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About 6.270

6.270 is a hands-on, learn-by-doing class open only to MIT students, in which participants design and build a robot that will play in a competition at the end of January. The goal is to design a machine that will be able to navigate its way around the playing surface, recognize other opponents, and manipulate game objects. Unlike the machines in Introduction to Design (formerly 2.70, now 2.007), 6.270 robots are totally autonomous, so once a round begins, there is no human intervention (in 2.007 the machines are controlled with joysticks).

The goal of 6.270 is to learn about robotic design by being exposed to hardware, software and information needed to design, build and debug a working robot. This subject includes material similar to 6.00, 6.01 6.02, 6.002, 6.004 and 2.007. Motivated students can be exposed to more advanced conecpts such as operating systems, aritifical intelligence and basic circuit design. There are no formal prerequisites for 6.270, but they help. We've found that people can learn everything they need to know by working with each other, being introduced to some material in the first week of intensive lectures and labs, and mostly, by hacking on their robots.

Teams are composed of two or three. Each team is given the same kit containing various sensors, electronic components, batteries, motors, and LEGO. The kits are handed out in the beginning of January. Including the intense first week of lectures, there are three weeks in which to transform the parts into a working robot.