Open to Students entering grades 7-12 (ages 12-17)
In this exciting hands-on, day camp, participants will be introduced to the principles of robot design through origami – the art of paper folding – to prototype, ideate, and get a hands-on sense of the physics of robots.
Topics
Participants will learn:
how to use the biological world as a source of inspiration for designing robots, and how to translate those principles into a set of engineering design goals.
how to ideate, prototype, and synthesize robotic devices through folded mechanisms, and how force, torque, and motion can be tuned through these structures to make robots move better.
Coding a microcontroller to generate motion with an RC servo-motor.
how to take real-world data from a foldable robot and use physical models to improve robot performance
This week-long, hands-on, project-based approach will emphasize problem identification, brainstorming, problem solving, rapid prototyping, teamwork, and communication. The camp will culminate with a final build – that students can program to move through the environment – along with a Friday afternoon exposition for parents.
Students will be able to take their development kits home with them at the end of the week. Example parts & materials include:
