R2T2 Corona mission

Duration
90-120 minutes

Robot to discover
Thymio II

Programming level
VPL

Number of teachers
4 (one teacher per robot)

We are in the year 2043. A virus is spreading all over the world. After significant efforts and many hours of research, scientists around the world have discovered the life-saving vaccine formula.

The formula includes four components, but they must be assembled under special conditions, and without Earth’s gravity. The astronauts who participate in this research are located in the International Space Station Laboratory (ISS Laboratory). They have all four components and samples of the virus. They have already prepared everything for this experiment. The virus molecule is already placed in a bowl with four holes through which the components must be injected in the correct order. Since the work must be very precise, it was decided to use robots controlled by scientists from Earth. The scientists are professionals, so they know how to do the work! However, working in space adds a challenge to their mission. Due to the significant distance between the Earth and the ISS Laboratory, the video stream signal organized in the ISS Laboratory for the scientists to view the actions of the robots has an offset of 30 seconds from real time in the laboratory.

This mission has been created especially for the lockdown days in order to offer teachers a session to discover the Thymio robot and R2T2 (Remote Rescue with Thymio II) missions online.

Session planning
Session preparation
Educational material offered during the session
Registration
Contact

This session will be led by an online coach and will take the form of a video conference. It is offered for a maximum of 4 people and lasts 90-120 minutes. This includes:

programming the Thymio robot with real time (duration of 60 minutes): you will have the possibility of programming the Thymio robot remotely. Your programming results will be projected to you via video in real time, so there is no need to have a robot at home.
programming the Thymio robot with a video delay of 30 seconds (duration of 30 minutes): this time, you will have to complete the R2T2 Corona Mission in real life! That is to say, without the help of the coach. However, you will do so by collaborating with other participants and now with the video 30 seconds behind real time!
discussion time (duration of 30 minutes): we are ready to answer to all of your questions about the missions.

Two online software tools are required to be installed to participate in the session. These are:

Aseba 1.6.1 : It is a tool for remote programming the Thymio robot.
Zoom : It is a tool for video conferenceing. Before the session, you will receive a link to join an online meeting. When you click on this link, your browser will automatically prompt you to install Zoom.

It is also recommended to test the connection with a robot at least one day before the session. All information necessary for this will be communicated directly to you when you contact us.

Robot programming in real time:

During the training for programming the Thymio robot in real time, participants will discover:

the Thymio robot
how to use the VPL interface to program the Thymio robot
how to program the horizontal distance sensors of the robot
and how to program the ground sensors of the robot.

You can download the slides that will accompany the training:

These slides contain more material than we will see during the session. So you can use them to deepen the knowledge gained.

Mission explained in the video bellow:

The session is offered 4 times a week between November 1 and Fabruary 28:

Tuesday 10-11:30 a.m and 1:30-3:00 p.m.

Wednesday 1-2:30 p.m and 3:00-4:30 p.m.

If you would like to participate in one of these sessions, do not hesitate to contact us!

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