fix everything in the next version. And ‘Kovsh’ will go down in history not as a failure, but as the first step towards a working machine.

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[vinnyreeisred]

mama dont believe when i say there aint no new fuckass kit release from Lego this year✋💔

[gamehacklab]

This is a simple script I created to teach how to use the Mechanum Drivetrain in Lego Spike Prime/Mindstorm.

Here is the python version.

[tomafuwi]

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A post shared by Ahmad Sahar (@codershah)

Happy New Year everyone!

[robotsblog]

LEGO® EDUCATION SPIKE™ PRIME, a new hands-on learning approach for classrooms

LEGO® EDUCATION SPIKE™ PRIME, a new hands-on learning approach for classrooms

Adding to the LEGO®  Education portfolio of combined physical and digital learning experiences, SPIKE Prime has been unveiled today, along with new insights on students’ confidence in learning STEAM subjects.

Billund, Denmark (April 2, 2019) – Today, LEGO® Education announced LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime, the newest product in the LEGO Education hands-on STEAM (Science, Technology,…

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[robotsblog]

Praxisorientiertes MINT-Lernen an weiterführenden Schulen – mit dem neuen Lernkonzept SPIKE™ Prime von LEGO® Education

Praxisorientiertes MINT-Lernen an weiterführenden Schulen – mit dem neuen Lernkonzept SPIKE™ Prime von LEGO® Education

SPIKE™ Prime ergänzt das LEGO® Education Lernkontinuum und wurde gestern zusammen mit einer neuen Studie zum Thema „Selbstvertrauen der Schüler aufbauen“ vorgestellt

BILLUND, Dänemark, 3. April 2019 – LEGO® Education stellte gestern SPIKE™ Prime vor, das neueste Lernkonzept im LEGO Education Portfolio für praxisorientiertes Lernen im MINT-Unterricht (Mathematik, Informatik, Naturwissenschaften…

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