Re: [AI4K12] corrected link for VEX AIM robot video
Dave Touretzky 04 Feb 2025 19:18 EST
> Very cool Dave! What grade level?
The robot can be used with kids age 8 and up. I think there will be 5
different programming frameworks for it:
Innovation First has their own programming tool called VEXCode that
offers both a blocks-based language and a Python subset. You could use
the blocks language in elementary school and Python in middle or high
school. VEXCode compiles on the laptop and uploads an executable to the
robot.
The software you see in the video is my vex-aim-tools package that I'm
developing in my undergraduate Cognitive Robotics course. It uses
industrial-strength Python, including API calls for speech
recognition/generation and LLM access. Programs run on the laptop and
teleoperate the robot via a WiFi connection. vex-aim-tools will be
released as open source software so anyone can use it.
Calypso is my intelligent robot programming framework for kids. It's a
visual language, but very different than blocks-based languages. It was
originally developed for the Cozmo robot, and was inspired by
Microsoft's Kodu Game Lab. You can try it for free (in simulator mode)
at https://calypso-robotics.com. I'm developing a version of Calypso
for VEX AIM that will be out this summer.
Finally, someone will surely develop a ROS (Robot Operating System)
driver for VEX AIM. It's not hard, since the manufacturer is providing
a Python SDK. ROS is the de facto standard robotics framework for
industry and academic research.
So there will be lots of options for programming VEX AIM. I'm hoping it
will launch a golden age of educational robotics, with lots more
robots to come.
-- Dave