Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v4 - SHS 2

Lesson Video

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Performance objectives

• Explain velocity and trajectory for robot navigation.
• Perform basic calculations for velocity and trajectory.
• Analyze the direction of velocity and acceleration.
• Apply equations of motion to find a robot's position and velocity.

Lesson summary

Welcome, future engineers and innovators! In our last lesson, we discussed the components of a robot. But a robot is more than just wires and motors. A truly useful robot must be able to move intelligently and predictably. Imagine programming a drone to deliver medicine from a clinic in Accra to a village in the Eastern Region, or a small farming robot to water seedlings in straight lines on a farm near Kumasi. To do this, we must understand the language of motion: physics. This lesson bridges the gap between building a robot and programming it to navigate its world.

Lesson notes

This section breaks down the physics required to program a robot's movement. A. Foundational Concepts: The Language of Motion

Before we can calculate, we must understand the terms. Imagine a small robot car on the floor of our classroom. Position (s): This is the robot's specific location. We usually describe it with coordinates (e.g., 2 metres from the front wall and 3 metres from the side wall). Displacement (Δs): This is the change in position. It is a vector, meaning it has both a distance and a direction. If the robot moves from the door to the window, its displacement is "5 metres towards the window." Distance: This is the total path travelled. It is a scalar, meaning it only has size (magnitude). If the robot goes to the window and back to the door, its distance travelled is 10 metres, but its final displacement is 0 metres (because it ended where it started). Velocity (v): This is the rate of change of displacement. It is a vector. "The tro-tro is moving at 60 km/h East." Speed: This is the rate of change of distance. It is a scalar. "The tro-tro's speed is 60 km/h." Acceleration (a): This is the rate of change of velocity. It is a vector. A robot accelerates if it speeds up, slows down, or changes direction. The unit is metres per second squared (m/s²). B. Linear Motion: Moving in a Straight Line

Most robots start by learning to move in a straight line. When the acceleration is constant, we can use a set of powerful formulas called the Equations of Motion.

Let's define our variables: `s` = displacement (metres, m) `u` = initial velocity (metres per second, m/s) `v` = final velocity (m/s) `a` = constant acceleration (m/s²) `t` = time (seconds, s)

Evaluation guide

• Analyse and perform basic calculations involving velocity and trajectory motions
• and apply trajectory calculations to robot navigations.
• Talk for Learning: Through demonstration, guide learners to identify the direction of
• velocity and general direction of acceleration at any point in time when given the trajectory