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Foundation Pair & Drive
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Lesson · Foundation

Pair & Drive

Students pair the joystick to the robot and drive — no code. First feel for the system, and the first engineering-notebook observations.

Duration90 min ProgrammingLevel 0 — No code DevicesYes Prep10 min Segments7

Opening Concept

Robot + controller + radio. The Cutebot and the Joystick:bit each contain a micro:bit, and they talk to each other over a 2.4 GHz radio link — like two walkie-talkies. Today there’s no programming: you are the brain and the robot does what you tell it. As you drive, notice one thing — turning the robot exactly where you want is hard. That observation is the seed for everything we add later.

Run Sheet

7 segments · 90 min
  1. 0:00–0:10 Welcome & the system

    Hold up a robot and a joystick. Ask: how do you think these talk to each other?

    • Name the three parts: the robot, the controller (joystick), and the radio link between them.
    • Point out the color dots — red = joystick, blue = robot — and that they come in matched sets.
  2. 0:10–0:20 Pair up

    Hand out matched red/blue sets. Power on both and pair.

    • Confirm each student’s joystick drives their own robot, not a neighbor’s.

    Watch for: Two robots responding to one joystick, or none — re-pair and spread groups out.

  3. 0:20–0:40 Free drive

    Open driving in clear space — forward, reverse, turns, speed. Goal is feel and fun.

    • Let students just play and get comfortable with the controls.

    If they're stuck: Check power, charge, and that the link formed (confirmation shows on the micro:bit display).

  4. 0:40–1:00 Obstacle play

    Add cones, blocks, or tape lines. Weave through, attempt tight turns, stop on a mark.

    • Set loose goals: drive between the cones, stop on the tape square, turn around in the box.

    If they finish early: Make the course tighter, or have them drive it in reverse.

  5. 1:00–1:15 Notebook: observe

    First engineering-notebook entry. Prompt: what does the robot do when you try a sharp turn?

    • Students write or sketch what they notice — especially that turns overshoot or drift.
  6. 1:15–1:25 Share-out

    Three or four students demo something they noticed.

    • Steer the discussion toward ’turning is hard to control precisely.’ Name it; don’t fix it yet.
  7. 1:25–1:30 Wrap-up & pack

    Power down, return devices to the color-coded bins.

    • Tease the next session: next time, you program the robot.

Materials

Engineering Connection

Frame (observe)

Before students can frame a problem, they have to notice one. Drive Day is pure observation: students feel how the robot responds and discover — on their own — that open-loop driving can’t turn precisely. That noticed gap is the raw material every later session builds on, when we start framing problems and adding sensors to solve them.

Troubleshooting

Two robots respond to one joystick (or none respond)
Re-pair the set, confirm the red/blue dots match, and spread groups out so radios don’t overlap.
Robot won't move
Check power on both devices, battery charge, and that the link formed (confirmation shows on the micro:bit display).
Students frustrated they can't steer precisely
Reframe it: nobody can make it perfect — the interesting part is noticing how it misses. That’s tomorrow’s problem to solve.
Robots crashing or driving off tables
Keep all driving on the floor and set a boundary line or taped box.