See Sparki Draw!

Student setting up the Arduino.  Photo by MCHS LLC

This week we demoed the Arduino, showing off the kits we have up in the Maker Lab.  By connecting the Arduino to their computers, students can program it to turn on LED lights, measure temperature, etc.  

But while the Vilros Electronics kits interested some students, the main draw was Arcbotics' Sparki the Robot (Make Edition).  

Sparki the Robot.  Photo by MCHS LLC

Sparki is an Arduino-based robot that is programmed using a similar IDE (integrated development environment) to the Arduino, called SparkiDuino.  By programming him, he can move, turn, grab things, display different colored lights, play music, as well sense temperature or light, follow a line, and even DRAW, as shown below:

 

Sparki comes pre-programmed with some basic movement and control features, which you can use to get Sparki to grip a marker.  Then in SparkiDuino, you can use the Random Drawing code provided by Arcbotics, which programs him to randomly move around in a space, as seen above.  Together, this allows Sparki to create drawings such as this: 

Artwork by Sparki.  Photo by MCHS LLC

A future project includes writing code that lets Sparki draw, but stops him from falling off the edge of a table (using the avoid edge program provided by Arcbotics).  Right now, Sparki is a bit like a toddler.  He requires constant supervision: the moment you turn your head, he moves off the paper, marks up the table, and heads straight for the edge.  

Happy Making!