Multimedia Robots for Computer Science Education

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Multimedia Robots for Computer Science Education

• Dr. Illah Nourbakhsh and Tom Lauwers
• Center for Innovative Robotics

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Robots as Educational Tools
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High School Robotics Programs
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TeRK the Telepresence Robot Kit

• We strongly believe that robotics can be used as
  a tool to educate and motivate students across a
  wide variety of topics and ages.
• Emerging technologies are enabling us to
  simultaneously lower costs and increase
  functionality.

The Turk
A TeRK
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TeRK - Capabilities
With a TeRK, you can connect
One webcam One wireless adapter
Speakers Four DC motors
Eight LEDs Eight analog sensors
Sixteen servos
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TeRK Projects

• Curricular Modules for Introduction to Computer
  Science
• Robot Diary
• Network Neighborhoods
• Online Community Building and Recipe Creation

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Intro to CS Curricula

• Create curricular modules for the following CS
  topics Simple I/O, Flow Control, Arrays, File
  read/write, and Errors and exceptions
• Modules will include robot centered assignments
  and activities

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Robot Diary

• Currently engaged in participatory design
  sessions with middle school girls
• Design sessions will inform a future robot design
  that allows girls to express emotion and
  communicate with their friends through the robot

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Network Neighborhoods

• Provide high school students with environmental
  sensors and wireless technology to deploy
  environmental monitoring stations
• Students will also be tasked with creating
  artistic public displays to express the
  information that their monitoring stations collect

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Community Website and Recipes

• TeRK Website

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Teleop Demo
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Your Turn!

• Modify the sample program to cause the robot to
  react to certain colors
• How the robot reacts is up to you, but we suggest
  something obvious.
• Doing nothing is not an acceptable reaction. ?

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Additional Information

• Contact Tom Lauwers for questions about
  curricula or sample programs
• tlauwers_at_andrew.cmu.edu
• Check the TeRK website every few months we are
  actively generating new recipes, software, and
  curricula
• http//www.terk.ri.cmu.edu