Infusing Raspberry Pi in the Computer Science Curriculum for Enhanced Learning

With the advent of cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and mobile computing, CS faculty are continuously revamping the curriculum material to address such burgeoning set of technologies in practical and relatable ways. Raspberry Pi (RPi) devices represent an ideal hardware/software framework that embodies all these technologies through its simple architecture, small form factor (that minimizes the volume and footprint of a desktop computer), and ability to integrate various sensors that network together and connect to the Cloud. Therefore, one of the strategies of Computer Science Department, to enhance depth of learning concepts, has been to infuse Raspberry Pi (RPi) in computer science courses. RPi has been incorporated since 2016 in targeted courses, notably, Computer Organization & Assembly Language, Computer Architecture, Database Management Design & Implementation, Unix/Linux Programming, Internet Programming, and Senior Project. An inexpensive credit card sized computer, an RPi lends itself to allow depth of learning of concepts. From implementing firewalls, intrusion detection systems, scripting, client-server based computing, distributed computing, to interfacing with sensors and actuators, a student is guided to polish concepts taught in a class through RPi Project Based Learning (RPBL). Computer science curriculum already provides breadth of learning. The infusion of RPi in key courses provides depth in targeted concepts. There are peripheral desirable consequences as well, including a student learning prevalently used Linux environment even though a targeted course may have nothing directly to do with Linux. Furthermore, RPi provides an opportunity for students to realize that software programs can be interfaced with sensors and actuators to provide immersed experience in programming. From simply interfacing a switch and a Light Emitting Diode (LED) to getting data from sensors, buffering, and uploading to the cloud, a student already would have touched upon multiple disciplines in computer science. This paper provides a blueprint to infusing RPi in the targeted courses, and how each RPi based project provides depth to a targeted concept

Periscope: A Robotic Camera System to Support Remote Physical Collaboration

We investigate how robotic camera systems can offer new capabilities to computer-supported cooperative work through the design, development, and evaluation of a prototype system called Periscope. With Periscope, a local worker completes manipulation tasks with guidance from a remote helper who observes the workspace through a camera mounted on a semi-autonomous robotic arm that is co-located with the worker. Our key insight is that the helper, the worker, and the robot should all share responsibility of the camera view--an approach we call shared camera control. Using this approach, we present a set of modes that distribute the control of the camera between the human collaborators and the autonomous robot depending on task needs. We demonstrate the system's utility and the promise of shared camera control through a preliminary study where 12 dyads collaboratively worked on assembly tasks. Finally, we discuss design and research implications of our work for future robotic camera systems that facilitate remote collaboration.Comment: This is a pre-print of the article accepted for publication in PACM HCI and will be presented at CSCW 202

This machine could bite: On the role of non-benign art robots

The social robot's current and anticipated roles as butler, teacher, receptionist or carer for the elderly share a fundamental anthropocentric bias: they are designed to be benign, to facilitate a transaction that aims to be both useful to and simple for the human. At a time when intelligent machines are becoming a tangible prospect, such a bias does not leave much room for exploring and understanding the ongoing changes affecting the relation between humans and our technological environment. Can art robots – robots invented by artists – offer a non-benign-by-default perspective that opens the field for a machine to express its machinic potential beyond the limits imposed by an anthropocentric and market-driven approach? The paper addresses these questions by considering and contextualising early cybernetic machines, current developments in social robotics, and art robots by the author and other artists

New Updates in E-Learning

This book presents state-of-the-art educational technologies and teaching methodologies and discusses future educational philosophies in support of the global academic society. New Updates in E-Learning is a collection of chapters addressing important issues related to effective utilization of the Internet and Cloud Computing, virtual robotics, and real-life application of hybrid educational environments to enhance student learning regardless of geographical location or other constraints. Over ten chapters, the book discusses the current and future evolution of educational technologies and methodologies and the best academic practices in support of providing high-quality education at all academic levels

Spring 2019

Lab Life: New and improved School of Computing labs inspire research in robotics and engineering; A Festival to Remember: Students thrive in film festival environments; Next Gen Data Scientists: Data Science Academy introduces high school students to the big world of data; A Well-Designed Design Colloquium; Game Face: Sausage Sports Club: creator and CDM alumnus Chris Wade shares the story behind his playful Nintendo Switch game: Connected from Afar: Graduate student Sierra Sellman makes the most of her online degree program; Seen and Heard; Bravo! Bravo

Small business innovation research. Abstracts of completed 1987 phase 1 projects

Non-proprietary summaries of Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects supported by NASA in the 1987 program year are given. Work in the areas of aeronautical propulsion, aerodynamics, acoustics, aircraft systems, materials and structures, teleoperators and robotics, computer sciences, information systems, spacecraft systems, spacecraft power supplies, spacecraft propulsion, bioastronautics, satellite communication, and space processing are covered

Electrical and Computer Engineering Annual Report 2016

Faculty Directory Faculty Highlights Faculty Fellow Program Multidisciplinary Research Fills Critical Needs Better, Faster Technology Metamaterials: Searching for the Perfect Lens The Nontraditional Power of Demand Dispatch Space, Solar Power\u27s Next Frontier Kit Cischke, Award-Winning Senior Lecturer Faculty Publications ECE Academy Class of 2016 Staff Profile: Michele Kamppinen For the Love of Teaching: Jenn Winikus Graduate Student Highlights Undergraduate Student Highlights External Advisory Committee Contracts and Grants Department Statistics AAES National Engineering Awardhttps://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/ece-annualreports/1002/thumbnail.jp

Interface Design for Physical Human-Robot Interaction using sensorless control

The rapid increase in the usage of robots has made interaction between a human and a robot a crucial field of research. Physical human–robot interaction constitutes a relevant and growing research area. Nowadays robots are used in almost all areas of life, such as in households, for education and in medicine. Therefore, many research studies are being conducted on ergonomic human–robot interfaces enabling people to communicate, collaborate and to teach a robot through physical interaction.This thesis is focused on developing a physical human-robot interface by means of which the user is able to control a walking humanoid by exerting force. Through physical contact with the robot arm, a human can influence the direction and velocity of the robot walk. In other words, the user leads the humanoid by the hand, and the robot compensates this external force by following the user.The developed interface offers a method of sensorless force control. Instead of the traditional approach using force/torque measurement, the fact that a DC motor’s torque is proportional to the armature current was applied. Two different control algorithms were implemented and compared. Consequently, a usability test was conducted for different interfaces to find the one which was the most ergonomic

Web 3D for Public, Environmental and Occupational Health: Early Examples from Second Life®

Over the past three years (2006-2008), the medical/health and public health communities have shown a growing interest in using online 3D virtual worlds like Second Life® (http://secondlife.com/) for health education, community outreach, training and simulations purposes. 3D virtual worlds are seen as the precursors of ‘Web 3D’, the next major iteration of the Internet that will follow in the coming years. This paper provides a tour of several flagship Web 3D experiences in Second Life®, including Play2Train Islands (emergency preparedness training), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—CDC Island (public health), Karuna Island (AIDS support and information), Tox Town at Virtual NLM Island (US National Library of Medicine - environmental health), and Jefferson’s Occupational Therapy Center. We also discuss the potential and future of Web 3D. These are still early days of 3D virtual worlds, and there are still many more untapped potentials and affordances of 3D virtual worlds that are yet to be explored, as the technology matures further and improves over the coming months and years