Page 304 - LEGO MINDSTORMS - Robotics Invention System-2 Projects

Robot 10 • RIS Turtle

This robot was inspired by the Logo Turtle that was originally developed at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1960s. Daniel Bobrow and Wallace
Feurzeig, Beranek and Newman, Inc., and Seymour Papert developed a pro-
gramming language called Logo, which made computers more accessible to
non-experts and even children. Their goal in developing Logo was to allow
people to use computers to manipulate more familiar things than numbers and
equations. The Logo language borrowed the techniques of symbolic computa-
tion (manipulating words and ideas) from the LISP programming language that
was used in artificial intelligence research.
When Logo was first developed, it was used to control a simple robot that
was called the “Turtle” because the first one had a turtle-like plastic shell.
Children would type commands such as FORWARD 50 to make the robot go
forward 50 steps, or they would type RIGHT 90 to make it turn right 90
degrees. The turtle robot carried a pen, so children could program the turtle to
make drawings on a piece of paper. Additional information on the original
Logo Project can be found at www.erzwiss.uni-hamburg.de/Sonstiges/Logo/
logofaqx.htm.
Computer programming has been brought to life by means of robotics;
robot builders can immediately see the results of their programs. The Logo
Turtle is an example of a very powerful teaching aid for programming that
reinforced abstract concepts with a real mechanical device. This is also the great
strength of the LEGO Robotics Invention System (RIS), which is why this
“turtle” is such an appropriate robot to build with the RIS.
In order to create a successful turtle robot, three key features must be in
place. First, the robot must be able to drive in straight lines and turn accurately.

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