PIPPIN protractor cover

Estimating how much turn PIPPIN needs to get somewhere is a good exercise but sometimes it is a good idea to measure the turn. You can use a protractor and line everything up but this is not all that easy so I have modified the blank cover to make it simpler.

The example in the picture is from the "golf" application. PIPPIN has made its first movement and the protractor is being used to measure the turn angle needed to face the golf hole. The pointer has been rotated to point to the centre of the hole. The turn needed to point PIPPIN at the hole is 70 degrees left.

The pointer is folded along its length so that a student can sight along it to get maximum accuracy.

The cover is made from a single A4 sheet.

Click on the image to get a pdf version. As well as the cover, printed out on thin card or on a label stuck onto thin card, you will need this kind of paper fastener:

to hold the pointer onto the protractor.

The assembled cover looks like this:

Usage is fairly self-evident. For angles greater than 90 degrees, it is slightly harder as the pointer is over the keyboard and you have to work out which number the pointer is aimed at by eye. The cover also has centimetre markings along the sides to make distance estimating easier.

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