English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
Final Technical Report
Nam Tran, Stephen Li, Harry Yu
Renison University College
August 26th, 2019
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English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
1.0 Introduction
iBASE is a 7-week program preparing students for undergraduate education, in which
Academic Skills (iBASE 42) applies a Content and Language Integrated approach with FIRST®
LEGO® League Hydrodynamics being part of the curriculum [1]. It is a robotic competition
themed around water, exploring how water is processed [2]. The purpose of this activity is to
facilitate the development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork [3] and to
familiarize students with technical vocabulary as well as the Engineering process.
2.0 Design Problem/Project Objective
2.1 Problem Statement
The target of the assignment is to make an autonomous robot that can accomplish at least
four missions within three minutes and return to the base at the end. The rules and missions are
outlined in “FIRST Lego League HydroDynamics Challenge Guide” [4]. The missions can be
completed in any order. The robot must use the materials in the given kit and be ready for the
demonstration before August 21st. It is desired, albeit not necessary, that the robot can complete
as many missions as possible with a high rate of completion.
2.2 Mission Strategy
The initial plan included nine missions divided in two runs (Figure 1). However, this
strategy had a low success rate because the Faucet and Manhole Covers mission require high
accuracy which is hard for the large and trembling robot; thus, these missions were given up.
Mission Tripod is relatively easy as it only requires pushing, so added to the mission plan.
Figure 1 Map and missions of Hydrodynamics – Initial Plan [2]
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English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
Therefore, in the new strategy, 8 missions are chosen to be finished (Figure 2). Mission 3, 4,
and 5 are chosen to be completed together because they share the same area and do not require
dedicated attachments. Mission 7 and 10 are completed together because they are in the same
direction.
Figure 2 Map and missions of Hydrodynamics – Revised Plan [2]
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English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
3.0 Mechanical Design
3.1 Wheel system and sensors
Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 displays the tank tread system and the locations of sensors and motors
of the robot.
Figure 3 The initial design for the robot
Figure 5 Location of touch sensors
Figure 4 Location of gyro sensor
Figure 6 Location of Color sensor
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English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
The wheel system is tank treads because they provide stability and traction. The tank treads
were originally located beside the brick and the brick was close to the ground (Figure 3) [5], but
its width causes difficulty in moving. Therefore, the wheel is relocated under the brick. One
weakness of the design is the imbalance in the weight distribution, which prevents the robot from
going straight.
To help navigation, the gyro sensor (Figure 4) is placed beneath the brick, a location
predicted to be least affected by the vibration of the robot. Furthermore, two touch sensors
(Figure 5) are in the back to navigate the direction by using the wall for re-positioning. The color
sensor is in front of the robot and close to the ground (Figure 6), avoiding the ambient light and
capable of detecting the black line under Mission Rain.
3.2 Attachments
The hook, controlled by the medium motor (Figure 7), can move up and down. It is designed
to complete 4 missions (Pipe Removal, Pipe Replacement, Water Treatment, and Rain). As
shown in Figure 7, the arm is connected to a set of spur gears and worm gears to transfer the
torque to the desired location.
The initial design of the attachment aims to complete Pipe Removal and Pipe Replacement
together. However, it depends heavily on the motor encoder, resulting in a high risk. Therefore,
the attachment is simplified to one single hook (Figure 8), and the robot completes fewer
missions per rounds and has a higher success rate. To improve it, the attachment can be more
versatile and reliable.
Figure 7 A set of spur gear and worm gear
Figure 8 The simplified hook attachment
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English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
4.0 Programming
4.1 Overall code structure
Written in Mindstorms EV3 and JavaScript, the programs utilize MyBlocks (“functions”) for
the clarity and maintainability. The gyro sensor and timer are almost consistently used for
navigation and deviation correction by using MyBlocks. Figure 9 and Figure 10 provide an
example of implementation of MyBlocks in which a MyBlock called GyroTurn is utilized to
make the robot turn to a certain degree. MyBlocks GyroForward and GyroBackward also use a
timer to control how far the robot goes.
Figure 9 Example of MyBlock and the gyro sensor
Figure 10 Implementation of GyroTurn MyBlock
Additionally, the color sensor and loops are also used for line detection. An instance is
shown in Figure 11.
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English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
Figure 11 Example of loops and use of the color sensor
4.2 A code segment
Figure 12 shows a code segment for Mission Tripod, a challenging mission requiring precise
navigation. Nevertheless, it has the highest success rate because of the coordinated use of a
timer, a color sensor, and a gyro sensor.
Figure 12 Code segment for Mission Tripod
The steering is handled in a “forever block” that will be executed throughout the program
and is designed to make the robot move forward whenever the variable “moving” is set to true.
Thus, a “pause” function is equivalent to moving straight forward for a specified time with the
gyro sensor.
A “pause” function is used (line 194) to delay the line detection (line 197) so that the black
and white color on the map will not distract the line detection program. This procedure is
illustrated in Figure 13.
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English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
Figure 13 Procedure of Mission Tripod
After reaching the black line, the robot will keep moving forward for 0.5s before turning left
by using the gyro sensor. Then, it will gently push the tripod into its target location.
Another innovation is the use of “music.playTone” for troubleshooting. Before, during, and
after the line detection, the robot will make a beep sound to indicate that it is working properly.
4.3 Efficiencies/Inefficiencies
Although optimization of programs is not prioritized due to the limited time, the program is
still efficient and easy to read because of the use of MyBlocks. To improve, the JavaScript code
can utilize Object-oriented Programming for better readability; the Mindstorms code could use a
better line detection algorithm in which both black line and white line are detected to enhance
accuracy.
5.0 Troubleshooting
5.1 Demo Day performance
On the demo day, five missions were completed within three minutes - Pump Addition,
Rain, Filter, Tripod, Water Fountain - awarding 110 game points in total. However, because the
color sensor was unable to detect the black line, the robot failed to complete Pipe Removal and
thereby the subsequent missions, resulting in only six missions being attempted.
5.2 Testing
A challenge encountered was the trembling when completing Mission Fountain because the
attachment could not hold the big water stably. To solve the problem, the moving speed was
decreased, resulting in less trembling. Thus, Mission Fountain was completed successfully on the
demo day.
6.0 Conclusion
From the process of completing the project, we learned how to effectively collaborate and
divide work based on team members’ abilities. The problem-solving skills and critical thinking
ability we developed during troubleshooting is also important for future studies in Engineering.
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English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
Appendix A – Team Log
Aug 4
Time 3pm-5pm
Decisions/Progress:
• Completed team contract
• Started strategy and planning worksheet
• Used tank treads and built the robot based on the manual instruction
• Modified the system to be suitable to the mission
• Decided missions to be completed.
Aug 5
Time 2pm-4pm
Decisions/Progress:
• Continued assembling the robot.
• Redesigned the wheel system to narrow down the size to fit into the map
Aug 7
Time 6:30pm-8pm
Decisions/Progress:
• Put the tank treads under the motors.
• Continued to redesign the wheel (Lifting the robot to avoid the tank treads to hit the
motors)
• Started to construct the arm(s) for the robot
• Used the gyro sensor to help calibrate the orientation of the robot.
• Began basic programming with the information received by gyro.
Aug 8
Time 10:00am - 11:30 am
Decisions/Progress :
• Decided the order of mission needed to be complete.
• Designed another arms for the second run.
• Decided the route that the robot should take.
Time 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Decision/Progress:
• Color sensor and touch sensors were attached.
• Troubleshooted the robot to go in the straight direction with gyro sensor.
• Constructed and test the attachment for missions M18, and M05.
• Attachment for missions M07, M10 and M08 needs to be further developed.
• Lead programmers started working on operating the robot with color sensor.
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English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
Aug 9
Time 1:30pm-3:20pm
Decision/Progress:
• Adjusted an attachment so that it can complete M10 (Pipe Replacement) and M1 (Pipe
removal) at the same time.
• Debugged the navigation code so the robot can navigate to the pipe with the touch sensor
and the color sensor.
Aug 12
Time 10:30pm-11:25pm
Decision/Progress:
• Adjusted programming
• Troubleshooted a bug that causes the robot to turn in the opposite direction (data race).
Aug 13
Time 5:30pm-7:00pm
Decision/Progress:
• Redesigned the structure for pipe removal mission.
• Programmed for the pipe removal and pipe replacement missions.
• Fixed a bug that might cause the robot to move in the wrong direction when moving
back.
• Completed the problem statement.
Aug 14
Time 11:00am-11:30am
Decision/Progress:
• Removed ADJUST_CONSTANT to make the robot go straight
• When turning, use only “run” function instead of “steer” or “tank” now and only the
motor of one side will move (instead of two moving in the opposite direction) to enable
smoother and more accurate turning.
Aug 15
Time 5:30pm-7:00pm
Decision/Progress:
• Improved the program for Mission 3,4,5.
• Improved the program for Fountain.
• Started the program for Tripod.
Aug 16
Time 5:30pm-7:00pm
Decision/Progress:
• Improved the program for Mission 3,4,5.
• Improved the program for Fountain.
• Completed the program for Tripod.
• Completed some measurements.
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English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
Aug 18
Time 4:00pm-5:30pm
Decision/Progress:
• Improved the program for Mission 3,4,5.
• Improved the program for pipe replacement.
• Moved the color sensor to the front.
Aug 19
Time 10:20am-11:20am
Decision /Progress:
• Improved the program for Mission 3,4,5.
• Improved the program for pipe replacement.
• Decided to separate the mission pipe replacement and pipe removal to increase success
rate and reduce risk.
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English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
Appendix B – Strategy & Planning Worksheet
Team Members: Harry Yu, Nam Tran, Stephen Li
Mission Name(s): M03: Pump Addition. M04: Rain. M05: Filter. M06: Water Treatment. M07: Fountain.
M08: Manhole Covers. M01: Pipe Removal. M10: Pipe Replacement. M18: Faucet.
Optional (To be decided): M17: Slingshot
Add Constraints/Criteria to the following table.
Constraints
Criteria
The System should be able to complete the
Speed
task within time limits.
Reliability/Quality - Increasing the successful
rate for each mission.
1. What wheel system are you using on your robot? Why?
Tank Treads because
• They are reliable and easy to turn left or right by increasing the power of the opposite side for the
desirable direction.
• Do not need to use the ball caster which is difficult to control the direction and is unreliable.
2. Which sensors are you planning on placing on your robot? Why? Where will they be located?
•
•
•
Gyro sensors: to navigate and regulate turning. It can be located anywhere inside the robot.
Touch sensors: To calibrate the position and angle of the robot. It can be located in front of the
robot.
Color sensors: To calibrate the position of the robot and help navigation. It can be located on the
side of the robot and pointing downward (to detect the map’s color).
3. Which missions are you planning to complete? Why did you choose these ones? How will you
determine the order in which you attempt them?
•
•
•
•
•
First Run: M07: Fountain. M01: Pipe Removal. M10: Pipe Replacement. M08: Manhole
Covers. M18: Faucet.
They are distributed along the south of the map and can be completed by moving horizontally to
the east.
Second Run: M03: Pump Addition. M04: Rain. M05: Filter. M06: Water Treatment.
They are distributed on the north-west corner of the map.
The tasks listed above are relatively easy to accomplish.
4. Will you need to return to base at any point during the missions? If so, why?
•
Yes, the process will be separated into two different runs. The robot needs to go back to the base
to allow manipulation of its structure.
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English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
•
Specifically, we plan to make different attachments which are suitable for specific missions and
replace the attachments when the robot returns to the base.
5. How are you planning on completing each of these missions? For the tasks that require motors, where
are you placing them? Will you need to use any gears?
•
•
•
•
Try not to change the mechanism for completing.
We plan to design different attachments (aka “hands”) for completing different missions. The
attachments should be designed in a way that can be easily replaced.
The motor for task should be put in the middle front of the robot. The motors for driving the robot
should be put on the two sides of the robot.
We need gears for the wheel system as well as the attachments that can be used to complete
missions.
List of missions and required operations (target. 165pts):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
First Run (target. 75pts):
M07: Fountain (20pts): a structure that can carry big water can drop it at a specific location.
M08: Manhole Covers (15pts): a structure that can flip manhole covers.
M01: Pipe Removal (20pts): use a hook-like structure that can remove the pipe and carry it.
M10: Pipe Replacement (20pts): use a hook-like structure that can carry the pipe and put it into
specific location.
M18: Faucet (25pts): a structure that can push small triggers.
Second Run (target. 90pts):
M03: Pump Addition (20pts): a structure that can push large object (and push it from the side)
M04: Rain (20pts): a structure that can push small triggers.
M05: Filter: (30pts) a structure that can push large object.
M06: Water Treatment (20pts): a structure that can push small triggers.
6. How will you navigate the board (type of sensor used, timers & motor encoders)? Will you do this
mechanically (using extra LEGO pieces, such as a frame in the BASE)? Explain.
•
•
•
Motors are programmed to run a certain distance by controlling the number of rotations. Sensors
such as gyro, color and touch sensor will be used to assist the navigation the board by calibrating
the positions and orientation of the robot.
Specifically, the gyro sensor can be used to assist turning of the robot and correct the robot’s
orientation.
The color and touch sensor are used to calibrate the position of the robot. But they shall not be
used as the primary method of navigating because of their inaccuracy.
Team members’ initials: N. T., S. Y. and S. L.
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English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
References
[1]
R. Jacob, “Academic Skills Course Outline,” 2019.
[2]
FIRST LEGO League, “Hydrodynamics Challenge.” 2017.
[3]
Renison English Language Institute, “Lego Challenge Instructions.” .
[4]
FIRST LEGO League, “Hydrodynamics Challenge Guide.” 2017.
[5]
MindStorms EV3, “TRACK3R,” 2016.
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English Language Institute
iBASE Program– Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
BASE 42: Academic Skills for ENG - Summer 2019
BASE 42: Report Writing
Teamwork Skills: Accountability & Integrity form
Team number: 17
Team members: Harry Yu, Stephen Li, Nam Tran
Instructions: Complete the following for the writing of your FLL Final Report. Print this out
and include it at the end of the report, after your References page and before the rubric.
Accountability: For each report section, specify who wrote and who edited it.
Section name:
Introduction
Main Writer(s):
Harry Yu
Editor(s):
Stephen Li
Nam Tran
Nam Tran
Stephen Li
Problem Statement
Project Objective
Harry Yu
Mechanical Design
Nam Tran
Harry Yu
Stephen Li
Programming
Harry Yu
Troubleshooting
Stephen Li
Nam Tran
Stephen Li
Nam Tran
Harry Yu
Conclusion
Stephen Li
Harry Yu
Nam Tran
Academic Integrity: We verify that the assignment we have submitted is our own original work
and has not been submitted previously in any form for another course or instructor. Any external
sources have been referenced
Team member – (Clearly) Printed Name
NGUYEN TRUNG NAM TRAN
Signature
SHIYUAN YU
HAOJIA LI
15
Most highlighted elements of
strategy, design, and/or
programming usually focus on key
aspects of the project
Transitions within report sections
mostly add to the flow of ideas
Moderate coverage of report
sections mostly appropriate to the
assignment length
Report provides reasonable context
for the LEGO challenge
Points made are mostly developed
and supported:
 General description of team
strategy with moderate
justification
 Largely appropriate technical
description of mechanical design
choice(s)
 Mostly appropriate description of
programming efficiencies and
inefficiencies
 Mostly appropriate explanation of
problems encountered
Some evidence of critical thought
and analysis of finished project
and/or performance
Some highlighted elements of
strategy, design, and/or
programming minimally focus
on key aspects of the project
Transitions within report
sections minimally add to the
flow of ideas
Partial coverage of report
sections minimally appropriate
for the assignment length
Report provides limited
context for the LEGO challenge
Points made are minimally
developed and supported:
 Partial description of team
strategy with little
justification
 Minimal technical
description of mechanical
design choice(s)
 Partial description of
programming efficiencies and
inefficiencies
 Limited explanation of
problems encountered
Limited critical thought or
analysis of finished project or
performance
Scope
Coherence
/4 x 2 =
/8
Content:
Relevance
Depth
/12
/4 x 3 =
Emergent
2
Aspiring
1
Impressive evidence of critical
thought and analysis of finished
project and performance
 Clear description of team
strategy with clear justification
 Effective technical description
of mechanical design choices
 Sufficient description of
programming efficiencies and
inefficiencies
 Appropriate explanation of
problems encountered
Sufficient evidence of critical
thought and analysis of finished
project and performance
Report provides thorough
context for the LEGO challenge
Excellent coverage of report
sections for the assignment
length
Transitions within report
sections create an excellent
flow of ideas
Highlighted elements of
strategy, design, and
programming perceptively focus
on all key aspects of the project
Exemplary
4
Points made are impressively
developed and supported:
 Astute description of team
strategy with convincing
justification
 Excellent technical description
of mechanical design choices
 Impressive description of
programming efficiencies and
inefficiencies
 Thoughtful explanation of
problems encountered
Points made are sufficiently
developed and supported:
Report provides sufficient
context for the LEGO challenge
Sufficient coverage of report
sections appropriate to the
assignment length
Transitions within report sections
sufficiently add to the flow of
ideas
Highlighted elements of strategy,
design, and programming clearly
focus on key aspects of the
project
Competent - 3
(meets level expectations)
LEGO Technical Report Rubric
English Language Institute
Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
Academic Skills - iBASE 42
Final Draft:
/12
/4 x 3 =
Language and
Writing Style
/8
/4 x 2 =
Source Use
and Visual
Aids
/40
Comments:
Tone and style indicates
limited awareness of context
and audience
Limited range of technical
and/or academic vocabulary
partially appropriate to both
topic and academic level;
Minimally varied sentence
structure
Visual aids occasionally fulfill
qualities of good visual aids:
 partially clear and easy to
read
 somewhat complementary
to written text
 minimally appropriately
labelled and sequenced
Grammar is frequently
inaccurate. Errors often
distract from content.
Reference list is partially
complete and somewhat
accurate
Source material is
 occasionally reliable and
supportive of the points
made
 partially paraphrased
 partially integrated into the
text
 moderately referenced
through in-text citations
(some inaccuracies)
Grammar is sufficiently accurate.
Errors are minimal and do not
distract from content.
Grammar is generally accurate.
Errors do not distract from content.
Range of technical and academic
vocabulary appropriate to both
the topic and academic level;
Tone and style indicates
appropriate awareness of
context and audience
Range of technical and/or academic
vocabulary mostly appropriate to
both the topic and academic level;
Tone and style indicates general
awareness of context and audience
Consistently varied sentence
structure
Visual aids sufficiently fulfill
qualities of good visual aids:
 clear and easy to read
 consistently complementary to
written text
 appropriately labelled and
sequenced
Visual aids reasonably fulfill
qualities of good visual aids:
 mostly clear and easy to read
 moderately complementary to
written text
 mostly adequately labelled and
sequenced
Mostly varied sentence structure
Reference list is appropriately
complete and accurate
Source material is
 consistently reliable and
sufficiently supportive of the
points made
 sufficiently paraphrased
 appropriately integrated into
the text
 sufficiently referenced
through in-text citations (one
or two errors)
Reference list is mostly complete
and generally accurate
Source material is
 generally reliable and supportive
of the points made
 generally paraphrased
 mostly integrated into the text
 mostly referenced through intext citations (mostly accurate –
a few errors)
Tone and style indicates
excellent awareness of context
and audience
Impressive range of technical
and academic vocabulary–
extremely well-suited to both
topic and academic level;
Excellently varied sentence
structure
Grammar is fully accurate.
Visual aids impressively fulfill
qualities of good visual aids:
 very clear and easy to read
 astutely complementary to
written text
 precisely labelled and
sequenced
Reference list is thoroughly
complete and fully accurate
Source material is
 superbly reliable and
thoroughly supportive of the
points made
 impressively paraphrased
 excellently integrated into
the text
 completely and accurately
referenced through in-text
citations
English Language Institute
Intensive Bridge to Academic Success in English
Academic Skills - iBASE 42