The RISE girls were placed into cooperative groups to work on their Line
Tracker Robotic Car Kits.
The building of the Line Tracker robotic cars with all the small parts and gears was at first difficult for the girls.
Many of the girls felt frustrated in the initial building of the car, but as they worked together more as teams, helping each other, their feelings changed. Their robotic cars slowly took shape.
Meanwhile, the girls were shown how the robotic cars demonstrated the use of gears to create torque.
The Line Tracker robotic car also presented a challenge, because of the soldering required in the circuitry control board, but again team work helped the girls through the more frustrating times.
The robotic car also illustrated how electronic control circuitry works and how robots can see by the means of sensors.
When the cars were finally completed, the girls tested their cars on a line track. There were a few cars that needed adjustments, but most of the cars worked.
It was decided that this was a good activity for the girls to go through before they built their electric cars; however, it is recommended that a smaller, similar project be completed before the line tracker activity.
The Line Tracker Robotic Car, when constructed can follow a black line
track. The "eyes" or sensors of the robot car are a pair of photo-interrupters,
which project and receive infra-red light. The black line track absorbs
the light, while the more pale colored part of the track surface will reflect
the light back into the sensors.
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