Missions 2021 Thymio to Mars and the moon

Educational robots

If there is a brand of educational robot that strives to gather, federate and activate its community around missions and challenges for schools, it is Thymio.  Thymio is one of the most used educational robots in schools in France and around the world, to teach children in a playful and fun way the programming and all its learning possibilities.

This year again, Thymio proposes to schools to participate in a new challenge: R2T2 rendez-vous on March 2021. A mission that is becoming more and more popular in schools around the world and which started at the EFPL in 2015.

R2T2 Rendezvous on Mars or on the moon 2021: the Thymio missions of the moment

This initiative is part of R2T2's many collaborative robotics activities and allows teams from all over the world to challenge each other around different projects like this one on Mars but also on the Moon (at your choice). The goal is to bring together children from all over the planet to solve together an incredible task, called a mission. During this mission, the participants control their robots remotely by watching the results of the commands sent on the video feeds.

Registration for this project will close in 15 days around March 5, 2021 and currently no less than 44 teams are planning to participate. The teams are in the European Union but not only: France, Switzerland, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Martinique, Guyana, South Africa and Russia will be represented.

R2T2 mission 2021: who can participate?

• All those who would like to carry out with their team a collaborative mission in robotics without travelling far can participate in the missions proposed by the project.
• The activity lends itself very well for children between 10 and 18 years old, but this is only an indication. Both 8 year olds and adults can learn and have fun while participating.

R2T2 mission 2021: why participate?

• A communication experience in another language (optional): All communication takes place in an online chat.
• An experience of collaboration on a technical task, in order to create something together: All teams have a common goal that they must succeed: no competition, only collaboration.
• An experience of collaboration with team members who have different skills: communication roles, strategy and programming.
• A different programming experience where thinking before programming is important: a 30-second delay forces participants to do local tests with robots nearby. In order to make good tests, it is necessary to reproduce the same environment and situation as their remote robot.

R2T2 mission 2021: how to participate?

Choose an assignment according to the number of participants, the number of teams, the duration of the assignment and the difficulty of programming. Find on the links below all the details of the missions R2T2 Rendezvous on Mars 2021 and R2T2 Rendezvous on Moon 2021.

Mission R2T2 Mars

• ​Duration 150-180 minutes
• Robot used: Thymio II
• VPL programming level
• Number of teams: 16 (One team per robot)
• Age of participants: from 10 years old

Mission R2T2 Lune

• Duration 45-60 minutes
• Robot used: Thymio II
• VPL programming level
• Number of teams: 4-5 (One team per robot)
• Age of participants: from 10 years old

Missions R2T2 Thymio: Prerequisites

• A computer with an Internet connection to be able to communicate with other teams and see a video stream from Mars (EPFL) and with Aseba 1.6.1 installed. This software will allow to program the Thymio on Mars.
• A Thymio robot to do program tests in the classroom on the day of the mission.
• (Very recommended) Another computer with Aseba 1.6.1 (or Thymio Suite) installed. This computer can be used to test the programs with a local Thymio robot in the classroom before sending a robot to Mars.
• A tool to transfer your program from the computer connected to the local robot to the computer connected to the robot on Mars (e.g. USB key, online drive).

You will need to print this A0 format map for your teams and prepare your class materials for testing programs with a local Thymio. For example, black lines (printed or black tape), obstacles and walls (different objects that Thymio can detect, Thymio boxes, folded paper or cardboard), etc...

Once all these prerequisites are met, all you have to do is fill out the R2T2 REGISTRATION FORM.