Lesson 3 - Rotation Sensor: The Adjuster of Wind Power System Model
1. Engage: Knobs Everywhere - How Do They Control Things?
Show students images of everyday knobs: a bike gear shifter, a speaker volume knob, and a bathroom tap.
Have you ever twisted a knob to turn up your music, switch your bike’s gear, or slow down a running tap? Knobs let us control how fast or slow things work!
Today, we’ll use a rotation sensor (a smart knob) to simulate the wind changes.
Key Question
What impact does wind speed have on wind turbines?
2. Explore: How to Simulate Wind Speed Changes?
Wind doesn’t blow at the same speed all day—sometimes it’s soft, sometimes it’s strong.
For wind turbines, we adjust the blade speed with the rotation sensor. Let’s see how this rotation sensor works.
Connection diagram:
Activity 1
Each group gets a set of UNIHIKER K10 with the pre-written program.
One student holds the device, another turns the knob, and a third records the data in the table.
Share & Discuss:
1.What number do you get when the knob is in the middle?
2.Does the number go up when you turn right? Does it go down when you turn left?
3.Can you find a rule between the position and the number?
A rotation sensor acts like a wind speed detector: it measures how much it’s twisted, and we can use that signal to adjust our model turbine’s speed, simulating different wind conditions.
3. Engineer: Program the Rotation Sensor to Control Turbine Speed
Show how to use the UNIHIKER K10 to turn the rotation sensor into a turbine speed controller.
Connection diagram:
Code guidance steps:
1.Add User library.
2.Make a new variable named “speed”.
3.Map the rotation sensor’s value to the range of motor(0~255).
4.Set motor speed to variable speed.
4. Experience & Challenge: Test Your Controller, Then Add a Safety Feature!
Experience: Test the Speed Adjuster
Activity 2
Upload your code to the UNIHIKER K10.
Twist the rotation sensor knob clockwise and counterclockwise.
Check: Does the motor speed up and slow down smoothly? Record which knob position gives the fastest/slowest speed.
Challenge: Build a Wind Gust Protection System
Real wind turbines stop spinning if winds are too strong to avoid damage. Let’s code this safety feature:
Activity 3
Upload your code to the UNIHIKER K10.
Modify your code to stop the motor when the sensor reads over 80% speed (simulating extreme wind).
Complete the block building.
Follow the instructions to build:
Test it: Twist the rotation sensor to the fastest position—does the motor slow down to protect itself?
5. Elaborate: Real Wind Turbines - Why Slow Blades Work, and Big Blades Matter!
Why do slow blades generate electricity?
Modern land turbine blades are over 50m long! Even slow-spinning blades cover a huge wind-swept area. Energy output depends on this area (not just speed)—doubling blade length makes 4x more power!
In strong winds, turbines slow blades down to keep the generator working safely and efficiently, instead of letting them spin out of control.
Small blades have a tiny wind-swept area, so they can’t capture much wind energy. Even if they spin fast, they produce far less electricity than large blades.
Light blades would break easily in storms. Real turbine blades are made of strong, lightweight materials (like fiberglass) to handle extreme winds while being efficient.
Wrap Up: Today, we used a rotation sensor as the “adjuster” for our wind turbine model—just like real wind energy engineers working on SDG13 Climate Action! We learned how to control speed for different winds and added safety features. Next time, we’ll explore how to measure the electricity our turbine generates. Let’s keep building a greener planet!
Lesson3(K10).zip 
