Guide

1 ROBOTICS ADVENTURE BOOK  SCOUTER MANUAL  STEM
A word with our Scouters:
This activity is designed around a space exploration theme. Your Scouts will learn to program the Robot to perform
different functions that are useful for exploration in a remote area.
In this booklet, you can find sample programs for activities that your Scouts should train the robot for. These are for
your preparation so that you can better help your Scouts when they are trying to design their own programs.
When working on the activities, ask the Scouts to write the steps that the robot should take (the algorithm) before they
begin working with the programming software. This will allow them to have a clear structure for the program before
they begin dealing with the details of commands.
Here is the scenario the Scouts are working with:
Imagine
It’s 2028 and it’s been 15 years since you first had a chance to explore science, engineering, technology and
mathematics in Scouts. Now you’re a young engineer and you’ve got a chance to work on a brand new
space probe.
In the last 15 years, remarkable advances have been made by scientists exploring the fundamentals of physics, and
we’ve cracked the problem of near light speed travel.
For 20 years we’ve been discovering planets circling other stars and star systems (Exoplanets). Now, we’re set to go
and explore several promising candidates and look for molecular signs of life.
Here’s the catch: the robotic probe that you will design will take nearly 20 years to reach these planets, and signals to
and from the robots will take nearly 10 years each way. The robots will have to explore their new planets on their
own, with no direction from Earth.