Session 5 — Obstacle Detection

Opening concept: If Edison can sense an obstacle, it can decide what to do about it.

Physical activity: PL-6 (Obstacle Avoidance Rule) — brief revisit. This time, after the “always turn right” round, ask students to invent a better rule. Try a couple of their suggestions. Then: “Today we’re going to program Edison with a rule. What rule should we give it?” Students come in already thinking about the design before they open EdBlocks.

Activity:

• EdBlocks Activities 17–18: obstacle sensor block, detect-and-avoid program
• Program Edison to drive until it detects an obstacle, then turn and continue
• Build a random obstacle field. Time how long Edison survives before getting stuck.
• Modify the turn direction or amount — does it survive longer?

Engineering connection: Tuning a parameter to improve performance, tracked with a timer as the metric

Materials: Devices, USB cables, cups/blocks for obstacles, timer