Camp curriculum · Project 4 of 5
☕ Project 4: Barista
Kid line: You order a mock coffee. The arm pours from labeled cups — coffee, milk, then it’s “ready.”
Who does what
| Younger (play) | Older (copy / modify) | |
|---|---|---|
| Skill | Preloaded house coffee: cup on the mat → pour coffee → pour milk. They order with a card or their face/cup in view. | Copy the skill. Add sugar and mix. Change the VLM instructions so the same station can make different drinks. |
Recycle was one object → one bin. Barista is a recipe: several pours, in order, chosen by what you asked for.
Use cold mock drinks only (water + food coloring). No heat, no glass that shatters, no real espresso machines.
Learning objectives (this skill owns)
- Sequence / recipe — Order matters. Cup first (or already on the mat), then coffee, then milk. Skipping a step is a different drink — or a mess.
- Demonstration — Each pour is a kinematic replay you recorded. The VLM does not invent how to tilt the pitcher.
- VLM as order-taker — The picture or order card chooses which actions to run (espresso vs latte), not a new arm recording per drink.
- Hallucination (orders) — If someone asks for caramel / whipped cream and those pitchers are not on the table, a wise skill does not pour pretend ingredients. Inventing a pour is guessing.
What younger students should be able to say: “It followed a recipe. Coffee then milk. We showed each pour. It didn’t think up the tilt by itself.” What older students should be able to say: that, plus “We added sugar and mix. We changed the instructions so latte and espresso are different action lists — same pitchers.”
Other learning opportunities (optional lenses)
| Lens | What you show | Kid takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| No cup | Empty mat, still “order latte” | Perception: don’t pour on the table |
| Wrong cue | Milk pitcher with a COFFEE sticky note | Same as Recycle TRASH trick — word vs object |
| Too many pours | Model repeats milk three times | It doesn’t feel “full.” No physics in the VLM |
| Speech | “Your latte is ready” after Drop | Output can be words + motion |
| Pick-up check (Skill 2) | After grabbing the milk pitcher, is it in the gripper? | Recipe still needs a successful pick |
| Confidence | Forced “always add milk” | Confident wrong drink |
Primary camp use: recipe + different drinks from the same station. Hallucination = fake ingredients. Wrong-cue label is the best extra.
The finished skill (instructors build this once)
Name in Raven: Barista Template: Pick-multi-place or sequence of recorded pours. What matters is named actions the VLM can pick.
Station layout (every table the same)
| Piece | Role |
|---|---|
| Cup | Small cup on a taped “serve” square (kids may place it) |
| Coffee | Small closed pitcher / cup labeled COFFEE (colored water) |
| Milk | Pitcher labeled MILK (white water or milk-like) |
| Sugar | Tiny cup or shaker — recorded for older; present on the table for play so the lesson is honest (play skill just doesn’t pour it) |
| Spill tray | Under the serve square |
Pitchers must be light enough for the gripper. Practice pours on the demo table until they don’t soak the tablet.
Motions to record (play skill)
| Action | What to record |
|---|---|
| Pour Coffee | Pick coffee pitcher → pour into the cup → put pitcher back |
| Pour Milk | Same for milk |
| Stay | No motion (no cup / unknown order) |
House drink for play (latte-style): Pour Coffee then Pour Milk.
Do not require a recorded “pick up the customer cup” unless the cup starts off-mat. Easier: cup already on the serve square.
When it fires (play)
Simple (recommended for 7–10): presence or “Do you see a cup on the square?” → run the house recipe (coffee + milk). Order cards optional for fun, but the arm always makes the same drink.
With cards (if the VLM is stable): kid shows a card LATTE or COFFEE in the camera.
Prompt B — house barista (play)
Look at the serve square. If there is no cup, action Stay. If you see a cup, make the house drink: actions Pour Coffee then Pour Milk. Do not pour sugar. Do not invent caramel, whipped cream, or any pitcher that is not coffee or milk. Only use the actions you were given.
Runner (younger kids)
- Start
- Emergency Stop
- Live camera
- Optional speech: “House coffee coming up”
No Studio. They place the cup, maybe hold an order card, watch pours.
Play (ages 7–10)
- Empty square. Start. Arm should Stay.
- Place the cup. Start. Pour Coffee, Pour Milk.
- Name the recipe out loud: “First coffee, then milk.”
- Fake order (talk only): “I want caramel!” Arm must not go hunting. “That pitcher isn’t here. If it poured anyway, that would be guessing.”
- Optional: cover the coffee label — still the same replay. “The motion is copied. The label is for us and for the VLM, not magic.”
- Swap Pilot / Spotter. One pour watch each if time.
Got it: they can say that in their own words, and list the two pours in order; empty mat → wait. Almost: got a drink; you named “recipe.” Not yet: think the robot “knows how to cook” with no recording.
Copy / modify (ages 10+)
Copy first: Barista (Pour Coffee + Pour Milk).
Required modify: add at least one new motion and change the VLM so two drink names do different things.
Motions to add
| Action | What to record |
|---|---|
| Add Sugar | Pick sugar → pour/shake into the cup → put back |
| Mix | Spoon or stir stick: dip/stir in the cup, return (or a small circular move over the cup) |
Prompt B2 — drink menu (they paste / edit)
You are a barista. Ingredients on the table: coffee, milk, sugar. Cup must be on the square or Stay. Read the order card or the writing the customer shows. - Espresso or coffee → Pour Coffee only. - Latte or house → Pour Coffee, Pour Milk. - Sweet latte or sugar → Pour Coffee, Pour Milk, Add Sugar, Mix. Never pour an ingredient that is not on the table. Never add caramel or whipped cream. If you cannot read the order, make latte (coffee + milk) or Stay.
What they must run
- Re-record / confirm Pour Coffee and Pour Milk still hit the cup.
- Record Add Sugar and Mix.
- Put Prompt B2 (or their rewrite) on the skill.
- Show card ESPRESSO → only coffee. Show SWEET LATTE → coffee, milk, sugar, mix.
- Hallucination order: card or spoken “CARAMEL MACCHIATO.” Skill should Stay or make a listed drink — not wander. If the message invents caramel, class says guessing.
- Optional trick: MILK pitcher with a COFFEE note — does the VLM pick the wrong pitcher name while the replay still pours milk? (Body vs label.)
Done when: two different orders produce two different action lists, sugar/mix exist, and the older explanation.
Stretch: “no cup” check before any pour; Skill 2 gripper check on the milk pitcher; Mix only if sugar was added.
Not required: hot liquids, more than three ingredients, boy/girl, recycle.
Materials
- Arm + tablet with Barista loaded
- Cup + taped serve square + spill tray
- Coffee pitcher, milk pitcher (mock liquids, leak-proof as you can)
- Sugar cup + stir stick (on the table; used in the older skill)
- Order cards: LATTE, ESPRESSO / COFFEE, SWEET LATTE, and one fake CARAMEL
- Towels
- Optional: sticky notes for the wrong-cue pitcher trick
If it fails
- Pour misses the cup → re-record on this table’s layout; don’t “nudge pour” in play.
- Always the same drink → cards not in frame, or prompt ignored; older kids enlarge the card.
- Pours caramel/sugar when not asked → hallucination or greedy “make it fancy.” Tighten Prompt B2. Stop the extra pour.
- Spill → Stop, towels, smaller pour tilt on the next take.
- VLM down → Pilot taps Pour Coffee then Pour Milk in order. Still teach recipe vs “the robot decided.”