Panoptes and the Bionic Eye

Each group needs:

• writing utensils (pens, pencils, markers), for marking a histogram
• Panoptes and the Bionic Eye Pre-Quiz (PDF), one per student
• Panoptes and the Bionic Eye Worksheet (PDF), one per student
• Find Your Blind Spot Reading (PDF), one per student
• Panoptes and the Bionic Eye Post-Quiz (PDF), one per student

To share with the entire class:

• small flashlight (ideally with a lens less than 1 inch across, such as a small LED bulb);costs $10 or less
• Light Mask Stencil (PDF)
• tape
• piece of cardboard (or other opaque material) on which to tape the stencil, or if performing the black box experiment variation, a cardboard box, such as a shoebox that is big enough to hold the LEGO robot
• something pointy to punch through the stencil into cardboard, making holes; for example, hole sizes up to the diameter of a Bic pen (8 mm) work well
• LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robot, such as the NXT Base Set (5003402) for $159.98 at https://shop.education.lego.com/legoed/en-US/catalog/product.jsp?productId=5003402&   isSimpleSearch=false&ProductLine=NXT
• LEGO MINDSTORMS Education NXT Software 2.1, available as a single license (2000080) for $39.97 or a site license (5003413) for $271.96 at https://shop.education.lego.com/legoed/en-US/catalog/product.jsp?productId=prod120017&isSimpleSearch=false&ProductLine=LEGO+MINDSTORMS+Education+NXT
• computer, loaded with NXT 2.1 software
• 3 additional LEGO NXT Light Sensors for $19.99 each at http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Light-Sensor-9844
• ruler, for constructing the Panoptes assembly and positioning the stencil from the robot
• computer with the Python interpreter (www.python.org) plus supporting packages OR an internet connection to permit data processing through a web interface (www.pythonanywhere.com)