Course Overview –

As part of this development track we will explore the world of robotics using the motor:bit Smart Car and the BBC micro:bit. As you follow through the tutorials in this development track you will learn how to –

1. Assemble the motor:bit Smart Car robot
2. Code the robot and get it to move
3. Write programs to get your robot to navigate around a track
4. Learn how to code your robot to sense obstacles and navigate around them
5. Control the robot remotely over bluetooth and from another micro:bit

Here’s a list of tutorials that cover use of the components included in the kit.

1. Assembling the robot
2. Learning to detect obstacles and navigating around them using the ultrasonic sensor
3. Learning to detect edges using the line following sensor
4. Learning to navigate around a track using the line following sensor
5. Controlling the robot remotely over bluetooth including using another micro:bit

Prerequisites –

1. BBC micro:bit –
   1. This development track makes extensive use of the BBC micro:bit.
   2. If you haven’t purchased a BBC micro:bit yet you might want to head over to OzToyLib and pick one up now.
   3. We would recommend that you pick up the BBC micro:bit kit which comes with a battery pack, usb cable and the real micro:bit.
   4. We will be using the official online python editor to write code for all our tutorials. No investment required here.
2. Motor:Bit STEM Education Robot –
   1. You can purchase the Motor:Bit STEM Education Robot through the OzToyLib store – Motor:Bit STEM Education Robot
   2. Please note that the BBC micro:bit needs to be purchased separately from the Motor:Bit STEM Education Robot
   3. You can purchase the Motor:Bit STEM Education Robot at OzToyLib.
3. You can also look up each of these products at your local electronics hobby store.

Recommended Prior Learning –

This is an advanced micro:bit track with a focus on exploring robotics using the Motor:Bit STEM Education Robot robot.

We would highly recommend that you complete the following tracks before you start off with this track.

1. Introduction to coding concepts with Scratch I
2. Introduction to coding concepts with Scratch II
3. Exploring Coding Concepts Using the BBC micro:bit I
4. Exploring Coding Concepts Using the BBC micro:bit II
5. Exploring Coding Concepts Using the BBC micro:bit III
6. Design Interactive Games Using the BBC micro:bit
7. Introduction To Electronics Using The BBC micro:bit – I

About the Motor:Bit STEM Education Robot –

The Motor:bit STEM education robot is a DIY (Do It Yourself) robot based on the highly popular BBC micro:bit. The Motor:bit STEM education robot is designed to get kids introduced to the world of coding, electronics and robotics. The Motor:bit STEM education robot is recommended for kids 12+ years and older.  The Motor:bit STEM education robot is designed from ground up to be an easy to easy to work with, easy to assemble robot and simply built with the aim of giving educators, parents and kids a great opportunity to get a taste of robotics, electronics and coding.

Experienced developers, engineers and robotics enthusiasts can build on their existing coding skills and take the knowledge of coding, robotics and electronics to a higher level. However if you are just starting with coding and robotics then you have the option to program the Motor:bit using the BBC micro:bit Makecode Block based programming language. If you are an experienced developer and have some prior experience working with electronics, coding, robotics then you can program Motor:bit using Javascript or even using MicroPython. The Motor:bit  STEM education robot is a flexible robotics platform built around the BBC micro:bit offering different learning paths catering to different STEM learning needs and challenges.

About BBC micro:bit –

The Micro Bit (also referred to as BBC Micro Bit, stylised as micro:bit) is an ARM-based embedded system designed by the BBC for use in computer education in the UK. The board is 4 cm × 5 cm and has an ARM Cortex-M0 processor, accelerometer and magnetometer sensors, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, a display consisting of 25 LEDs, two programmable buttons, and can be powered by either USB or an external battery pack. The device inputs and outputs are through five ring connectors that are part of the 23-pin edge connector at the bottom of the board. The micro:bit can be programmed using the Microsoft Block code program editor which is similar to the block based language Scratch ideal for 7-12 year olds. The micro:bit can also be programmed using the Makecode editor in Javascript and Python which allows for older kids to learn the Javascript and Python programming language using the micro:bit.

You can read more about the BBC micro:bit at the microbit website. Also see Kitronik’s resources here – Parents Complete Guide To The BBC micro:bit.