Manufacturing is considered one of the major economic drivers in the United States. However, a challenge for manufacturing competitiveness can be the negative perception of the industry held by children, and society as a whole, which may make them reluctant to pursue manufacturing careers and fulfill the projected workforce demands. Accordingly,…

Motion planning is a core problem in robotics concerned with finding feasible paths for a given robot. Motion planning algorithms perform a search in the high-dimensional continuous space of robot configurations and exemplify many of the core algorithmic concepts of search algorithms and associated data structures. Motion planning algorithms can…

E-learning is a modern and effective approach for training in various areas and at different levels of education. This paper gives an overview of SyRoTek, an e-learning platform for mobile robotics, artificial intelligence, control engineering, and related domains. SyRoTek provides remote access to a set of fully autonomous mobile robots placed in…

This article describes an outreach program to broaden participation in computing to include more students with visual impairments. The precollege workshops target students in grades 7-12 and engage students with robotics programming. The use of robotics at the precollege level has become popular in part due to the availability of Lego Mindstorm…

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…

The GeomBot is a drawing robot that combines the well-known strengths and opportunities offered by Scratch with those of Papert's original robotic drawing-turtle. In this study we look at the GeomBot as a physical programmable artifact around which action research with a group of teachers and a researcher was carried out with the aim of designing,…

Documentation of ideas and the engineering design process is a critical, daily component of a professional engineer's job. While patent protection is often cited as the primary rationale for documentation, it can also benefit the engineer, the team, company, and stakeholders through creating a more rigorously designed and purposeful solution.…

Robotic competitions continue to gain popularity in the educational community as a way to engage students in hands-on learning that can raise a student's interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In 1992, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) held its first competition and presented a style of…

Prior work has shown that early childhood educators demonstrate a lack of knowledge and understanding about technology and engineering, and about developmentally appropriate pedagogical approaches to bring those disciplines into the classrooms. This paper reports a study in which 32 early childhood educators participated in an intensive three-day…

The robotics field represents the integration of multiple facets of computer science and engineering. Robotics-based activities have been shown to encourage K-12 students to consider careers in computing and have even been adopted as part of core computer-science curriculum at a number of universities. Unfortunately, for students with visual…

The labor market in the United States is evolving in unexpected ways following the 2007 recession. Career and technical education (CTE) has historically linked young people to the workplace. In this article we examine the U.S. labor market and provide multiple perspectives on its growth and direction and implications for future directions for CTE.…

In a climate of increased interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), school libraries have unique opportunities to grow collections and cultivate partnerships in the sciences. At the federal level and in many states, STEM initiatives encourage hands-on exposure to technologies and open the door for student-led discovery of…

This is the first report of a Keystone Research Center project on the "Future of Work." The aim is to identify public policies that could help ensure that the application and diffusion of artificial intelligence (AI) over the next several decades fosters an economy in which Americans generally thrive. The project is motivated, in part,…

Robots are used in all kinds of industrial settings. They are used to rivet bolts to cars, to move items from one conveyor belt to another, to gather information from other planets, and even to perform some very delicate types of surgery. Anyone who has watched a robot perform its tasks cannot help but be impressed by how it works. This article…

This paper describes a multidisciplinary teaching program, designed to provide students with the broad knowledge and skills required to practice product development in robotics and mechatronics. The curriculum was designed to prepare students for the senior capstone design project, in which they design and build a working mechatronic/robotic…