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Robotics · M18

Two Wheels, One Robot

Rover has two little wheels, one big delivery route, and absolutely no built-in sense of drama. Make a plan that moves its centre and points its nose toward each gallery marker.

Ideal simulation only: this bounded model does not control hardware. Your choices and predictions clear when you leave. If you turn saving on, only which puzzles you finished and how much help you used is kept on this device. Test accounts also share it, and lesson timing, with the site’s maintainer.

Step through four separate wheel-motion examples.
◇ Your mastery goalM18 · Two-wheel steering

Complete all 3 required tasks with a correct prediction, an inspected trace and an explanation that shows the concept. At least 2 must be independent checks, without answer-level help.

✓ Qualifying tasks: 0 / 3◎ Independent checks: 0 / 2 required
Practice · Equal wheels

Plan Rover’s route

0/3 checks · 0/2 independent transfers

Reach the marked goal without changing heading. Build a short plan with equal forward wheels; use the distance scale to choose the ticks.

Read the delivery map

Start centre(5.0, 5.0) cmStarting heading0° · eastTarget centre(8.1, 5.0) cmTarget heading0° · east

World: 20 × 20 cm; robot radius 1 cm. x points east, y points north, and 0° faces east. This job requires straight travel. A qualifying plan uses these motion families, with optional waits; other wheel patterns can be explored but do not count for this check.

Build the wheel plan

Each row gives left and right wheel commands for 0–4 whole one-second ticks. Use up to six rows, with no more than 16 total ticks.

Command 1
Command 2
Model limits: 6 commands · 16 executed ticks.

One tick moves each commanded wheel π/2 cm (about 1.57 cm). Equal speeds travel straight; opposite speeds spin around the centre; one stopped wheel makes a moving pivot arc.

Predict before running

Predict Rover’s final centre to the nearest 0.1 cm, its heading, and total one-second ticks. Predictions freeze with this plan when you run it.

Help for this jobHints build up. Worked help and solutions are deliberate choices.

Highest help used here: none

Check the model’s limits

What can this model establish about a physical robot?

Choose what the steering model can establish

For Further Reading and Exploration

These are outside sites with their own rules. You will see a notice before you leave. Pick one, not all.

  • Open Roberta Lab

    Turn a virtual robot with blocks and watch the path it takes. Compare your turns with our steering lesson. Logging in is only for saving.

    • Hands-on
    • Has accounts
  • Webots tutorials

    Tutorials include a robot that reads distance sensors and turns its wheel motors. Needs an install, so ask a parent or guardian.

    • Hands-on
    • May need an install
    • Ask an adult
    • May count visits
  • Tinkercad Circuits

    Wire a servo or motor on screen and run code to move it. No parts to buy. Making an account needs a parent or guardian.

    • Hands-on
    • Has accounts
    • May count visits
  • Gazebo robot simulator

    A professional robot simulator used with ROS 2. Very advanced and mostly built for Linux. For the curious, with an adult's help.

    • Hands-on
    • Advanced
    • May need an install
    • Ask an adult
    • May count visits

Some extra resources are hidden. A parent or guardian can show them in Help.