What is it about?
This paper presents the development of a didactic robotic fish that was given the name Bubbles, in the scope of the European Project Semester offered at the School of Engineering of the Polytechnic of Porto. This name stands out in the competitive market and was intended to appeal directly to children as it is a simple but effective name. The fish should be appealing to young children, as they are who is being targeted, and provide an appropriate mix of fun and educational learning. In depth discussion and research took place within the group to finalize the design of Bubbles that would be kept simple with basic movements as to not lead to confusion. The fish model would be created with a colourful appearance and contain a tail to allow it to have a fish-like appearance. Research and investigation of the real life fish enabled the tail to move and mimic a real fish. It was essential that it was able to float. The prototype had to be waterproof for the design to work efficiently and to prevent components from being damaged by water leakage into the prototype.
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Why is it important?
Bubbles is essentially a toy for children but also provides educational learning in robotics environment. The robot was able to perform simple swimming motions as when place into water it could move to the right or to the left whilst being able to stay afloat. A simple programming language developed to operate the fish and allow the user, most likely young children, to be able to effectively use the controls. Significant research was conducted to monitor other projects and the real life movement of fish, thus leading to this design of the tail as it would mimic the movements of a real fish. Purchasing Bubbles will also provide the user with a user’s manual to aid with the process of programming. The model that was constructed by team three is an exciting and cutting edge educational learning toy for children between the ages of five and ten years old. It has been created and advertised as an educational tool for everyone regardless of social status or backgrounds and for this to be achieved it will be sold at a fair and affordable price.
Perspectives
The 21st century is a digital world. In this world, the technologically literate flour-ish, while those stuck in the ways of the past may be left there. If technological education is left solely to a wildly varying set of international education standards, many children will miss out on the exposure to programming and electronics during their formative years. The robot fish is an educational tool for learning programming and electronics targeting young children between the ages of five and ten years old. The option for a fish like robot is based on the notion that kids love to play in the water and this will allow them to learn robotics and programming in an enjoyable environment. The creation of this robot will enable young children to gain an excellent introduction into the world of electronics and programming.
Professor Manuel F Silva
Porto Polytechnic
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Didactic Robotic Fish – An EPS@ISEP 2016 Project, January 2017, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-50337-0_21.
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