Ball trajectory recognition with an educational robot

Various types of robots have been applied to the fields of education. Students can learn the interdisciplinary knowledge on mechanics, electronics, dynamics, biology, and informatics with robots, or called Learning through Robots. An educational robot is designed for students to learn mathematics, physics and mechanics. In order to conduct robot edutainment, some experiments are performed in junior high schools. At first, based on the students´ personal experiences, they decide the values to actuate the servomotor of the robot. Next, by using image recognition method, the position where the ball is released from the grip is found. Then the second means are developed to calculate the distance to the landing position. Finally, students can measure the real distance from the grip to the position of the landed ball. By the comparison of these distances, students are able to learn about necessary elements to throw a ball with a robot.