Bridging the Educational Gap: A Cost-Effective, Computer-Free Approach to Democratizing Robotics Learning

Abstract

This paper demonstrates a robotics kit to teach children the basics of programming and robotics. The kit’s advantage lies not only in the lower cost of production but also in the fact that it does not require a computer or laptop to program, meaning children who don’t have access to these can still use it. By using an IR remote for input, an attached programming guide walks users through basic movements, for-loops, and if-statements, as well as an optional bang-bang control. The kit itself is made up of a microcontroller board, gearbox DC motors, and IR sensors. The IR sensors — one on each side of the front — are utilized for the if-statements and bang-bang control. For the if-statement, a digital value is read depending on whether the IR reflectivity of the surface below exceeds a certain threshold, which is used as a Boolean value; for bang-bang control, the IR sensors are used to follow a curve using the bang-bang algorithm, variations of which are used in self-driving cars.