This article describes an open-source robotic manipulator platform aimed at different levels of STEM education and popularization. It presents the hardware that was used to make a suitable low-cost low-weight manipulator and an evaluation of its capabilities, as well as the software components that were developed to make the platform accessible at…

The article presents the concept and first results of tests of a Virtual Reality system dedicated for interactive education of manual assembly procedure. The presented solution is based on the use of a Delta robot. The main task of the robot is to simulate the shape of virtual objects as an alternative to haptic devices. The manipulator with…

This paper summarizes our experience of teaching undergraduate robotic courses in the past ten years. The objective is to introduce students to the fundamental knowledge in robotics. Lecture topics covered subjects in both Autonomous Mobile Robots and Robotic Manipulator. In the lab sessions, students work on physical robots to acquire basic…

This article examines three picture books: "The Dot" (2003) by Peter H. Reynolds, "Art & Max" (2010) by David Weisner (2010), and "The Shape Game" (2003) by Anthony Browne, to see how ideas about creativity are conceived of and pictured for children. Various ideas about creativity and the creative process are…

Background: The constraints-led approach was first proposed to capture how movement solutions are shaped and organised without being prescribed. It has since been extended as a suitable framework for informing coaching practice. The contemporary view of the role of the coach in the constraints-led approach characterises them as a monitor and…

The "open hardware mobile manipulator" (OHMM) is a new open platform with a unique combination of features for teaching robotics software and algorithms. On-board low- and high-level processors support real-time embedded programming and motor control, as well as higher-level coding with contemporary libraries. Full hardware designs and…

Sketching the graph of mathematical functions using derivatives is a challenging task for undergraduate students who enrol for the first level of calculus course. Before graph plotting, students are required to perform a thorough function analysis using the concepts learned in differentiation. They are then expected to solicit the results obtained…

One of the most difficult and most important engineering tasks is the integration of a robot-manipulator into material handling, assembly, and production processes, offering the possibility of supervision and control. The knowledge and skills required for these kinds of tasks are purely mechatronic and, thus, multidisciplinary. This paper…

Robotics has been playing an important role in modern surgery, especially in procedures that require extreme precision, such as neurosurgery. This paper addresses the challenge of teaching robotics to undergraduate engineering students, through an experiential learning project of robotics fundamentals based on a case study of robot-assisted…

Under an NSF REU center grant REU-0755355 entitled "Micro/Nano Assembly Workcell Via Micro Visual Sensing and Haptic Feedback", Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Texas State University-San Marcos collaboratively hosted two groups of 10 students from different backgrounds for 10 weeks each in Summer 2008 and 2009 respectively.…

Roman Tutor is a tutoring system that uses sophisticated domain knowledge to monitor the progress of students and advise them while they are learning how to operate a space telerobotic system. It is intended to help train operators of the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) including astronauts, operators involved in ground-based…

In any modern society, individuals interact to form opinions on various topics, including economic, political, and social aspects. Opinions evolve as the result of the continuous exchange of information among individuals and of the assimilation of information distributed by media. The impact of individuals' opinions on each other forms a network,…

In this article, we detail how to produce two inexpensive micromanipulators that offer high precision (approximately 25 micrometers) along a single axis of movement. The more expensive of the designs provides improved versatility along multiple axes. Both manipulators offer substantial savings over commercially available micromanipulators with…

Pipes is an interactive data aggregator and manipulator that lets you mashup your favorite online data sources. Pipes could be used to "combine many feeds into one, then sort, filter and translate to create your ultimate custom feed. In this article, the author describes how to use Yahoo! Pipes. The author shares what she has learned in…

Describes the design and implementation of a simple robot manipulator. The manipulator has three degrees of freedom and is controlled by a general purpose microcomputer. The basis for the manipulator (which costs under $100) is a simple working model of a crane. (Author/JN)