Magazine 138/139 - page 52-53

On the road with robots in Oberpfaffenhofen
The DLR_School_Lab in Oberpfaffenhofen is known for its
exciting experiments in infrared, laser and radar measurement
technology, environmental surveying, satellite data analysis,
weather and climate studies, planning research flights, robotics
and simulation. In the laboratory, the students have access to
high-tech instruments such as sensors, a robot, archives of sate­
llite data and professional simulation and analysis programs.
Dieter Herr Hausamann, Head of the DLR_School_Labs in Ober-
pfaffenhofen, is busy with the final preparations for today’s
guests. It’s time for the last minute tweaking – the lights are
dimmed and the DLR Video, created specifically for the school
classes, stands ready to start playing. Glimmering stars appear
on the ceiling. The first students stumble into the room at
around nine in the morning. One student says: “Cool. That’s
what it must look like in space”. Hausamann welcomes his
young guests and introduces the three instructors. “Today we
will spark your curiosity,” he says. The school class from the
Johann Sebastian Bach Grammar School in Windsbach will have
the opportunity to acquire knowledge actively and playfully in a
few simple experiments. The class is divided into four groups.
Laser technology, ASUROnaut, robotics and infrared measure-
ment technology are on the agenda.
The first group, the infrared measurement technology
team, marches up to the instructor. Today they will make the
invisible visible. Scratching the side of his head, one of the boys
asks: “How does that work?” The instructor remains unper-
turbed by the feisty kids and starts explaining in a lively voice:
“The human eye perceives the world in visible light. But this
light represents only a small fraction of the electromagnetic
spectrum; most of it is invisible. Infrared radiation lets us see
differently and helps us understand the world better.” Then
he shows the children the infrared cameras. “Have a go your-
selves!” Requiring no further prompting, the students grab the
infrared cameras, point them at each other and observe how
thermal radiation is converted into visible images. Fascinating!
The third group is hiding behind partition walls, focused
entirely on the experiment. Working in a team, the boys and
girls are asked to assemble the ASURO robot kit, a robot car.
Fifteen-year-old Annika Flock was one of the lucky ones to draw
a place on the robotics team. “This is exactly the team I wanted
to be on because I think computer science is great, and here we
can do some programming and put the kit together ourselves,”
she says afterwards. “It’s a perfect mix”. The numerous compo-
nents that make up the robot kit look complicated, but the
students have no problems putting it together. Asking if he can
be of any assistance, the students greet their instructor with no
more than a parrying “Shhh!” Just a few hours later, the various
robot cars are dashing round the room and the young scientists
are beaming with pride.
“The DLR_School_Lab is very much hands-on, and that
makes it particularly excellent. In physics class at school we learn
formulae, and maybe once in a while the teacher will demonstrate
one or two experiments while we watch. It’s totally different in
the School_Lab. They give you the materials, explain how it
works and then you go ahead and build it,” says Annika appre-
ciatively at the end of the experiment.
“I really enjoy motivating the students and getting them
thrilled about science,” says the young instructor, and full of
enthusiasm she proceeds to tell the children: “There are plenty
of intelligent machines around us in everyday life. Robots weld
cars and bake bread. They can do the work that is too
dangerous or strenuous for us. But they can only perform these
tasks because they are told precisely what to do.” She starts off
by explaining how a Mars rover is controlled or what happens
when it gets stuck. The visitors in the School_Lab listen atten-
tively to the implications of using a robot to explore a landscape
when you can only ‘see’ through its eyes. A tiny delay of less
than a second has serious consequences, so precise control is
imperative. Then, the students proceed to the practical side.
Refusing to give up, they try to steer the Mars rover in the right
direction again and again. “It’s not that easy,” says one of the
girls, “but it sure is fun!”
This is precisely what the DLR_School_Labs set out to do –
to awaken an interest in experimenting and demonstrate the joy
of learning. As the day comes to an end, a student from Berlin
asks one final question: “How can I build my own life-sized
robot? It could clean my room and my mum could stop fussing
about the chaos!”
More information:
Controlling a Mars rover with a time
delay requires great deal of concentration.
In addition to the robotics experiments, students are also
captivated by the infrared experiment at the DLR_School_Lab in
Oberpfaffenhofen.
Annika was fascinated by the robot kit activity. At last, they can
drive their robotic car.
Powerful places
Gravitational biology, solar water purification, Mars
exploration, mobility research, robotics, weather and clima-
tology – these are among the topics that school classes
investigate at the DLR_School_Labs, under the auspices of
scientists and experienced students from the fields of natural
science and engineering. Through hands-on experiments,
carried out at real research facilities, the laboratory becomes
a place of wonder, learning and inspiration.
Over 100,000 school-age students have attended the
DLR_School_Labs since the project’s inception, and experienced
the ‘fascination for research’ by conducting interesting experi-
ments themselves. A survey in which several hundred school-
age students participated, conducted for a doctoral thesis
completed at the University of Kiel, has revealed that, even
long after visiting a School_Lab, the interest in the natural sciences
continues to a far greater degree than before. The DLR_School_
Labs actually inspire children and young adults to pursue study or
work in the field of natural science. The manifold responses
among students and teachers alike also confirm that School_Labs
make an important contribution to the development of an exciting
and varied curriculum.
The first DLR_School_Lab opened its doors at the DLR site in
Göttingen back in 2000. There are now DLR_School_Labs at the
DLR sites in Berlin, Braunschweig, Bremen, Cologne, Göttingen,
Neustrelitz, Oberpfaffenhofen, Lampoldshausen/Stuttgart and at
three affiliated universities: RWTH Aachen, TU Dortmund and TU
Hamburg-Harburg. One more laboratory is currently being
constructed at TU Dresden.
DLR_SCHOOL_LAB
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