Code, Simulate, Fly with Sims2Real Academy: Robodog

Woof! Woof! Is that a dog in the Best Buy Teen Tech Center? No, it’s Ollie the Robodog!

Code, Simulate, Fly with Sims2Real Academy, led by Lucas Trujillo, would focus on coding Robodogs rather than drones. Many of the participants have encountered a robodog on the streets of Atlanta, but this would be the first time they would use Python to code the robodog.

Ollie can do numerous tricks such as sit, jump, wave, and draw a heart. With a range of tricks for the kids to test out on Ollie, the participants started off writing a simple python code they wanted the robodog to do. Once everyone succeeded in that task, they started on a different challenge. Make Ollie walk in a shape: either a circle, square, or a triangle. Now, this would involve math and spatial mapping for the kids, as they would need to consider angles and meters.

Throughout the lesson, the instructor discussed what robodogs can do for the community, especially for the teen tech center. Some suggestions were a therapy dog, a seeing-eye dog for people with blindness, or a Shepard dog.  For the therapy dog, Lucas gave the participants a task: make Ollie comfort a student sitting at a desktop. Picking a random computer, the kids had to think about how to code Ollie to get there. With trial and error, the kids were able to figure out how to code for Ollie’s path.

Ultimately, Ollie the Robodog taught the kids the basics of Python coding and gave them insight into how robodogs can have a positive impact on the community, whether by delivering packages, serving as guide dogs, or helping out in the teen tech center.

Written by Kalee Wiley, Library Associate

For more information about the Best Buy Teen Tech Center, email us at libraryteentech@fultoncountyga.gov, opens a new window or call us at 404-613-0259.