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Robotics

Intro to Coding & Virtual Robot Navigation

In this Robotics lesson, students will utilize block coding to move a virtual robot in a particular manner. Students will learn the basics of coding, including how to use variables, loops, and conditional statements. Throughout a variety of activities, students will put their coding knowledge to the test. The final activity will be navigating a virtual robot through a maze. Students will use the Coding Design Process to craft their code and iterate their designs.

Students will:
  • Learn more about electrical engineering and computer science with a hands-on experience
  • Understand the basics of robotics systems
  • Use the Coding Design Process to write code and improve it upon analysis
  • Critically think in order to create their own set of solutions to their puzzles.
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    Lab intro video

    31 minutes

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    Lab type

    Digital tools only

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    Live Q&A session and wrap up with

    College Students & Professional Engineers

Classroom Tools & Resources

Get access to all of the presentation materials, workbooks and resources to run the Robotics lab in your classroom.

Meet the lab intro host

Milton Davis
Curriculum Coordinator

Milton started at Goddard Space Flight Center as a Pathways Student in 2000 working with the Navigation & Mission Design (595) and Components and Hardware Systems (596) branches. As a co-op intern, Milton received a co-patent for his work on a demise-able momentum exchange system (reaction wheel) which has flown on the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) missions. 

In his professional career, he has served in multiple roles in 500 including: avionics deputy lead for the Magnetospheric Multi-Scale (MMS) mission; the mechanical lead of the Navigator GPS receiver on MMS and STP-H6; and, the mechanical lead for the Payload Control Computer on OSAM-1 (formerly Restore-L). 

Milton has co-patents for the SpaceCube 2 and SpaceCube 3 Reconfigurable Data Processing System. He has also served as a star tracker and inertial measurement unit lead on MMS, NICER, GEDI and PACE, and served as a co-lead, subject matter expert, and study lead of the Avionics Packaging Committee for the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC). 

Milton served as an associate branch head of the GNC hardware branch from 2014 to 2018 focusing on new business, new technology, and re-chartering branch career paths. He transitioned to OSAM-1 in 2019 to serve as the Space Infrastructure Dexterous Robotics (SPIDER) Payload Systems and Phase lead, and in 2020 he started serving as the OSAM-1 Space Vehicle lead. 

Milton serves as the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Greenbelt Space Chapter (GSC) President. He holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University, a Masters in Project Management from Johns Hopkins University, and is completing a Masters in Robotics from Johns Hopkins University.

Milton Davis

Curriculum Coordinator

Milton started at Goddard Space Flight Center as a Pathways Student in 2000 working with the Navigation & Mission Design (595) and Components and Hardware Systems (596) branches. As a co-op intern, Milton received a co-patent for his work on a demise-able momentum exchange system (reaction wheel) which has flown on the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) missions. 

In his professional career, he has served in multiple roles in 500 including: avionics deputy lead for the Magnetospheric Multi-Scale (MMS) mission; the mechanical lead of the Navigator GPS receiver on MMS and STP-H6; and, the mechanical lead for the Payload Control Computer on OSAM-1 (formerly Restore-L). 

Milton has co-patents for the SpaceCube 2 and SpaceCube 3 Reconfigurable Data Processing System. He has also served as a star tracker and inertial measurement unit lead on MMS, NICER, GEDI and PACE, and served as a co-lead, subject matter expert, and study lead of the Avionics Packaging Committee for the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC). 

Milton served as an associate branch head of the GNC hardware branch from 2014 to 2018 focusing on new business, new technology, and re-chartering branch career paths. He transitioned to OSAM-1 in 2019 to serve as the Space Infrastructure Dexterous Robotics (SPIDER) Payload Systems and Phase lead, and in 2020 he started serving as the OSAM-1 Space Vehicle lead. 

Milton serves as the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Greenbelt Space Chapter (GSC) President. He holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University, a Masters in Project Management from Johns Hopkins University, and is completing a Masters in Robotics from Johns Hopkins University.

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