Arduino Learning Studiorobotics pathway

Robotics pathway · ages 6–17

One robot idea, met four ways.

Every robot senses, decides and acts, kept safe and proven by testing. Those ideas stay the same from age 6 to 17. What changes is how a child meets them: with hands and pictures first, then cards and blocks, then real code.

Age is a starting point, never a limit. Each unit says what a learner should be able to do first and what it leads to. A learner who is ready moves on, at any age.

    • Sense

    Notice the world: switches, light, distance, cameras.

    • Decide

    Choose what to do: sequences, conditions, states.

    • Act

    Make something happen: lights, sound, wheels, arms.

    • Power and safety

    Keep power and people safe: the right supply, a driver, a stop switch.

    • Test and debug

    Prove it works, find what doesn't, and improve it.

Find a starting point

Tick what the learner can already show, not what they have heard of. The pathway lists the units they are ready for, at any age. Nothing here is saved.

Hands and pictures 0/19 ticked
Act
Decide
Sense
Power and safety
Test and debug
Engineering practice
Cards and blocks 0/19 ticked
Act
Decide
Sense
Power and safety
Test and debug
Engineering practice
Arduino code 0/22 ticked
Act
Decide
Sense
Power and safety
Test and debug
Engineering practice
Systems 0/14 ticked
Act
Decide
Sense
Power and safety
Test and debug
Engineering practice

2 ready from here. First: R06-U1 Machines Around Us.

Ready now

  1. R06-U1 · Little Inventors · usually age 6

    Machines Around Us

    New: Kinds of movement, Predict and test, Safe making

  2. R06-U3 · Little Inventors · usually age 6

    Robot Instructions

    New: Ordering steps, Try again

Age bands

Ages 12–14 · Arduino C++

Robotics Engineers

Arduino C++, real circuits and a rover that senses, decides and acts.

For the adult leading the sessions, and for learners planning their own path.

How they learn
By reading and changing real Arduino sketches, predicting, testing in a model, then building and testing the real circuit.
The adult's role
An adult checks every circuit and anything that moves before it is powered.
Session
75–90 minutes
Screen time
Studio work alternates with building and measuring at the bench.
Reading
Full sentences and code, with diagrams.
Evidence of learning
Annotated circuits, changed code, measurement tables, a fault diagnosis and a before/after test.
Hardware
Arduino Uno R3 or compatible (5 V). The adult checks the power circuit and the motor driver. Motors never run from a pin; share GND between supplies.
In this studio today
All 13 Arduino labs, each fully guided (lessons 1–13); unit plans for R12-U1, R12-U2, R12-U3, R12-U4, R13-U1, R13-U2, R13-U3, R14-U1, R14-U2, R14-U3 and R14-U4, each on its own unit page; and the Arduino Rescue Rover 12-session pilot.

To start R12-U1, the learner should be able to

  • Closed circuits
  • Outputs
Later units in this band also draw on (10)
  • Ordering steps
  • If … else
  • Switch inputs
  • Criteria and constraints
  • Help or harm
  • Motor drivers
  • Driving a rover
  • Mechanical assembly
  • Finding faults
  • Tuning

Ready for more? Any later unit is open, whatever the learner's age. Use “Find a starting point” above.

Safety for every band (the adult checks before power-on)
  • Low voltage only: battery packs or USB. Never mains electricity.
  • Never connect a motor straight to a controller pin: use a driver and a separate supply.
  • Every moving robot has a power-off switch within reach that cuts the motor battery (or all power). A software stop button is extra, never a replacement.
  • No coin or button cells and no loose small magnets; battery compartments screwed shut.
  • Guard wheels and moving parts against pinched fingers; keep robots slow and indoors.
  • No exposed lithium cells, improvised chargers or lasers.
  • No Li-ion, LiPo or RC packs: AA alkaline or NiMH cells in a closed holder with a switch, or USB.
  • Check polarity and voltage before power-on; a 3.3 V board must not receive 5 V signals.

Usually age 12

  2. R12-U2

    Arduino as a Controller

    How does an Arduino program interact with hardware?

    Build: Programmable LED and button

    • Sense
    • Decide
    • Act
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Ordering steps
    • If … else
    • Switch inputs
    • Checking before power-on
    Builds
    • Read and change a text program: setup(), loop() and variables.
    • Read inputs and write outputs in code.
    • Keep time without stopping the program (millis()).
    • Print readings to the Serial Monitor to see what the program is doing.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →
    Studio labs: Meet the board, Blink an LED, Push a button

  3. R12-U3

    Sensors and Actuators

    How do measurements cause actions?

    Build: Distance-alert or night-light system

    • Sense
    • Decide
    • Act
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Reading code
    • Inputs and outputs in code
    • Checking before power-on
    • Serial debugging
    Builds
    • Read an analog value in code and scale it to a range.
    • Use PWM in code to set a brightness or a motor speed.
    • Recognise noise and missing readings (timeouts) and handle them.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 6 sessions →
    Studio labs: Turn a knob, Sense light, Read a sensor, Make a sound, Sweep a servo

Usually age 13

  1. R13-U1

    Mobile Robot Hardware

    What safely controls two motors?

    Build: Rover with a proper dual motor driver

    • Act
    • Power and safety
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Motor drivers
    • Driving a rover
    • Mechanical assembly
    • Inputs and outputs in code
    • PWM in code
    Builds
    • Program two motors through a motor driver: forward, turn and stop.
    • Write and reuse functions with parameters, such as forward(speed) and stop().
    • Estimate current draw and battery life, and avoid brownouts that reset the board.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 6 sessions →
    Studio labs: Control a motor, Steer with two motors

  3. R13-U3

    Autonomous Behaviour

    How can a robot decide its next move?

    Build: Stop-turn-continue behaviour controller

    • Decide
    • Test and debug
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Stop rules
    • Timing without waiting
    • Functions
    • Finding faults
    Builds
    • Describe and program behaviour as states, with a state diagram.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →
    Studio labs: Sense, decide, act

  4. R13-U4

    Rescue Rover Mission

    Can the rover navigate a changing course?

    Build: Obstacle-avoiding rescue rover

    • Sense
    • Decide
    • Act
    • Power and safety
    • Test and debug
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • States
    • Motor drivers
    • Finding faults
    Builds
    • Analyse failures and justify a change with test data.
    • Say what a simulation leaves out compared with the real robot.
    Leads to
    Pilot course: Arduino Rescue Rover →

Usually age 14

  1. R14-U1

    Distance, Speed and Odometry

    How far did the robot really travel?

    Build: Encoder-equipped mobile robot

    • Sense
    • Test and debug
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Motors in code
    • Failure analysis
    • Timing without waiting
    • Serial debugging
    Builds
    • Estimate distance travelled from wheel rotation.
    • Measure and report error against what was expected.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →

  2. R14-U2

    Feedback Control

    Can we keep the robot moving straight?

    Build: Closed-loop wheel-speed controller

    • Sense
    • Decide
    • Act
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Odometry
    • States
    • Timing without waiting
    • Measuring error
    Builds
    • Use feedback to keep a motion on target (proportional control).
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →

  3. R14-U3

    Data and Tuning

    What do logged results tell us?

    Build: Tuned navigation controller

    • Sense
    • Test and debug
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Feedback control
    • Noise and timeouts
    • Tuning
    • Serial debugging
    • Measuring error
    Builds
    • Use logged data and graphs to tune a system.
    • Keep versions of code and designs, and say what changed between them.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →

  4. R14-U4

    Precision Route Challenge

    Can the robot navigate a prescribed course?

    Build: Precision-navigation robot

    • Sense
    • Decide
    • Act
    • Test and debug
    How it connects
    Starts from
    • Odometry
    • Feedback control
    • Measuring error
    • Data-driven tuning
    • States
    • Versions and changes
    Builds
    • Meet a numeric specification and report how close the robot came.
    Leads to

    Pilot unit plan: 5 sessions →

Units come from the curriculum candidate v0.1. Outlines are a title, a question and an intended prototype, not written lessons. Nothing here is classroom-validated yet, and age is a starting guide: learners can start wherever their experience fits.