● Designed for younger students, this robotics platform takes into account the most modern pedagogical principles of ICT and STEM learning.
● With the ERP, intellectual development is approached as an upward expanding spiral in which students must constantly reconstruct the ideas formed as earlier levels with new, higher order concepts acquired at the next level.
● The kit has students begin by learning the basic principles of robotics while building the Experimental, Dinobot, and Forklift models.
● More complex concepts of programming are then introduced with the introduction of sensors, conditional statements, and logic gates using the Jeep Car, Humanoid, and Grabber models.
● The eight-model set also contains an Automated House model and a programmable model of Pedestrian Crossing that is great for learning about how traffic lights work and the importance of road safety.
● Onboard buttons allow manual programming of the three motors and the LED outputs for On/Off without needing to connect to a PC.
● Recorded programs can then be imported to the GUI software and edited either via text language or graphical.
● The Bluetooth® wireless connection allows remote programming and controlling through smartphones, tablets, and PCs via free Android and iOs apps.
● A friendly user interface maximizes interaction between the user and the robotic controller.
● Students can choose from three different methods of programming based on user needs and capabilities: ERP Simulator, Flow Diagram, and Text Editor.
● • ERP Simulator - Provides the ability to manually program the robots’ outputs.
● The simulator software can do the same function, but with the use of the mouse.
● This window displays the image of the controller with its onboard programming buttons, and the user can simply click each button to control the device in real-time.
● This programming method is the transition phase from manual to virtual programming.
● A great advantage of the Simulator is the two-way interaction, which means a program written manually on the controller can be downloaded and edited for improvements.
● This feature alone makes this kit the ideal tool for teaching robotics to students of all levels.
● • Flow Diagram - A more visual approach.
● The software contains a library of functions depicted as programming blocks, which can be assembled inside the Flow Diagram through drag and drop.
● Users create simple or complex programs by changing the properties of each block.
● Creating parallel functions is also simple.
● Each block has a variable that can be set to define the sequence of the actions.
● This variable can be referenced as WITH PREVIOUS and AFTER PREVIOUS and applies not only to Motor and LED outputs by also to conditional loops such as IF and WHILE, reducing the number of programming steps by almost 50% as compared to other visual languages.
● • Text Editor - A program written in any method is also displayed in a text form inside the Text Editor window so that users can easily make changes in variables or even delete entire lines of code.
● Due to the encompassing commands and the WITH PREVIOUS and AFTER PREVIOUS concurrency variables, the particular language is much more simple to the level of being considered as a Pseudo-language.
● The Text Editor is an ideal introduction to traditional language-based programming and bridges the gap between more modern visual languages and the advanced text-based ones.
● ERP Specifications: • 32-bit ARM CORTEX-M2 micro controller • 256 Kbytes Flash®, 64 Kbytes RAM • USB full speed port (12 Mbit/s) • 7 input/output ports: Users can connect up to 7 LEDs to teach traffic lights (5 included), up to 4 sensors digital or analog (2 infrared and 1 touch included), and up to 3 motors (included) • Onboard buzzer • Onboard buttons to manually program the 3 motors for forward and reverse and also the LED outputs for On/Off Includes ERP controller, RJ cables, one touch sensor, two infrared sensors, three motors, five LED lights, a USB cable, and a booklet containing easy-to-follow instructions, detailed explanations of the different scientific principles applied, and innovative activities for hands-on learning.
● Comes in convenient plastic storage tub with lid.
● Requires six “AA” batteries (not included).
● SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Windows® XP/Vista/7/8/10, 1 GB RAM, 50 MB of available hard disk space, 1024x768 resolution display, DVD-ROM (or Internet connectivity), DotNet 4, USB connection, Macintosh® OS X (unsupported).