Physical Computing
Finch Robot
"The Finch robot is the result of four years of NSF-supported research into using robots to improve Computer Science education at Carnegie Mellon's CREATE lab. The research effort involved deep participation of Computer Science educators and several design iterations driven by results from classroom pilots (1). The Finch has several characteristics that make it optimally suited for Computer Science classrooms:
Source: http://www.finchrobot.com/grant-writing-materials |
Hummingbird DuoThe Hummingbird Duo was also created in the Carnegie Mellon CREATE lab. It's an arduino board based robot making kit. It includes sensors, motors, and more. Plus it can run tethered or untethered (to the computer). Students can build their own creation around it, using the Hummingbird to bring their creation to life.
A gallery of projects using the Hummingbird can be found here. |
Makey Makey
"MaKey MaKey is an invention kit for the 21st century. Turn everyday objects into touchpads and combine them with the internet. It's a simple Invention Kit for Beginners and Experts doing art, engineering, and everything inbetween."
Source: Makeymakey.com The Makey Makey allows almost anything to become a "key" on your keyboard. Plug it in, create a program or set up an activity, and watch the fun happen! Example projects are a cat selfie booth, which photographs a cat when it comes in for a drink, an interactive "Operation" game, a maze or obstacle course, banana keyboard, and much, much more! Your imagination is your own limit! |
Raspberry Pi
"The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It is a capable little device that enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to program in languages like Scratch and Python. It’s capable of doing everything you’d expect a desktop computer to do, from browsing the internet and playing high-definition video, to making spreadsheets, word-processing, and playing games." Source: www.raspberrypi.org |