Before You Begin

Essential Question: How do robots interact with their environments?

Unit Understandings:

• A sensor is a device that collects and reports data about the sensor's environment.
• Coding robots to interpret sensor data allows robots to adjust their actions based on changing or unexpected conditions.
• The AI Vision Sensor on the VEX AIM Coding Robot detects and reports data on objects like barrels, sports balls, and AprilTags.
• Macro blocks in VEXcode AIM combine multiple behaviors into a single block to perform complex tasks.

Standards Alignment

Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)

• 1B-CS-02: Model how computer hardware and software work together as a system to accomplish tasks.
• 1B-DA-07: Use data to highlight or propose cause-and-effect relationships, predict outcomes, or communicate an idea.
• 1B-AP-08: Compare and refine multiple algorithms for the same task and determine which is the most appropriate.
• 1B-AP-10: Create programs that include sequences, events, loops, and conditionals.
• 2-CS-02: Design projects that combine hardware and software components to collect and exchange data.
• 2-AP-15: Seek and incorporate feedback from team members and users to refine a solution that meets user needs.
• 2-AP-19: Document programs in order to make them easier to follow, test, and debug.
• 3A-AP-22: Design and develop computational artifacts working in team roles using collaborative tools.
• 3B-AP-09: Implement an artificial intelligence algorithm to play a game against a human opponent or solve a problem.

View additional standards from ISTE, Common Core, NGSS, and other standards bodies as well as descriptions of how and where each of these standards are met in this Unit here.

Materials Needed (per group):

• VEX AIM Coding Robot
• One Stick Controller
• 2 orange barrels
• 2 blue barrels
• 2 sports balls
• AprilTag ID 0
• AIM Field (4 tiles and 8 walls)

For more information about the Macro blocks used in this unit, see this section of the VEX AIM API.

To learn more about teaching AI concepts with VEX, visit teachai.vex.com.

Suggested Time for this Unit: 6-9 Sessions

While pacing will vary classroom to classroom, suggested timing can help you plan effectively. A ‘session’ is considered approximately 45-50 minutes. You know your students best, so adjust timing as needed to best meet the needs of your students in your setting.

• Introduction: 1 session 
• Lesson 1: 1-2 sessions
• Exploring an Example Project: 1 session
• Lesson 2: 1-2 sessions
• Unit Challenge: 2-3 sessions

After students have watched the video, follow the established procedure to facilitate a whole class discussion to elicit students' observations and prepare them for co-creating learning targets for the unit.

Next, help students to make a real-world connection to the content in this unit and to engage prior knowledge using the following prompt:

What are some examples of sensors you see in everyday life? What kinds of information do these sensors detect? How do they help machines or people respond to changing conditions? Students may suggest:

• Automatic doors in stores that open when they detect motion.
• Smoke alarms that sense smoke and warn us of fire.
• Thermostats that detect temperature changes to keep rooms comfortable.
• Cars that use backup cameras or parking sensors to help drivers avoid obstacles.
• Phones that adjust screen brightness automatically based on surrounding light levels.

Guide students as a whole class through the process of co-creating learning targets. 

1. Brainstorm with students what they will need to know to complete the activities shown in the video above. Frame these as “I can” statements.
   1. Example “I can” statements for this unit include:
      1. I can code the robot to pick up a sports ball from anywhere on the field, even if its position changes.
      2. I can use the AI Vision Sensor to help me target on a goal to kick a ball through it.
2. Co-create learning targets based on that list.

For more guidance on co-creating learning targets with your students, see this VEX Library Article. Then, go further and learn more about co-creating learning targets with this lesson from a VEX PD+ Masterclass.