Reflective Essay

Reflective Essay for Lego Robotics

We as a group made many different robots out of the lego robotic kits we got. We were required to design the best functioning and most creative lego robot and present it the class. We each had a play in designing 4 different types of robots. These robots included a rubber band car, a tug of war machine, a Wallace and Grommit remake of a certain episode we watched in class, and a assistive robot that would benefit the public that had not been create or invented yet. We each worked very hard in completing these robots. Teamwork was the key to our success.

We each had a role in creating these robots and completing all the requirements. Gus Miller was the main designer and he did most of the building for our group. I had the main role of creating the blog that shows how each step was performed. Jennifer Strand was the reflection writer on each robot and how we came about with all of our ideas. We each had to use a certain goal from the University Study goals and that was critical understanding.

We tied in the critical understanding into our process of constructing the robots. We thought that the critical thinking goal was perfect because we had to be self driven to properly create the robots. We also had to properly understand what we needed to accomplish with each individual robot. Working as a team also requires critical understanding because you need to know each one of your group member's strengths and weaknesses. Properly understanding this will help your group achieve its goal much faster.

Our tug of war machine was a great way to show communication because we had to communicate with each other and other groups to see what the best design was. We found as a group that the treads for our robot was the best because it had the best grip and it would be the hardest to pull because of that exact aspect.

Our Wallace and Grommit machine was also a perfect way to show communication because communicating with my group made it possible for us to change our idea that we originally had. Gus had constructed a candy sorter but it didn't work out as planned so we had to construct a original that was shown in one of the Wallace and Grommit. Gus, Jennifer, and I had to keep in constant contact to make sure everything was completed properly.

The assistive robot we mad at the end was a good example of ethic and social responsinility because we had to know how this robot could properly help people with society. Ours was a like a seeing eye dog for blind people and old people. This robot would know when it hit something and avoid it. It would properly guide somebody to their destination.