The mission is to make the process of developing software more productive using Agile product development using the Scrum framework. The 21st Century Robot Project provides an excellent platform to make that mission more fun and interesting.

Meet Jimmy the Robot ScrumMaster!

The public has become very familiar with robots. From the Lost In Space TV show in the 1960s with its "B-9, Class M-3 General Utility Non-Theorizing Environmental Control Robot" to R2D2 and C3PO from Star Wars to robot drones used by hobbyists, photographers, the CIA and air forces around the world, robots seem to be anywhere.
However, the reality is most of the functionally associated with robots is the stuff of TV and movies. The vision dramatically exceeds the reality.
Intel futurist Brian David Johnson is calling on the public and the software development community to help close the the gap between that vision and the reality. Using the platform of the 21st Century Robot Project (http://www.21stcenturyrobot.com) Johnson is asking us to do a little thought exercise…
"What would you like your robot to do?"
"What sort of fun or useful apps can you imagine for your robot?"
"How would you make the future of robots awesome?"
The 21st Century Robot Project aims to have the software community build apps, like on a smartphone or tablet, to personal robots. The site says this about the goal.
"Not so long ago, the personal computer was a crazy idea. The 21st Century Robot Project takes inspiration from the PC revolution, aiming for a world where anyone can imagine, design, build and program their own robot: a robot as unique as the person who created it."
At Effective Agile Development, the mission is to make the process of developing software more productive using Agile product development using the Scrum framework. The 21st Century Robot Project provides an excellent platform to make that mission more fun and interesting.
To that end, Effective Agile Development is announcing the use of the Interbotics HR-OS1 from Trossen Robotics as the new platform for the development environment in the Effective Scrum Developer class which is part of the Certified Scrum Developer program from the Scrum Alliance.
Here is what the 21st Century Robot Project web site says about the platform.
"The HR-OS1 is the first humanoid robot of its kind; an open source humanoid endoskeleton designed to be customized with 2D printed shells, powered by the Intel Edison micro-computer, and controlled via WiFi to your smart phone, tablet or PC trough app and a high-level API. The HR-OS1 is designed to be customized, hacked, personalized and expandable."
Rod Claar, Certified Scrum Trainer and Principal Consultant at Effective Agile Development explains the benefits of the HR-OS1 this way.
"The HR-OS1 has so much to offer that will make our goals of delivering more business value faster through Scrum more fun and accessible. Built on a Linux platform we can introduce teams to open source development, embedded systems, the language and principles of code quality, Acceptance and Unit Test Driven Development and Scrum in a fun, interesting scenario. Most software development training courses use artificial development scenarios that make it hard for the students to relate the training goals to their real jobs. We believe that using the HR-OS1 we can raise the game of development teams while helping with the goals of the 21st Century Robot Project."
The 21st Century Robot Project calls their prototype robot "Jimmy", the class platform will be extended and named Jimmy the Robot ScrumMaster.
The updated class, to be launched in the second quarter of 2016, will address the learning objectives of the Certified Scrum Developer program from the Scrum Alliance:
Collaboration
The teamwork and collaboration on a Scrum team.
Architecture and Design
The principles that drive code quality and support quick delivery of business value from testable, understandable and correct code.
Test Driven Development
Using the practice of Test First to help ensure the requirements are well understood and automated tests can be added to the build process to validate the system in the future.
Refactoring
The process of improving the design of software to increase the understandability and testability of the code and allow for easy and safe additions to the system in the future.
Continuous Integration
The process of creating and running automated build and test cycles as new code is checked in so that cross-application issues are discovered as soon as possible.
So what would you want a robot to be able to do?
For more information on the 21st Century Robot see the web site at http://www.21stcenturyrobot.com. For more information about Effective Agile Development and the Effective Scrum Developer course see their web site at http://www.EffectiveAgileDev.com .
Effective Agile Development LLC (EAD) is a privately owned training and consulting company based in the Seattle area specializing in Scrum and Agile product development. EAD offers a comprehensive training portfolio for public or private delivery and on-site team coaching. A complete list of services is available on the EAD web site. For more information, contact EAD at info(at)effectiveagiledev(dot)com or toll free at 1-(888) 294-1865.