Modular Robotics

• US 20120122059A1
• Filed: 07/23/2010
• Published: 05/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Modular Robotics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Modular Robotics, LLC
• Inventors: Schweikardt, Eric, Gross, Mark D.
• Granted Patent: US 9,472,112 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 434/118
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/04 Building blocks, strips, or similar building parts
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/042 Mechanical, electrical, optical, pneumatic or hydraulic arrangements; Motors
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1617 Cellular, reconfigurable manipulator, e.g. cebot
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40302 Dynamically reconfigurable robot, adapt structure to tasks, cellular robot, cebot
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40304 Modular structure
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 1/36 the elements being connectible by corresponding projections and recesses
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/00 Teaching not covered by other main groups of this subclass teaching or practice apparatus for gun-aiming or gun-laying F41G3/26
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 23/00 Models for scientific, medical, or mathematical purposes, e.g. full-sized devices for demonstration purposes in the nature of toys A63H
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 25/00 Models for purposes not provided for in G09B23/00, e.g. full-sized devices for demonstration purposes model vehicles, tracks therefor, models in the nature of toys A63H

Abstract

The present invention is a robotics construction kit that serves as a platform for children to engage in problem-solving and innovative thinking in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. By designing and building robotics constructions from an apparently simple set of blocks that encapsulate the kinetic, electronic, and software elements of robots, children and others can encounter, explore, and experiment with basic principles of science and computation. Unlike existing robotics construction kits for education, the present invention embodies computation in every element, which affords understanding systems of distributed computation, rather than systems of top-down control.

Claims

1. An educational construction kit comprising:

a plurality of blocks,

wherein at least one block of the plurality of blocks includes;

an embedded electronic device with a microcontroller that processes software to instruct the at least one block to perform a unique and a specific behavior, and

an integral block electrical and structural connector for data flow and power exchange between an adjacent block, and for structurally connecting the at least one block to the adjacent block,

wherein interconnection of the plurality of blocks form a construction.

2. The educational construction kit according to claim 1, wherein the embedded electronic device further comprises a communication device.

3. The educational construction kit according to claim 2, wherein the communication device is a wireless communication device.

4. The educational construction kit according to claim 1, wherein the embedded electronic device further comprises reprogrammable software to enable end-users to reprogram the unique and the specific behavior of the at least one block.

5. The educational construction kit according to claim 1, wherein the at least one block further comprises a sensor connected to the embedded electronic device to sense signals from a surrounding environment.

6. The education construction kit according to claim 5, wherein the signals are selected from a group consisting of light, sound, touch, motion, and distance from objects.

7. The educational construction kit according to claim 5, wherein the microcontroller processes the signals to apply functions to perform the unique and the specific behavior.

8. The educational construction kit according to claim 7, wherein the functions are arithmetic functions that compute a number from two or more numbers.

9. The educational construction kit according to claim 8, wherein the arithmetic functions are selected from a group consisting of sum, maximum, minimum, inverse and threshold.

10. The educational construction kit according to claim 5, wherein the embedded electronic device converts the signal into an action to be performed by the at least one block.

11. The educational construction kit according to claim 10, wherein at the least one block further comprises wheels operably connected to a motorized tread in communication with the embedded electronic device, wherein the wheels rotate in response to the action at a speed dependent on the signal.

12. The educational construction kit according to claim 1, wherein the at least one block further comprises a battery connected to the embedded electronic device.

13. The educational construction kit according to claim 1, wherein the at least one block further comprises a battery connected to the integral block electrical and structural connector.

14. The educational construction kit according to claim 1, wherein the unique and specific behavior is unrestricted flow of the data flow and the power exchange through the at least one block.

15. The educational construction kit according to claim 1, wherein the unique and specific behavior is restriction of flow of the data flow and the power exchange through the at least one block.

16. An educational construction modular unit comprising:

a plurality of sides that form an interior volume, wherein each side of the plurality of sides includes an inner surface and an outer surface;

a printed circuit board with a microcontroller that processes reprogrammable software, wherein the printed circuit board forms a gap between the inner surface of at least one side of the plurality of sides when assembled within the interior volume,

an adjacent block connector disposed in the gap, wherein a portion of the block connector extends through the at least one side of the plurality of sides and beyond the outer surface thereof, and operably connects the modular unit with an adjacent modular unit when the adjacent block connector is operably connected to an adjacent block connector of the adjacent block; and

an electrical connector mechanism disposed in the gap being in contact with the printed circuit board, wherein a protrusion of the electrical connector mechanism extends through the at least one side of the plurality of sides and beyond the outer surface thereof, and operably connects the printed circuit board with a printed circuit board of an adjacent block when the electrical connector mechanism is in contact with an electrical connector mechanism of the adjacent block.

17. The educational construction modular unit according to claim 16, wherein the block connector is a magnet.

18. The educational construction modular unit according to claim 16, wherein the electrical connector mechanism is a spring loaded pin.

19. The educational construction modular unit according to claim 16, wherein the electrical connector mechanism further comprises a biasing mechanism opposing the protrusion, wherein the biasing mechanism deflects in contact with the printed circuit board.

20. The educational construction modular unit according to claim 16, wherein the electrical connector mechanism comprises:

a spring loaded pin;

an inner ring with at least one protrusion, a biasing mechanism opposing the protrusion; and

an outer perimeter and

an outer ring with at least one protrusion, a biasing mechanism opposing the protrusion, and a bore sized to receive therein the outer perimeter of the inner ring.

21. The educational construction modular unit according to claim 16, wherein the electrical connector mechanism is a hermaphroditic electrical connector.

22. The educational construction modular unit according to claim 16, wherein the plurality of sides are configured in two substantially identical interconnecting three-sided halves capable of interconnectivity.

23. The educational construction modular unit according to claim 16, further comprising a wireless communication device connected to the printed circuit board.

24. A method to reprogram modular units comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of interconnected modular units in adjacent orientation thereto, wherein each modular unit includes reprogrammable software;

using a computer or mobile device running a Web browser to communicate with the plurality of interconnected modular units;

reporting individual pairwise connections of the plurality of interconnected modular units to the computer or mobile device;

selecting a node displayed by the computer or mobile device associated with a target modular unit to be reprogrammed;

selecting a replacement source code;

compiling a native code for the target modular unit to generate a reprogramming packet; and

passing the reprogramming packet to the target modular unit. target to replace the reprogrammable software on the target modular unit.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the step of passing the native code to the target modular unit comprises the steps of:

passing the reprogramming packet to a modular unit adjacent to the target modular unit;

passing the reprogramming packet from the adjacent modular unit to the target modular unit;

signaling the adjacent modular unit that the target modular unit is ready for reprogramming;

reprogramming the target modular unit; and

restarting the target modular unit to initialize the reprogramming software.

26. The method according to claim 24, wherein the step of selecting a replacement source code comprises a step of entering a new source code in an editor on the computer or mobile device.

27. The method according to claim 24, wherein the step of selecting a replacement source code comprises a step of editing previously entered source code selected from a database.

28. The method according to claim 24, wherein the step of selecting a replacement source code comprises a step of selecting a new source code from a database.