Week 7: Planning an Autonomous Mission

Session length: 60-75 minutes

Learning purpose

Students learn how engineers plan a robot's job before they build it. They tell autonomous systems (which decide for themselves with sensors and a program) from remote-controlled ones (which a person steers), then write requirements, constraints, and criteria for a mission and weigh the trade-offs. They draw a flowchart of an autonomous program - action boxes and decision diamonds, including a safe stop - and run a short guided practice mission as a rehearsal for next week's final project.

Expected student outcomes

By the end of this week, students can:

Explain the difference between an autonomous system and a remote-controlled one
Write requirements, constraints, and success criteria for a robot mission
Describe a trade-off in a robot plan and choose using the engineering design process
Draw a flowchart of an autonomous program with action boxes, decision diamonds, and a safe stop
Run a short guided autonomous mission and compare the result to its success criteria

Suggested pacing

About 60-75 minutes. Adjust to your group - these are guides, not limits.

Step	Focus	Minutes
Autonomous vs remote-controlled, and planning words	Autonomous vs remote-controlled; requirements, constraints, criteria, trade-offs, and the design process.	15 min
Write a mission plan	Requirements, constraints, criteria, and one trade-off on the planning brief.	15 min
Draw the mission flowchart	Action boxes, a decision diamond, a loop, and a safe stop.	12 min
Predict the result	Predict whether the mission will meet its criteria and which is likeliest to fail.	3 min
Guided autonomous practice mission	Run the drive-to-zone, react, and safe-stop rehearsal.	15 min
Check against the criteria	Record the run and compare it to the success criteria.	5 min
Knowledge check	Five questions on planning, autonomy, flowcharts, and safe stops.	8 min
Reflection	Trade-offs and responsible robotics.	7 min

Before you start

Set up

Print the Mission Planning Brief, the flowchart page, and the practice mission test record, one per student or team.
Set up a short practice course - a start line, a marked zone, and one obstacle - for the kit and unplugged paths.
If using kits, charge them and confirm one sensor works; if using the simulator, open it and load a 6x6 grid.

Prepare ahead

Write a quick example mission brief yourself so you can model requirements vs constraints vs criteria.
Sketch one example flowchart with a decision diamond and a safe stop to show the shape.
Decide on one or two mission choices to offer teams who get stuck picking one.

Materials

Mission Planning Brief worksheet (printable)(Kit, Simulator, Unplugged)
Flowchart page with action boxes and decision diamonds (printable)(Kit, Simulator, Unplugged)
Pencil, eraser, and paper(Kit, Simulator, Unplugged)
A short marked course or 'zone' to drive to (tape, cups, or a box)(Kit, Unplugged)
A programmable robot kit with at least one sensor(Kit)
Computer or tablet with the browser simulator(Simulator)
Cardboard robot model and program cards from earlier weeks(Unplugged)
Stopwatch or timer, to check a time constraintOptional(Kit, Simulator, Unplugged)

Safety

cautionDuring the practice run, keep the test area clear and stay ready to stop the robot if it leaves the course; keep fingers away from moving wheels.(Kit)
cautionAlways program a safe stop so an autonomous robot halts when the job is done or something is in the way, instead of pushing into a wall or a person.(Kit, Simulator, Unplugged)
cautionKeep the taped floor course clear so no one trips while acting out the mission.(Unplugged)
infoSave your program and journal often so a browser refresh doesn't lose your plan.(Simulator)

Full safety briefing

Review these once with your group. They apply across the whole course; the notes above are what matters most this week.

Batteries and circuitsKit

Use only appropriate low-voltage educational equipment - no wall outlets and no household batteries wired by hand.
Never connect a battery's two terminals directly to each other.
Stop right away if a motor, wire, or battery becomes hot, and tell an adult.
Disconnect the power before changing wheels, motors, or other mechanical parts.

Motors and gearsKit

Keep fingers, hair, jewelry, sleeves, and loose clothing away from moving gears and wheels.
Do not force a stalled motor that has stopped turning - switch it off and find out why.
Make sure moving parts are secured before you run a test.

Moving robots

Test on the floor, not on a table where the robot could drive off an edge.
Keep robots away from stairs, roads, water, pets, and people's feet.
Use a clear, open test area.
Always include a safe-stop behavior so the robot halts when the job is done or something is in the way.

Tools and materialsKit, Unplugged

Ask an adult for help with cutting or any sharp tools.
Use safe classroom materials - no sharp, toxic, or breakable items.
Never launch or swing an attachment toward a person.

Running the session

1.Start with autonomous vs remote-controlled and the planning words before any building.
2.Have teams write the brief first; check that criteria are measurable before they move on.
3.Model translating one brief into a flowchart, then let teams draw their own.
4.Have everyone predict, run the guided practice mission once, and record it against the criteria; keep the safe stop front and center as the rehearsal for next week.

Common misconceptions

Mixing up requirements and constraints - a requirement is the job, a constraint is a limit.
'Autonomous just means it moves' - moving isn't enough; it has to decide for itself with sensors and a program.
Forgetting the safe stop, or drawing a flowchart with no way to end.
Thinking a trade-off means one choice is simply 'wrong' rather than a balance between two good things.

Questions to ask

Is that line a requirement (a job) or a constraint (a limit)?
How will you actually check whether the robot met that criterion?
Where does your flowchart end, and what makes the robot stop safely?
What did you give up to get something else - and was it worth it?

Classroom & group adaptations

Make it easier

Give teams a ready-made mission and a half-filled brief, so they focus on the flowchart and safe stop.

Make it harder

Require two decision diamonds and a second success criterion, and ask teams to justify their trade-off in writing.

Groups & whole class

In pairs or small groups, give each student a role that rotates - driver (builds or types), navigator (reads the plan), and recorder (fills the worksheet) - so everyone participates. For a whole-class demo, run one shared robot or simulator on the board, have students predict together, then let groups repeat it on their own path. Groups can also mix paths: one builds on the kit while another checks the same idea in the simulator or unplugged, then they compare results.

Hardware and no-hardware notes

Every activity this week runs three ways - all three teach the same core idea, so pick whichever fits your room. No specific product is required.

Kit

Mission Planning Brief worksheet (printable)
Flowchart page with action boxes and decision diamonds (printable)
Pencil, eraser, and paper
A short marked course or 'zone' to drive to (tape, cups, or a box)
A programmable robot kit with at least one sensor
Stopwatch or timer, to check a time constraint

Simulator

Mission Planning Brief worksheet (printable)
Flowchart page with action boxes and decision diamonds (printable)
Pencil, eraser, and paper
Computer or tablet with the browser simulator
Stopwatch or timer, to check a time constraint

Unplugged

Mission Planning Brief worksheet (printable)
Flowchart page with action boxes and decision diamonds (printable)
Pencil, eraser, and paper
A short marked course or 'zone' to drive to (tape, cups, or a box)
Cardboard robot model and program cards from earlier weeks
Stopwatch or timer, to check a time constraint

Troubleshooting

Common problems from this week's activities and what to try.

Requirements and constraints look the sameKitTry: A requirement is a job ('reach the zone'); a constraint is a limit ('in under 30 seconds'). Sort each line into one or the other.
Criteria can't be checked in the simSimulatorTry: Write criteria the simulator can show, like 'lands on the goal tile' or 'stops before the edge'.
No clear way to judge successUnpluggedTry: Add a physical marker, like a taped 'zone', so success is something you can see and point to.
The flowchart never stopsKitTry: Every autonomous flowchart needs an exit - send one arrow from a decision to the Safe stop box.
Not sure which block is the decisionSimulatorTry: The decision is wherever the program asks a sensor a yes/no question - that becomes a diamond.
A partner gets confused following itUnpluggedTry: Make each box one exact action, and make sure every diamond has exactly two labeled arrows.
Robot ignores the obstacleKitTry: Check the sensor threshold and that the loop keeps reading the sensor, like the reliability work in Week 6.
Robot overshoots the zoneKitTry: Slow the drive speed or add a distance check before the stop - a speed-for-reliability trade-off.
Robot drives through the obstacleSimulatorTry: Make sure the if condition reads the sensor inside the loop, before the move.
Loop never endsSimulatorTry: Check the repeat-until condition actually becomes true when the robot reaches the goal.
The partner runs it differently than you meantUnpluggedTry: Make each card one exact instruction, like the Week 3 sequences, so there is only one way to read it.
There is no obstacle reactionUnpluggedTry: Add an if-card that says what to do when the bumper touches the obstacle.

Knowledge-check answer key

Answers are shown here for the adult only - the student worksheet keeps them hidden.

1. A delivery robot drives to a drop-off zone by itself, using its sensors and program, with no one steering. This robot is:
Correct answer: Autonomous
Why: An autonomous system uses its own sensors and program to decide, with no person steering; a remote-controlled one is driven by a person in real time.
2. 'The robot must reach the blue zone' and 'it has to finish in under 30 seconds'. Which is the requirement and which is the constraint?
Correct answer: Reaching the zone is the requirement; the 30-second limit is the constraint
Why: A requirement is what the robot MUST do; a constraint is a limit like time, size, materials, or budget that you have to work inside.
3. In a flowchart, what does a diamond shape mean?
Correct answer: A yes/no decision
Why: In a flowchart, rectangles hold actions and diamonds hold yes/no decisions, each with a 'yes' arrow and a 'no' arrow.
4. Your robot drives fast but sometimes misses its sensor reading and crashes. You slow it down so it reads reliably. This choice is an example of a:
Correct answer: Trade-off
Why: A trade-off is giving up some of one thing (speed) to get more of another (reliability) - engineers weigh these using the design process.
5. Why does an autonomous robot need a safe stop in its program?
Correct answer: So it halts safely when the job is done or something is in the way, instead of driving into it
Why: Because an autonomous robot decides on its own, its program needs a safe stop so it halts when the job is done or something is in the way - part of responsible robotics.