2007 NCER Pre-Conference Courses
July 9, 2007
We are pleased to announce that the 2007 National Conference on Educational Robotics will feature three pre-conference sessions! Pre-conference is scheduled for Monday, July 9, 2007. You can choose to attend ONE full day session on one of the following topics:
Pre-Conference sessions cost $60 per participant. Children 12 and under must be supervised by an adult who is registered for and attending the same pre-conference session. Please see the following information for details on all three classes.
Register for NCER Pre-Conference
Beginning Programming
Instructor: Charles Winton
This class features beginning programming topics using Interactive C and the XBC simulator. The class is designed for people with little or no experience with programming and requires the use of a laptop computer as outlined below:
Your machine must run one of these three operating systems:
- Mac OS X 10.2 or later
- Windows XP, 2000 or Vista
- Linux
It must also have:
- A CD Rom drive
- Privileges to install new software on the computer
SolidWorks Design
Instructor: Matthew Oelke
This class is designed for people with little to no experience using SolidWorks CAD software. The class will begin with a brief overview of SolidWorks followed by learning to create some basic LEGO pieces. After that, the complete 2007 part library will be provided for participants to learn and practice the following skills: mating pieces, advanced mating, moving parts, assemblies and animating assemblies.
This class requires the use of a laptop computer as outlined below:
Your machine must run one of these operating systems:
- Windows XP
- Windows 2000
- Windows Vista
- It does NOT run on MacIntosh operating systems or Linux
It must also have:
- A DVD Rom drive
- Privileges to install new software on the computer
Using the XBC with iRobot’s Create
Instructor: David Miller
The Roomba is a product of the iRobot Corporation that can help keep your house clean. It is also a high quality mobile robot platform that has excellent mechanics, but is a bit stupid if you want it to do anything other than vacuum your floor. The XBC is a sophisticated robot controller that powers lots of robots, from NASA prototypes to Botball entries.
This workshop will show how to use an XBC to control a Roomba or Create (the Create is a new product from iRobot that lacks the vacuum, but has lots of additional goodies to make robot hacking easier). In this workshop you will learn techniques for wiring up the XBC to the Create and Roomba, software libraries for having them talk to one another, work through a number of examples (e.g., get your Create to be a soccer goalie), learn how to add manipulators and other peripherals to your Create or Roomba, and do some projects of your own.
Note: the cost of the workshop does not include any hardware. Attendees should bring their own hardware, purchase hardware to be delivered to the workshop, or make arrangements (in advance) to work with someone who will have hardware at the workshop. To participate in this class, you will need an XBC robot controller and compatible iRobot Create or Roomba.
Robotics Hardware Requirements
( A complete set of components meeting these requirements, for deliver at the Pre -Conference site, will be available soon through the Botball Store.)
If you will be using an XBC v3 then you will also need:
If you will be using an XBC v1 or XBC v2 then you will also need:
Additionally, you will need batteries to power your robot throught the day. We recommend the APS battery and APS Charger available from iRobot. A cheaper non APS battery and charger are also available.
Computer Requirements
This class requires the use of a laptop computer as outlined below:
Your machine must run one of these three operating systems:
- Mac OS X 10.2 or later
- Windows XP, 2000 or Vista
- Linux
It must also have:
- A CD Rom drive
- Privileges to install new software on the computer