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Hardware Troubleshooting Detective

Run the Hardware Troubleshooting Detective MicroSim Fullscreen

About This MicroSim

Every robot in this MicroSim has one hidden problem. Your job is to find it, like a detective. You get a symptom, such as "The robot spins in a circle instead of driving straight." Then you choose which checks to run.

The six checks are the same ones in the chapter's hardware checklist. Each check looks at one part of the robot and draws a ring around it:

  • A green ring means that part looks fine.
  • An amber ring means a clue. Something is off, but this is not the cause.
  • A red ring means you found the problem.

Each check costs 10 points, so think before you click. The best detectives pick the check that rules out the most suspects first.

How to Use

  1. Read the symptom in the case panel.
  2. Pick a check. Ask yourself which check fits the symptom best, and which one is fastest.
  3. Read the result in the results log and look at the ring on the robot.
  4. Choose your hypothesis from the dropdown and press Submit hypothesis. A wrong guess costs 20 points. A hint costs 10.
  5. When you solve the case, read the fix. Then press New broken robot for another case.

Challenge: Solve three robots in a row with a score of 60 or more each. Then decide which check you would run first if your robot's motors do not spin at all, and explain why. The checklist is in Chapter 2: Hardware Troubleshooting.

Iframe Embed Code

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<iframe src="https://dmccreary.github.io/stem-robots/sims/hardware-troubleshooting-detective/main.html"
        height="482px"
        width="100%"
        scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan

Learning Objective

Students will analyze a robot symptom, select the troubleshooting check most likely to isolate the fault, and justify the order of their checks in terms of cost and diagnostic value (Bloom's Taxonomy: Analyze).

Grade Level

Grades 8–12.

Duration

20 minutes.

Prerequisites

  • The "Hardware Troubleshooting" checklist in Chapter 2, including the GP16/GP17 Grove port for the time-of-flight sensor and the onboard pin LEDs.
  • The one-change-at-a-time debugging strategy from Chapter 1.

Background

Expert troubleshooters differ from novices less in what they know than in how they sequence tests: they begin with inexpensive checks that eliminate large classes of faults (Jonassen & Hung, 2006). The scoring model makes this trade-off explicit. Every check costs points, wrong hypotheses cost more, and amber "clue" results reward students who reason from partial evidence. For example, "every LED is dark" does not identify a fault by itself, but it points strongly toward power.

Activities

  1. Model (4 min). Project one case. Think aloud: read the symptom, list two or three suspects, and choose the check that separates them. Run it and interpret the ring color.
  2. Paired cases (10 min). Pairs solve cases, taking turns as "detective" (chooses and justifies each check) and "recorder" (writes the symptom, the checks in order, and the result). Aim for the three-case challenge.
  3. Compare strategies (3 min). Two pairs who solved the same symptom compare their check order and scores.
  4. Transfer (3 min). Each student answers: "Your robot's motors do not spin at all. Which check do you run first, and why?" A strong answer is Is it powered?, because it is fast and rules out a whole group of faults at once.

Assessment

  • Formative: Review the recorder sheets for justified check choices, not just correct final answers.
  • Performance task: Three solved cases in a row with a score of 60 or more.
  • Rubric (4-point): Exemplary — first check matches the symptom and each later check is justified by earlier results, including amber clues; Proficient — relevant first check and correct diagnosis within three checks; Developing — reaches the right answer by trying most checks in list order; Beginning — guesses hypotheses without running checks.

References

  1. Chapter 2: Hardware Platform and Robot Assembly — the six-item hardware troubleshooting checklist.
  2. Troubleshooting — Wikipedia — systematic methods for isolating faults.
  3. Polarity (electrical) — Wikipedia — why battery orientation matters.
  4. Cytron Maker Pi RP2040 product page — the board's Grove ports, motor terminals, and pin LEDs.
  5. Jonassen, D. H., & Hung, W. (2006). Learning to troubleshoot: A new theory-based design architecture. Educational Psychology Review, 18(1), 77–114.