Cybersecurity First Principles in this lesson

Abstraction: An abstraction is a representation of an object or concept. It could be something such as a door, a speedometer, or a data structure in computer science. Abstraction decouples the design from the implementation. The gauges in an automobile are an abstraction of the performance of a car. A map is an abstraction of the earth.
Layering: Cyber security uses multiple layers of defense or protecting information. If one layer is defeated the next layer should catch it.
Modularization: The concept of modularity is like building blocks. Each block (or module) can be put in or taken out from a bigger project. Each module has its own separate function that is interchangeable with other modules.
Resource Encapsulation: Encapsulation is an object oriented concept where all data and functions required to use the resource are packaged into a single self-contained component. The goal is to only allow access or manipulation of the resource in the way the designer intended. An example, assume a flag pole is the object. There are fixed methods on how the flag pole is to be used. Put the flag on, take the flag off, raise or lower the flag. Nothing else can be done to the flag pole.

Introduction

This lesson continues the Rube Goldberg design by introducing a gap-spanning bridge. The bridge must be initiated by the maze login zone. It should kick-off a second Ozobot that will drive across the bridge and continue into the freestyle zone.

Goals

reinforce computational thinking
reinforce design thinking and prototyping/testing methodology through hands-on exercises
build conceptual metaphors from physical sciences to computer sciences

Materials Required

Dot candies
toothpicks or popsicle sticks
weights (washers or quarters work)
student workbook page
Road deck design template

Prerequisite Lessons

Cybersecurity First Principles in this lesson
Introduction
Goals
Materials Required
Prerequisite Lessons
Table of Contents
Building a bridge
Requirements
Design Goals (and prizes)
Lead Author
Acknowledgements
License

Building a bridge

Just like in the prior Rube Goldberg Maze Challenge, the Gumdrop bridge has some hard-and-fast requirements that any solution-seeking design must address.

Requirements

Enables Ozobot Transport across the bridge
Must support provided drivable Road deck
Must not collapse under at least 100g of weight load
Must span approximately one foot gap

Design Goals (and prizes)

A good bridge is both supportive (holds a lot of weight) and is made with low cost. We will have prizes that award both types of bridges (and hybrids that balance both design goals). Specifically the bridge with the best features will be awarded a prize at the end of camp:

Most weight supported
Least Number of resources used in the design
Resource-to-weight ratio

A resource in this context is any supply item (e.g. a toothpick, a dot candy, a pobsickle stick, etc). Weight supported will be measured in grams. Resource-to-weight ratio will be measured as the fraction of materials used to the weight supported by the bridge. Weight will be added to a cup or plate on top of your bridge to measure its weight-supportive capability.

Lead Author

Matt Hale

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Lynn Spady for initial testing and prototyping of the Gumdrop bridge design concepts. Also thanks to Emily, Corrie, and Raeanne for experimenting with the bridge design concepts.

License

Nebraska GenCyber
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Lesson content: Copyright (C) Dr. Matthew L. Hale 2019.

This lesson is licensed by the author under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Cybersecurity First Principles in this lesson