Measured Distance 6-3 (Page 1)
Measuring Instructions
Measuring Robot Travel
Follow the steps below to measure how far the robot has moved along a straight path, using a meter stick.
Mark initial wheel position
Use a pencil or piece of tape to mark the
exact point where the middle of the robot’s
wheel touches the ground.
Either wheel is fine, as long as the robot is
moving straight forward.
Run the robot
Run the program for the lesson to make the
robot move. Wait for the robot to come to a
complete stop.
Mark final wheel position
Use a pencil or piece of tape to mark the
exact point where the middle of the robot’s
wheel touches the ground.
Use the same wheel you used earlier.
Robotics Engineering 2010
© Copyright Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy
Measured Distance 6-3 (Page 2)
Measuring Instructions
Position meter stick
Place the meter stick so that the end of the
“0” line is exactly on top of the initial wheel
mark that you made on the ground.
That is, “0” should be the point where the
robot’s wheel touched the ground before
moving.
Aim meter stick
1
Align the meter stick so that the second
ground marking is along the side of the
stick.
Make sure “0” doesn’t move off the initial
marking!
2
Read meter stick
Find the meter stick line closest to the
“final location” marking on the ground.
Read the value of that line.
That value is the distance the robot has
traveled. Write it down!
26cm
Robotics Engineering 2010
Hint: Most meter sticks label wholecentimeter values with numbers, but do
not label the lines between them. The
in-between lines are one millimeter each.
Millimeters are tenths of a centimeter, or
0.1 cm each.
Millimeters “past” a labeled line would be
added to the distance, and millimeters
“short” of a labeled line would be
subtracted from it.
© Copyright Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy