VENT Bot Maze Mission

A LEGO Spike Prime Challenge to Save the Mars Base

🚀 Your Mission

The Mars base has lost power. The lights are out. Systems are offline. The only way to reach the life support core is through a maze of narrow vents.
Your job is to build and program a LEGO Spike Prime robot — codenamed VENT Bot — to navigate the maze and save the crew.

Download your printable mission materials:
👉 VENT Bot Mission Tracks Printables (PDF)

💡 Pseudocode Mission Log (PDF)

🧱 What to Build

Begin by laying out a maze with items from home, class, or the printable maze tiles.

Your robot must be compact and precise. Use your LEGO Spike Prime kit to build a robot that can:

Fit in a narrow maze
Drive forward in straight lines
Turn accurately using the internal gyro sensor
(Optional) Use color or distance sensors to detect obstacles

Required components:

2 drive motors (left + right)
Spike hub (with built-in gyro)
Small chassis build with wheels
Wires routed neatly so they don’t get caught in the maze

HINT!

We used the Driving Base 1 building instructions from Competition Ready.

💻 What to Code

You’ll need to:

Measure the length of each maze segment (in centimeters)
Record the angle of each turn using the robot’s yaw angle sensor
Plan your program with pseudocode
Write your code in the Spike app using movement and turn blocks

Example pseudocode:

Move forward 40 cm  
Turn right 90°  
Move forward 20 cm  
Turn left 45°

Use the printable Maze Mapping Log to record each step!

HINT!

Watch this video about using the Gyro Sensor to make precise turns.

📏 Step-by-Step Instructions

Set up your maze using tape, tiles, or printed paths.
Test your robot: Can it move straight and turn consistently?
Use a ruler or tape measure to record distances between turns.
Use the gyro sensor to test turn angles (e.g., 90°, 45°).
Record your pseudocode for the entire maze path.
Translate your plan into a working program in the Spike app.
Test and revise — update your code until the robot can complete the maze!

🎯 Success Criteria

Robot completes the maze without hitting walls
Distances and turns are accurate
Code is organized and based on measured data
You used your pseudocode as a planning tool

🎥 Watch the Full Mission Video

See how the mission begins, how the robot is built and programmed, and how VENT Bot saves the Mars base! Leave us a comment on YouTube if you completed the mission!

Mastering Precise Turns with LEGO Spike Prime and the Yaw Sensor

Objective:
Equip students with the knowledge and skills to utilize the Spike Prime Hub's Yaw sensor for accurate robot turns, leading to improved navigation and higher scores in competitions.

This lesson is available in a video format on YouTube.

Lesson Overview

Understanding the Yaw Sensor
Displaying Yaw Values on the Hub
Programming Precise In-Place Turns
Creating Reusable 'My Blocks' for Turns
Applying Skills in FLL Challenges

1. Understanding the Yaw Sensor

What is Yaw?
Yaw refers to the robot’s rotation around the vertical axis—essentially, its ability to turn left or right in place.

Yaw Angle Range:
The Spike Prime Hub measures yaw angles from -180° to 179°.

Positive values = Clockwise turn
Negative values = Counterclockwise turn

2. Displaying Yaw Values on the Hub

Goal:
Use a variable to monitor the yaw angle in real time.

Steps:

Create a variable called Yaw.
Use a loop to continually update this variable.
Display the yaw value on the Hub.

Sample Pseudocode for Word Blocks:

When program starts
Set Yaw to 0
Forever
    Set Yaw to motion sensor yaw angle
    Display Yaw on Hub

3. Programming Precise In-Place Turns

Goal:
Use Yaw data to turn exactly a desired number of degrees.

Steps:

Reset yaw angle to 0.
Start motors to rotate the robot.
Use wait until to stop when the desired yaw angle is reached.

Sample Code (Pseudocode for Word Blocks):

When program starts
Reset yaw angle to 0
Start motors: Left forward, Right backward
Wait until yaw angle is greater than 90
Stop motors

4. Creating Reusable 'My Blocks' for Turns

Goal:
Make your code cleaner and more powerful with a custom block.

Steps:

Create a My Block called Turn Degrees with one input: angle.
Inside the block:
- Reset the yaw angle.
- Decide motor direction based on angle.
- Rotate the robot.
- Stop once yaw equals the input angle.

Sample Code (Pseudocode for Word Blocks):

Define 'Turn Degrees' with input 'angle'
Reset yaw angle to 0

If angle > 0
    Start motors: Left forward, Right backward
Else
    Start motors: Left backward, Right forward

Wait until  value of yaw =  value of 'angle'
Stop motors

5. Applying Skills in FLL Challenges

Benefits of Precise Turns:

✅ Better field alignment
✅ More reliable missions
✅ Easier to debug and reuse code

Practice Activity:
Have students code the robot to drive in a square using four 90° turns, returning to the starting point.

📥 Resources

🎥 Video Tutorial: https://youtu.be/R8QeJR4lHhY
📘 Driving Base Instructions: LEGO Education – Driving Base 1
📚 Additional Lessons:
- Driving Straight, the Basics
- Introduction to Turning with Two Motors