Resources

Meeting Otto

Students will meet Otto, a robotic companion designed to enhance their learning experience.

Materials required

Meeting Otto slides

One Otto robot

One computer with internet and Bluetooth connection

For this lesson, the teacher will use an already built Otto to show students its functions and its potential as a learning companion.

Optional materials

Meeting Otto worksheets

Learning Objectives

Understand the fundamental concepts of robotics.

Identify the key components of a robot and explain their functions.

Describe the difference between sensors and actuators and how they interact in a robot.

Recognize robotic systems in everyday life and be able to reason about how they help.

Learn the basics of coding with ESP32 boards and block-based programming.

Analyse and debug existing code to identify and fix errors, and explain how the code works.

Apply computational thinking skills to design, build and code a functional robotic system.

Identify the problem to be solved and develop a plan to address it using the Otto robot components.

Use an iterative design process to improve the robot’s performance.

Gain experience in teamwork and collaboration.

Work effectively in a small group to design, build and/or code a robot.

Communicate ideas and results clearly and professionally to peers and teachers.

Connect students with Otto

The teacher will introduce the class to the goal of the day: explore the capabilities of Otto.

On the second slide, there is a video featuring Otto capabilities that the teacher can use to engage students further. After watching the video, the teacher will demonstrate a built robot to the students, showcasing its physical components and explaining how they contribute to its functionality.

To reinforce the explanation about Otto capabilities and features, on slides three and four there are some keywords and Otto diagram respectively to have a better visualization of the robot.

To further engage students, the teacher can connect the robot to the remote control app, demonstrating how to operate and control the robot using the app’s interface to perform actions such as moving, turning lights on, playing sounds, and measuring distance.

If you need help connecting the robot to remote control, check this community post about how to use the remote control.

Activity: Remote Otto

If you need help connecting the robot to remote control, check this community post about how to use the remote control.

Here the students will use the first worksheet

You can use the worksheet for students to write down their research results or simply allow them to take notes in a notebook or blank sheet of paper.

Activity: Exploration with Otto

After seeing how the robot can be controlled using remote control, it’s time to show students how they can code the robot to perform automated actions. For this activity, go to the word blocks app and briefly introduce students to the concept of using block commands to give instructions to Otto to perform actions. Show them the word blocks interface, its options, and quickly demonstrate how to upload a piece of code (it can be any code of your choice such as lighting up or playing a sequence of sounds).

The coding guide can serve as a reference for exploring the basics of Word Blocks.

Now that students understand the concept of coding Otto to perform automated actions, conduct the following activity:

Define a “route” in the classroom for Otto to move around. It could be a path on the floor or on a table. It’s important that the route requires the robot not only to move forward, but also to turn in some directions and avoid obstacles. It must have clear start and end points.
With the help of students, start to create a sequence of moving blocks that allow Otto to complete the route from the start point to the end point. It’s important that students participate in the activity by suggesting what the next step Otto should take to complete the route.
Once the code is completed, it’s important that students can visualize how Otto attempts to complete the path automatically from start to end after running the whole code.

With this activity, students will start to relate not only to the concept of coding robots to perform tasks (such as moving around automatically after coding the route) but also to the concept of “trial and error” by testing different movements to complete the route in the best possible way. This is something they will do many times while learning with Otto.

Within Word Blocks, in the Example Projects section, you can find some interesting programs to demonstrate Otto’s capabilities to students. Here are some good examples:

Starter demo
This program starts by making a sound, turning on the head lights with multiple colors, lighting up the eyes in green, and then moving both motors. Finally, it switches to “distance detection mode,” where every time it detects something in front at less than 10 cm, it changes the lights to red and makes a surprise sound. When nothing is detected nearby, it keeps the lights green.

Avoid obstacles
With this program, you can demonstrate Otto’s ability to detect and avoid obstacles in front of it.
Is Otto able to avoid obstacles that suddenly appear very close within its field of view? Are there situations where this program fails?

These are some of the questions you can ask during the demonstration process of this program.

Follow black line
With this program, we can demonstrate the last Otto component we haven’t tested yet: the line sensors. This program can follow a dark line on a light surface, such as any of the maps included in the Otto kit. You can use any of them to demonstrate the program’s capability.

Some exploration questions: How long does it take Otto to complete a line map? Are there times when it fails to detect a line, and why does this happen?

Now that students understand the concept of coding Otto to perform automated actions, conduct the following activity:

Define a “route” in the classroom for Otto to move around. It could be a path on the floor or on a table. It’s important that the route requires the robot not only to move forward, but also to turn in some directions and avoid obstacles. It must have clear start and end points.
With the help of students, start to create a sequence of moving blocks that allow Otto to complete the route from the start point to the end point. It’s important that students participate in the activity by suggesting what the next step Otto should take to complete the route.
Once the code is completed, it’s important that students can visualize how Otto attempts to complete the path automatically from start to end after running the whole code.

Lesson Evaluation

Students observed the physical components of Otto and understood their functions.

Students understood the concept of using block commands to code Otto.

Students participated in defining a route in the classroom for Otto.

Students suggested steps for Otto to complete the route, demonstrating understanding of coding sequences.

Students experienced the concept of “trial and error” in coding as they tested different movements to optimize the route.

Students can explain how they contributed to coding Otto to complete the route.

Students can relate the activity to the concept of coding robots to perform tasks.

Students demonstrated an understanding of iterative testing and improvements in coding.

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The duration of this lesson is approximately one hour. You can find the definition of learning objectives at the bottom of this guide to align with your curriculum requirements.

Materials required

Lesson slides
Lesson worksheets
TV, projector, or big screen to display the class videos
Big paper or cardboard (white)
Tape (black)
Scissors

Computers, tablets or smartphones are optional, they can be used as digital tools for students to do further research and take additional notes.

Connect

The class begins by displaying the first slide and asking the students “What do you see here?’“
[Pause and wait for students to provide answers, which may include mentions of a robot arm and two wheeled robots moving boxes].

The teacher will then guide the class in a conversation about the nature of robots, exploring questions such as: ‘What is a robot?’ ‘When does something turn into a robot and when is it just a machine?’

Moving on to the second slide, the teacher will introduce the topic of the usefulness of robots to humans. Students should share their ideas about how robots can be useful.

[This conversation is expected to last approximately 4-5 minutes]
Afterwards, on the third slide, the students will watch a video that explains the concept of what a robot is. Following the video, they will have the opportunity to share their personal experiences with robots. The teacher can guide the conversation by asking specific questions, such as: ‘Have you ever played with a robot or built one?’ ‘Do you have any robotic devices at home, like a vacuum cleaner, that you consider to be a robot?’

[The video has a duration of 4 minutes, and the discussion about personal experiences is expected to take an additional 3-5 minutes]

On the next slide, the teacher will organize small groups consisting of 2-3 students. Each group will be assigned a specific robot to investigate. The students can conduct their investigation by using the internet or through provided materials, either digital or physical. Some popular real-life robots for the students to explore are:

As a teacher, feel free to research other robots to add to the list. By the time you teach this lesson, there could be some new and popular robots.

During this activity, students will gather information about their assigned robot and gain knowledge about how robots are being utilized in daily life. At the end of the investigation, each group will give a brief presentation about the robot they investigated.

Here the students will use the first worksheet

[This activity is expected to take approximately 10-15 minutes in total, allowing sufficient time for research and presentations]

Make

On the fifth slide, the teacher will introduce the HP Otto robot by showing a video about its features and capabilities. After watching the video, the teacher will demonstrate a built robot to the students, showcasing its physical components and explaining how they contribute to its functionality.

[To further engage the students, the teacher can connect the robot to the Otto web control app, demonstrating how to operate and control the robot using the app’s interface.]

On the next slide, a diagram displaying the internal connections of the robot will be shown. Using the web control app, the teacher will demonstrate how each component of the robot works.

To engage the students, the teacher can actively involve them in the activity. For example:

Buzzer: The teacher can play various sounds available on the app and ask students to suggest or choose which sound they would like to hear.
LED ring: The teacher can ask students (up to a maximum of 12) about their favorite colors and display them on the LED ring.
Ultrasonic sensor: The teacher can activate the avoidance function and make the robot move around the classroom. Students can participate by intercepting the robot’s path with their hands, observing how the robot changes its direction in response.
Line sensors: Although the line tracking activity will be conducted later, the teacher can explain how the infrared sensors work at this stage.

In the next activity, the entire group will work together to define a racing track circuit for the robot to navigate. The teacher will guide the students in this process, but it is important to allow the students to make the decisions in order to foster their creativity and engagement. The goal is to define a circuit that includes specific landmarks or areas within the classroom for the robot to move around.

For example, the students may decide to start the circuit in front of the teacher’s desk, then describe a square around James’ seat, move in a zigzag pattern between Eva and Raidy’s seats, and finally return to the teacher’s desk. [To maintain efficiency, the teacher should encourage the students to make quick decisions, aiming to complete the circuit definition within 1-2 minutes]

[Optional]: As an additional challenge, the teacher can allow students to take turns controlling the robot and measure their individual completion times. This can add an element of friendly competition among the students.

The next activity is similar to the previous one, but this time the students will create a line track using ‘tape’ on a large white piece of paper or cardboard.