When my students began working with the 'bot it seemed that the wheels/motors weren’t balanced. Basically it will curve one way when testing their code. Is this something we can change as a default or do they have to make this correction every time they code for movement?
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Missy,
Thanks for asking. This is a common question!
Your 'bots are behaving correctly… by stubbornly refusing to go straight without some software correction. This is one of the first “classic” robotics challenges students face with CodeBot! The “drive in a square” challenge is designed to plant the seeds in students minds, that there must be a better way - an automatic way - to compensate for the small variations in motors and wheels that cause CodeBot to meander. That is the purpose of the Wheel Encoders, which they learn about in a future mission, “Navigation”. In that mission, students code a feedback loop using the encoders to drive precise distances and turn by exact angles! It is a really great learning opportunity, as the students solve a real-world problem they’ve had to struggle with. Any electromechanical system will face the same issue, but often with classroom robotics it’s hidden from students behind a plastic servo case and/or provided software library. We prefer to let the students be the engineers, and solve these authentic problems themselves!
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