Robotics IQ Test

[airman00]

I had an idea for this forum.

We have some HTML form which consists of like 25 questions.
The questions would target different experience levels. Then based on how many the person gets right , thats their score. This would be useful for when new people ask questions. Many times someone asks how to build some robot and no one on the forum knows if this guy is 12 yrs old and hasn't touched a soldering iron in his life  or if the guy is an engineer working on ASIMO. It becomes very hard deciding how to phrase the reply.

 Now if we knew his relative experience in robotics and electronics then we could better answer his question in a way that he would better understand. No one would really cheat on the test because its not important at all and it only exists to benefit the person asking the question.

Sample questions :
 Do you know what resistor is ?
Do you know what Ohms Law is?
Did you ever use PWM?
Do you know what I2C is?
Did you ever use a servo?
Did you ever use a microcontroller?


What do you guys think about this? I can probably finish this in about an hour if I had all the questions ready.

,Eric

P.S. Vote for my Butler Robot if you haven't , I'm trying to rack up votes!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-Your-Own-Butler-Robot/

[D1g1talDragon]

As a newcomer to the forum that has just recently made himself look completely electronics impaired in his only thread, I kinda like this idea.  At least it'd show I had a background in some of this stuff!     Other forums I've been a part of in the past had demi-versions of this, and it seemed to work well as a filter for those who just refused to read the FAQs or search for answers before posting.  If it was a part of forum registration or something, and you could retake it after you've learned a bit, it sounds like a good idea.

Other questions to think about might include programming language familiarity and such, although I guess the goal isn't to get a life's story or scare newcomers away.

And just as a head start:
1) A resistor is an electrical component that opposes the flow of current by causing a voltage drop (see Ohm's Law)
2) Ohm's Law shows the relationship between current, voltage, and resistance in a circuit: V=IR (see resistor?  )
3) Just once, and it hurt.  Made a jar of SMD LED firefly's for Valentine's with an Atmel Tiny45.
4) I2C is a communications bus I need to learn how to use so I can get me some sonar up and runnin'!
5) Yep.
6) BASIC stamps, PICs, and recently started AVRs.

[airman00]

yep like that


I need questions to put in the form , though


post up some good questions for different experience levels

[izua]

you'll need some php to process that form and (maybe) display statistics.

[Steve Joblin]

I don't know if all that is necessary... I think that new people ask simpler, broader questions, whereas more experienced people ask more specific questions... most post-graduates working on Asimo are not going to be posting questions about how to switch a microcontroller pin from low to high.

[airman00]

that may be so Steve , but also what if someone asks how to make a photobore robot. They could be professors in electronics but just not know how to interface sensors and how to program ( highly unlikely but possible).  I feel like a lot of times I always ask what their experience level is before fully answering.

Do other guys think its a good idea to do this test?

you'll need some php to process that form and (maybe) display statistics.

PHP is overkill. HTML and basic Javascript are good enough.

[bens]

I think there are a few problems with giving a test:

1) It requires the person be honest about what they don't know.  I can easily see people googling answers so that they appear to be more knowledgeable than they are simply because they don't want to end up with a "noob" tag or something under their name.  If someone is looking for help, it is in their best interests to be honest.  If someone is just signing up for the forum, the incentive for honesty isn't necessarily there.

2) What happens a few months later when the person has significantly more experience than he did when he first took the test?  At this point his results will give people a false sense of what he does and doesn't know.  Or is the idea that everyone will be taking new versions of the test every month or two?

It might be a fun thing to do, but I don't think it will successfully replace the need to evaluate the skill level of those you are helping via direct questions and interpretation of their posts.

- Ben

[airman00]

nice points bens, I hadn';t thought of that

I guess its not such a great idea to do this test

[bens]

As I said, it could be a fun excercise...I have always kind of liked tests, actually.  I'm just not sure how useful it would be beyond entertainment purposes.

- Ben

[airman00]

As I said, it could be a fun excercise...I have always kind of liked tests, actually.  I'm just not sure how useful it would be beyond entertainment purposes.

- Ben

aight

If people want to do it , just post up questions you want to add. I could whip up the test in javascript in less than an hour - maybe even less than 10 minutes