Botball Explorer · CS1 + AI Literacy · Python Edition

Student Labs · Python

The same Botball Explorer curriculum, written in Python. Enter your PIN, work through the activity, then press Submit & Download to save your results file and a printable PDF.

Prefer C? View the original labs →

Start Here · Before Unit 1

PreLab 0 The Machine Check your kit, find the six subsystems on your own robot, and agree how you work safely. Completion checklist — nothing to write up. Open PreLab → PreLab 1 · Before Unit 1 The Toolchain Boot the Wombat, connect to it, and run a Python program you typed yourself. Lab 1.1 assumes all of this already works. Open PreLab →

Unit 1 · Understanding Instructions

Big Idea 1 The Waypoint Navigator Algorithms and sequencing — write, run, and debug a program that drives to a target and stops. Open Lab → Big Idea 2 The Red Cube Breakdown Decomposition and functions — break a mission into small behaviors and build them one at a time. Open Lab → Big Idea 3 The Freight Sorter Decisions with if/else — make the robot choose an action based on a rule you write. Open Lab → Big Idea 4 The Position Keeper Variables and state — store and update the robot's position from a zero origin, then test it. Open Lab → Big Idea 5 The Pom Pusher Modularity and reuse — build behaviors from small functions and reuse them across a scattered field. Open Lab →

Unit 2 · Understanding Perception

Big Idea 1 The Touch Sensor Sensors and while loops — drive backward until a touch sensor feels the wall, then reset the origin. Open Lab → Big Idea 2 Brake vs. Coast Motor braking vs. neutral — run a 5-trial experiment and let the data show which stop is more consistent. Open Lab → Big Idea 3 Drive by the Numbers Encoders and arguments — use gmpc/cmpc and a function that takes a distance to drive out and touch Botguy. Open Lab → Big Idea 4 Reading the Line Analog sensors and thresholds — calibrate a Tophat, find the midpoint, and steer along a line with if/else. Open Lab → Big Idea 5 Tuning the Follow The mav command and speed ratios — run an organized experiment to tune your line-follow to its best. Open Lab → Big Idea 6 Two Sensors, One Decision Sensor fusion — combine the Tophat and an ET distance sensor so the robot follows the line and stops at an object. Open Lab →

Unit 3 · Acting on the World

Big Idea 1 Meet the Servos Servo basics and safe ranges — calibrate an arm and claw, find their limits, and try a first cube pick-up. Open Lab → Big Idea 2 Smooth Operator Clamping and step loops — build move_arm and move_claw that stay safe and move smoothly to stack a cube. Open Lab → Big Idea 3 Build Your Library Libraries and import — gather all your functions into one reusable Python module and pull it into any program. Open Lab → Big Idea 4 Perfect Turns Tick-based 90° turns — tune left and right pivots by trial-and-error, then expose hidden drift with an 8-turn test. Open Lab → Big Idea 5 · Capstone The Double Stack Mission 3 — plan and compose your whole library into a full mission that stacks two cubes and repositions between them. Open Lab →

Unit 4 · Knowing Where You Are

Big Idea 1 The Model Division, precision, and round() — build a ticks_per_inch model and a Drive function that commands distance in inches. Open Lab → Big Idea 2 Squaring Up Two tophat sensors and boolean and — each wheel watches its own sensor to straighten the robot against a line. Open Lab → Big Idea 3 The Turn Model strings and len(), for loops, and Boolean returns — build one Turn(direction, angle) function from a ticks_per_degree model. Open Lab → Big Idea 4 Keeping Score Accumulating state and f-string logging — a full red-cube run that stacks, docks, and tracks its own points. Open Lab → Big Idea 5 · Capstone The Long Run A long Botguy-and-cones run that stays accurate by resetting accumulated error with 6+ square-up checkpoints. Open Lab →

Unit 5 · Reliability & Uncertainty

Big Idea 1 The Second Attempt Lists and indexed state — track a believed pose (x, y, heading) and update it only at real reset checkpoints. Open Lab → Big Idea 2 Ease On, Ease Off elif chains and linear speed ramps — rebuild Drive() to accelerate, cruise, and decelerate instead of one fixed speed. Open Lab → Big Idea 3 Backing Up Your Work Version control from scratch — create a GitHub account, a licensed repository, and understand push/pull, browser-first and from the command line. Open Lab → Big Idea 4 Every Second Counts systime() and floor division, lists of results, a boolean-flagged sort, and a linear search — measuring performance instead of guessing at it. Open Lab →