- Lego Mindstorms- a large stand with examples of their robot units and kits.
- Parallax.inc (USA) - present via a friendly small concern, Active-Robots.com
- Various simulation-software and data-gathering hardware stands.
- is launched every September
- has national finals at this time of year
- has a Green City Challenge (= renewable energy) for 2011/12
- provides 45 hours of lessons
- is holding a challenge in Cornellà on 29 January at the Citillab
One of the great things about Lego is the community that it fosters. Also, if you enter the challenge, registration includes a kit including mat and hardware - but not the robot base unit which has to be bought separately.
All the 'experts' on the stands agree that Robotics is best started as an after-school club with fewer students and the possibility of showcasing their work on Parents' Day.
The representative for this part of Europe is mirella.mariani@LEGOeducation.eu
Active-Robots.com and Parallax
The good thing about Active-Robots.com is that they can supply a wide range of robots from different companies (including LEGO) and are happy to break up kits to supply spare parts, or to meet specific needs. In addition, they run a course subsidised by Parallax to teach BASIC Stamp and to share ideas at the University of Bath in June.
Simulation Software and Data-gathering Hardware
I hadn't realised, but the LEGO robot units can also be used as data gatherers for scientific experiments and so, perhaps not surprisingly, stands with this hardware also had robots.
One looked interesting: flowol.com as it had clear flow-chart planning and 2D and 3D simulations running from this. Apparently, this could then be transferred to 'real' models via Fisher-Price and other interfaces.
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