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Year 7 and Year 9 Creative Thinkers Build Robots and Tracer-Racers


Year 9 CAD students with their Tracer-Racers.

The Year 7 Robotics classes have had a great time this term creating computer code and programming Edison robots.


Edison robots are programmable robots designed to inspire students to become not just coders, but inventors, problem solvers and creative thinkers.



Recently, the students graduated to creating more advanced contraptions, with some excellent results. They built and programmed working models which could drive, draw, spin, dig, lift and grab!


The robots were fantastic, and the students really enjoyed the results of their hard work.


The Year 9 CAD class started this year with a challenging and fun cross-curricular activity.


The challenge was to create a bracket that could be clipped onto a vehicle, which would then successfully carry a standard lead pencil around a given course.


The students first built the Tracer-Racer (a semi-autonomous vehicle that can drive whilst following a black line) by screwing the components together.


They then studied the components and had to calibrate their vehicle by adjusting the sensitivity of the light detectors and by adjusting the variable resistors at the rear of the vehicle.


Using CAD software, the students sketched out and shared ideas and made measurements before drawing their brackets. They then 3D printed their designs using the College's brand new 'Creality Ender 3 Pro' 3D printers.



The Year 9s enjoyed the friendly competition, as they tested their Tracer-Racers to see which design was the lightest, strongest, and which carried the pencil most successfully through the course.




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