Educational Innovation: Integrating Intelligent Agent and Wireless Computing Research into the Undergraduate Curriculum

University Of Texas At Arlington, Arlington TX

Investigators

Abstract

EIA- 0086260 Cook, Diane J. University of Texas at Arlington CISE Educational Innovation: Integrating Intelligent Agent and Wireless Computing Research into the Undergraduate Curriculum The research-base for this project is Artificial Intelligence (AI), in particular, rational agent development. The project provides undergraduate students with access to a large-scale distributed mobile agent laboratory containing both real and simulated agents. The focus of the project is new curriculum material for AI, mobile computing, multimedia, and robotics courses that allow students to test their knowledge in a real and virtual environment as well as new courses in human-computer interaction and wireless-multimedia computing. The PIs have demonstrated successful research and development of AI simulators that provide students with environments for testing agent design ideas in decision making, multi-agent cooperation, and learning. The PIs expanded agent environment includes real-world tasks involving distributed decision-making, cooperation with both human and computer agents, and wireless communication. The project increases students' interest and expertise in this area through hands-on experiences with physical and simulated collaborative environments. In particular, the project uses a wireless communication system, called Wireless Intelligent Simulator Environment (WISE), in this institution's Computer Science area that permits human, software, and robot agents to interact over a distributed environment. The WISE environment, in addition to supporting new features of this university's existing courses (in AI, Mobile Networking and Computing, Multimedia, Robotics, and Senior Capstone Design Courses), supports new courses in Human-Computer Interaction and Wireless Multimedia Computing.