Introduce your students to the world of coding and robotics through an authentic, fun, and engaging experience that does not require students to have a physical robot! In this first lesson of this challenge, students will explore the Amazon Cyber Robotics CoderZ Environment, engage in motion planning, create algorithms, use repeat loops, deconstruct a problem, and develop understanding around why it is important to code efficiently.
Learning Objectives
- Be able to successfully log in to CoderZ and navigate the Amazon Cyber Robotics Challenge learning platform.
- Effectively use the program’s camera controls to explore the simulation area.
- Explain the concept of motion planning and successfully use direction data blocks to code the drive unit’s movement.
- Analyze the drive unit’s environment and identify and plan the most efficient route to reach the pod.
- Recognize patterns within the drive unit’s route and their potential impact on code.
- Write code using repeat loops to develop a more efficient and accurate coding practice (fewer lines of code speeds up the code-writing process and decreases the opportunity for keying errors).
What You’ll Need
Hands-on
- Computer with a web browser and connection to the internet
- Verify that your computer and your students’ computers meet the minimum requirements.
- Teacher’s Guide
- Prior to the first session, create your teacher account and set up your classes. Then, use the class code or live link to register your students.
Minds-on
- Perseverance
- Problem-solving
- Computational thinking
The CoderZ Amazon Cyber Robotics Challenge shares Amazon’s values of innovation by introducing teachers and students to the world of coding and robotics through an authentic, fun, and engaging experience. Participants will be introduced to how robots and associates work together at an Amazon Fulfillment Center to process orders safely and efficiently. The course is powered by CoderZ’s Online Robotics Learning Environment, which provides online simulations, a visual code editor, and embedded content.
- The video introduced the “stow station,” where you saw an Amazon associate placing items in the bins within a pod. Can you speculate as to how the location of items is tracked once the pod moves to a new area in the building?
- Why do you believe the drive units and pods were designed so that the drive units would travel under the pods and lift them up from the bottom and not use some other method like arms or a front-forklift type of robot?
- What is the purpose of the tech-vest worn by an Amazon associate when they go out in the field or onto the warehouse floor? How does it work?
- What actions did the drive unit perform in this lesson?
- What does a repeat loop do to the code inside it?
- Why should we use repeat loops in our code?
For Students
- Do you use loops in your everyday life? Can you think of an example?
- Why is it important to be efficient when coding?