Lesson 102: Sense, Plan, Act Framework | The Robot Doctor
Support Materials
How a robot can break down its tasks into sensing the surroundings, planning what to do next, then executing the plan.
Assignment: Lesson 102
Imagine you have a robot surveying an orchard, looking for ripe fruit to pick.
- What are the sense, plan, and act steps for this robot?
Imagine you have a robot vacuum cleaner. - What are the sense, plan, and act steps for this robot?
What do they need to sense? What kind of plan would they need to make? What are their actions? - Explain the steps that are similar, and the steps that are different between the two robots, and why.
- How does the plan change when we use “lowest energy” instead of “fastest time?”
About
Explore how a robot can break down its tasks into sensing the surroundings, planning what to do next, then executing that plan in this 14-minute episode. The goal of this video series is to teach the basics of Robotics: the what, why, and how—with examples—and to provide take-home problems to solve.
Introducing the Sense, Plan, Act Framework for describing the process a robot goes through when trying to accomplish its assigned tasks. The SENSE phase is when the robot gathers information—where am I?, am I done? Once the robot gathers the information, the next step is to PLAN—what action and how to perform that action. Finally, the robot executes the plan during the ACT step.
Credits: WQED, RobotWits LLC, PA Rural Robotics, Dr. Jonathan Butzke, Carnegie Mellon University
Standards
- System-level planning and controller integration (STEELS.9-12.TE.5)
- Algorithmic decision-making in engineered systems (STEELS.6-8.TE.4)
- Selecting sensors for tasks; feedback control loops (STEELS.6-8.TE.5)
- Optimization under multiple criteria (energy, safety, time) (STEELS.9-12.TE.4)
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