Turn and Face a Direction

A robot remembers which way it faces, like an arrow drawn on its head. Up, down, left and right on the grid are the four ways it can look. Forward always means the square in front of its nose.

If the path turns a corner, you need a turn step before the next forward. Otherwise the robot marches into a side wall while staring straight ahead.

Use the robot lab turn-heavy plans. Pause after each turn and ask: which way does the robot face now?

Turn left and turn right both spin the robot on the spot. They spin opposite ways. Mixing them up is one of the most common bugs in student plans.

Try the rule: after a left turn, the robot's left side now points where its nose pointed before. Trace that on paper with a little arrow doodle.

If the robot ends up facing the wrong way, fix the turn direction before you add more forwards. Extra forwards while facing wrong only dig the hole deeper.

Corridors are long straight runs: many forwards, no turns. Corners are single turn steps between runs. Naming which you are in keeps plans tidy.

When you read a map, mark each corner with a turn symbol before you count forwards in the next segment.

Next you will give directions to a friend who acts like a human robot. Facing rules still apply.