Programming Linear and Joint Movement
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Activity Outline
In the following activity, students will explore linear and joint movements of the VEX V5 Workcell. They will draw two points on the whiteboard in the Workcell with a dry-erase marker. Students will then create the ‘Movement’ project in VEXcode V5 in order to record the (x, y, z) coordinate locations of Point 1 and Point 2.
Once students have the coordinates for Point 1 and Point 2, they will use the Midpoint formula to calculate a third point, Point 3, that will lie in the middle of Point 1 and Point 2. Students will then add [Joint movement] blocks to their project to program the arm mounted on the V5 Workcell to start at Point one, and trace its path using the dry-erase marker to move to Point 2 using joint movement.
Once the students observe joint movement, they will add [Linear move] blocks to their project in order to observe the movement of the arm mounted on the V5 Workcell while drawing these three points in a line using the dry-erase marker.
Students will finish the activity by comparing linear versus joint movement based on their observations.
| Quantity | Materials Needed |
|---|---|
| 1 |
VEX V5 Workcell |
| 1 | |
| 1 |
Engineering Notebook |
| 1 |
Device to run VEXcode V5 |
| 1 |
Micro-USB cable |
| 2 |
Dry-erase markers (two different colors) |
Teacher Tips
- Insert paper under the whiteboard for increased clarity if desired.
- Ensure the V5 Battery is charged before beginning.
- Ensure the V5 Brain is connected to a device before beginning.
- Point students to the VEX Robotics Knowledge Base if they have further questions about VEXcode V5 or the hardware.
- Ensure students have their mastering values readily available from Lab 1.
- Start the activity with the dry-erase marker not attached to the arm mounted on the VEX V5 Workcell, as locations need to be recorded on the whiteboard in the Workcell first.
- A rubber band can be placed around the dry-erase marker on the arm mounted on the V5 Workcell to better hold it in place if it is not staying in position.
In this section, you will explore linear and joint movements of the V5 Workcell. You will draw two points on the whiteboard in the Workcell with a dry-erase marker. You will then create the ‘Movement’ project in VEXcode V5 in order to record the (x, y, z) coordinate locations of Point 1 and Point 2.
Once you have the coordinates for Point 1 and Point 2, you will use the Midpoint formula to calculate a third point, Point 3, that will lie in the middle of Point 1 and Point 2. You will then add [Joint movement] blocks to your project to program the arm mounted on the VEX V5 Workcell to start at Point one, and trace its path using the dry-erase marker to move to Point 2 using joint movement.
Once you observe joint movement, you will add [Linear move] blocks to your project in order to observe the movement of the arm mounted on the V5 Workcell drawing these three points in a line using the dry-erase marker.
You will finish the activity by comparing linear versus joint movement based on your observations.
You will begin by creating the ‘Movement’ project.