STEM Classroom; Creating a Phyton Application for an EV3 Brick Robotic System Used to Transport 3D Printed Boxes

Abstract

Robotics is certainly one of the key tools within the STEM based education of the future. The acquisition of practical knowledge and skills in the field of technical disciplines will certainly be more comprehensive through teaching based on the STEM curriculum. This paper presents a student project within the course "Programming of Robotic Systems" at the Faculty of Science and Education at the University of Mostar. LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 robotics training set was used to create a simple robotic system for transporting of small 3D printed boxes. In order to unlock the full potential and all the possibilities of the Lego Mindstorms set and the created robotic system, EV3 MicroPython firmware was used. A 3D printer "Ultimaker 2+" was used to produce suitable small boxes that are transported within a robotic system. The project proved to be very successful. The robotic transport system had all the functionalities that were planned. Through working on this project, students have greatly improved their practical skills and abilities related to programming, design and production, creativity, working with advanced technical tools, teamwork, etc.