robotics

Virtual and Physical Robots in Engineering Education: A Study on Motivation and Learning with Augmented Reality

This paper describes a pilot study to explore how introduction to robot programming influences the motivation of new engineering students. Robots are significant in several industries and are vital in advancing critical sectors like defense, manufacturing, medicine, and exploration. When students learn about robots with scaled-down models, they risk not adequately appreciating the physical scale, abilities, and dangers associated with real-world robots. Accordingly, introducing realistic robots to all engineering students, not just those in robotic-centric programs, is essential to prepare them for the modern workplace. That said, industrial-scale robots are expensive to acquire and maintain, and access to them may be restricted, requiring elevated privileges or time-sharing between students, and a cheaper, more accessible solution is needed.

We describe the implementation of an industrial robot arm in Augmented Reality (AR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) and assess its impact on the motivation of first- and second-year engineering students.

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A Hybrid Physical-Virtual Educational Robotic Arm

In the field of robotics education, introductory courses would ideally utilize heavy industrial arms for hands-on learning. This would provide students with valuable experience in joint programming, which involves direct control of each joint motor in the robotic arm to accomplish desired path planning and differential movements. This practice requires consideration of the physical properties of the large arm such as its large mass. However, the use of heavy industrial robotic arms has several drawbacks. They are large and expensive, require specialized maintenance, can pose safety risks, and they typically do not allow for direct control of the joint motors. The use of a small, lightweight, toy-like arm is not suitable since their lightweight construction means they do not exhibit behavior associated with heavier arms. Robotic arm simulators using a virtual arm doesn’t offer the same level of hands-on engagement and excitement as a physical arm.

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Mitigating Engineering Student Attrition by Implementing Arduino Activities Throughout Undergraduate Curricula

One of the most challenging aspects of engineering education is to engage and motivate the student audience. Studies have found that roughly 40 percent of students planning engineering majors end up switching to other subjects or failing to get any degree. Indeed, American students are turning away from science and math. There are not enough graduates in engineering to meet US workforce demands. Many students enroll in engineering undergraduate programs with the belief that the coursework would include components immediately, and build early in the undergraduate coursework, and when they do not have these hands-on fun and challenging experiences, students select alternative majors. Starting with introductory engineering courses, students should be immediately exposed to hands-on fun and challenging competitive projects. Teaching Arduino in the framework of fun competitions should capture the interest of prospective future engineers and support the engagement and retention of students. This paper is written to outline relevant pedagogical prospects.

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Use of Open-source Software in Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering Education – Part II : Controller Implementation

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This article is the second of two-part article series discussing the use of Open Source Software in Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering. View Part I in Volume 12 Issue 3

Nima Lotfi ✉ ¹ , Dave Auslander ² , Luis A. Rodriguez ³ , Kenechukwu C. Mbanisi ⁴ , Carlotta A. Berry ⁵

1 Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering Department, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL, United States

2 Mechanical Engineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States

3 Mechanical Engineering, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Milwaukee, WI, United States

4 Robotics Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, United States

5 Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, IN, United States

Abstract

This paper is the second part of a two-part study on promoting the use of Open-Source Software (OSS) in Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering (MRE) education.

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Project-Based Courses for B.Tech. Program of Robotics in Mechanical Engineering Technology

Zhou Zhang

Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology
New York City College of Technology, CUNY
Brooklyn, New York, USA zhzhang@citytech.cuny.edu

Andy S. Zhang

Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology
New York City College of Technology, CUNY
Brooklyn, New York, USA azhang@citytech.cuny.edu

Mingshao Zhang

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville, Illinois, USA mzhang@siue.edu

Sven Esche

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, New Jersey, USA sesche@stevens.edu

Abstract— Robotics program at many Colleges has continued to become more and more popular. However, the students of the Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) program of robotics in the Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) are facing three difficulties: (1) Weak fundamental knowledge related electrical engineering (EE), computer science (CS) and information technology (IT); (2) Difficulty in understanding the advanced concepts and theories of robotics; (3) Limited robotics class hours. Therefore, devising a series of appropriate robotics classes for the MET program is desirable. Read the full article here “Project-Based Courses for B.Tech. Program of Robotics in Mechanical Engineering Technology”