A Challenge for the New Millennium: Incorporating Hands-on Robotics into a Computer Science Curriculum

University Of North Florida, Jacksonville FL

Investigators

Abstract

Computer Science (31) Advances in microtechnology have increased the possibility for providing robotics instruction emphasizing computing requirements rather than hardware requirements. Curricula for a first course in robotics have been published to take advantage of this technology. The purpose of this project is to take advantage of the existing work, adapting it as necessary to produce an effective, hands-on course in robotics within the computer science curriculum at the University of North Florida. To realize this objective, an appropriate robotics laboratory is needed and a set of robotics laboratory projects must be developed. No general standards have as yet been developed for robotics technology. A major inhibitor for introducing robotics courses within computer science has been the uniqueness of the fabrication requirements, which has largely confined the subject to engineering- related programs with resources for robotics construction needs. Corresponding software has been in short supply, and generally has relied on base-level programming in C or in machine language. Existing robotics curricula for computer science that have been developed have been constrained by the need to develop a lab and produce a viable lab maintenance plan, all complicated by the fabrication issues. On the other hand, significant progress has been made in reducing the complexity of electro-mechanical requirements, allowing software issues for producing effective autonomous robots to receive increased attention. Robotics kits developed by the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics (KIPR) and incorporated into this proposal at least partly redress the logistical issues and form the basis for a robotics lab suitable for supporting a first course in robotics. To conduct the course of instruction, an incremental series of hands-on exercises using the laboratory facility must be developed and tested. The KISS Institute will be called upon to both evaluate overall project outcomes and to promulgate materials developed for the project (the Institute is a non-profit national corporation that among its objectives seeks to advance the state of robotics education).