Modeling crop harvesting with Sphero RVR

Automation in agriculture is not a new process. New technologies and AI are adding to the capabilities every day. Also known as precision agriculture, these technologies help growers monitor, manage and maximize their operations, encompassing guidance systems on tractors, sensor driven switches, programmable variable rate planting, spraying and fertilizer application, data management and more.
Students working on these lessons will be imagining the diversity of needs, problems, and solutions possible using robots to support the human endeavor of food production. Learning about the crops being grown around us is the starting point in these lessons. There are many conversations and extensions that could be added to this entry point based on the location of the students around the state. General tools and activity prompts are used in the lesson, but educators should feel free to personalize for their community, resources, and students familiarity.
The Sphero RVR is being presented in these lessons as the “harvesting robot”. The flexibility in adding student created materials to this robot, as well as the durability of the robot and entry level coding opportunities, make this an accessible tool for this project. Students will find the block-based coding in the Sphero EDU app familiar to other Scratch type programming. Also, the Sphero EDU app can be utilized across platforms making it accessible to various student devices.