This One Is Not About AI
Dr. Michael Kolta has published a new article, “Rockin’ Rover on the Rainbow Road,” in the academic journal Transformations. Unlike many of his recent publications, this project takes a different direction, focusing on an educational curriculum that brings together Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) in a single interactive lesson.
The article was co-authored by Dr. Lawrence Burgee and Ying Yuan and appears in Transformations, Volume 12, Issue 1.
Turning Color Into Music
The Rockin’ Rover project uses a small robotic vehicle equipped with a color sensor. Students program the Rover to travel across a “Rainbow Road” made from different colored sections.
Each color corresponds to a musical note. As the Rover moves across the road, it identifies the color beneath it and plays the corresponding pitch, effectively transforming the sequence of colors into music.
The placement and size of the colored sections can also determine the timing and duration of the notes, allowing students to explore how programming, robotics, mathematics, engineering, visual design, and music can work together within one activity.
A STEAM Curriculum for K–12 Students
The published curriculum presents a progressive series of age-appropriate lesson plans for students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
The project uses Texas Instruments technology, including a TI-Nspire graphing calculator, TI-Innovator Hub, and TI Rover, together with Python programming to create an interdisciplinary learning experience.
By combining programming and robotics with color and music, the activity gives students an opportunity to experience all areas of STEAM while also exploring the creative connections between them.
“More Than Meets the Eye”
There is also a personal connection to the name of the journal.
The article appears in Transformations — a title that, as Dr. Kolta puts it, carries a special meaning for those who know him well:
“More than Meets the Eye!”
Special Thanks
Dr. Kolta extends special thanks to Dr. Lawrence Burgee, Ying Yuan, and John Hanna for their contributions and support of the project.
Read the Published Article
The complete article can be read in Transformations:
Rockin’ Rover on the Rainbow Road
The project’s source files are also available through Dr. Kolta’s GitHub repository. The repository contains several TI-Nspire .tns files associated with the Rockin’ Rover project and describes the code as turning the TI Rover into a musician.
View the Rockin’ Rover Code on GitHub
Related Research Project
This publication expands upon Dr. Kolta’s earlier “Rockin’ Rover — Turning Color into Music” research project, demonstrated at the T3IC (Texas Instruments) Conference in 2024.
That project explored the use of the TI-Innovator Rover to translate color patterns into musical notes, demonstrating how hardware, programming, creativity, and STEAM education can be combined into an engaging learning experience.