A Novel Real-Time MATLAB/Simulink/LEGO EV3 Platform for Academic Use in Robotics and Computer Science

Over the last years, mobile robot platforms are having a key role in education worldwide. Among others, LEGO Robots and MATLAB/Simulink are being used mainly in universities to improve the teaching experience. Most LEGO systems used in the literature are based on NXT, as the EV3 version is relatively recent. In contrast to the previous versions, the EV3 allows the development of real-time applications for teaching a wide variety of subjects as well as conducting research experiments. The goal of the research presented in this paper was to develop and validate a novel real-time educational platform based on the MATLAB/Simulink package and the LEGO EV3 brick for academic use in the fields of robotics and computer science. The proposed framework is tested here in different university teaching situations and several case studies are presented in the form of interactive projects developed by students. Without loss of generality, the platform is used for testing different robot path planning algorithms. Classical algorithms like rapidly-exploring random trees or artificial potential fields, developed by robotics researchers, are tested by bachelor students, since the code is freely available on the Internet. Furthermore, recent path planning algorithms developed by the authors are also tested in the platform with the aim of detecting the limits of its applicability. The restrictions and advantages of the proposed platform are discussed in order to enlighten future educational applications

A tensor optimization algorithm for Bézier Shape Deformation

In this paper we propose a tensor based description of the Bézier Shape Deformation (BSD) algorithm, denoted as T-BSD. The BSD algorithm is a well-known technique, based on the deformation of a Bézier curve through a field of vectors. A critical point in the use of real-time applications is the cost in computational time. Recently, the use of tensors in numerical methods has been increasing because they drastically reduce computational costs. Our formulation based in tensors T-BSD provides an efficient reformulation of the BSD algorithm. More precisely, the evolution of the execution time with respect to the number of curves of the BSD algorithm is an exponentially increasing curve. As the numerical experiments show, the T-BSD algorithm transforms this evolution into a linear one. This fact allows to compute the deformation of a Bézier with a much lower computational cost

Robomaths: Robotics to Learn Matematics in a Architecture Degree

The abstract part of mathematics is a difficult matter included in many subjects in university degrees. Specifically, in architecture degrees students lack interest in this topic if they don’t experience its immediate application. In addition, technological skills are required at every educational level and the students of these degrees are usually more interested in art than in technology. With the aim of encouraging architecture students' interest in mathematics and technology, a methodology is presented here that includes the use of robotics in maths lectures. The key idea is to make the abstract part of mathematics understandable by means of robots

Numerical strategies for the Galerkin–proper generalized decomposition method

The Proper Generalized Decomposition or, for short, PGD is a tensor decomposition based technique to solve PDE problems. It reduces calculation and storage cost drastically and presents some similarities with the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition, for short POD. In this work, we propose an efficient implementation to improve the convergence of the PGD, toward the numerical solution of a discretized PDE problem, when the associated matrix is Laplacian-like.The first author was partially supported by PRCEU-UCH 30/10 by Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrer

La Arquitectura sostenible desde un punto de vista matemático a través de la geometría fractal bajo un proyecto COIL

[ES] La geometría es clave en la arquitectura, un conocimiento amplio de ella embellecerá y mejorará los proyectos de los futuros arquitectos. Son muchos los arquitectos famosos que basan sus proyectos en geometrías no convencionales que hace que esos edificios sean hitos en la historia. Bajo el paraguas de un proyecto COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning: http://onlineinternationallearning.org/about/) los alumnos investigaron sobre geometría fractal desde un punto de vista matemático y desde un punto de vista proyectual. Esa investigación se realizó con alumnos de la Universidad Cardenal Herrera CEU (estudiantes de primer curso de arquitectura en la asignatura de matemáticas) y alumnos de la Universidad Internacional de Florida (estudiantes de arquitectura de tercer curso en la asignatura de proyectos). De esta forma añadimos competencias transversales al aprendizaje de la asignatura de matemáticas, puesto que se analizaba la viabilidad de utilizar geometría fractal en la construcción de fachadas sostenibles en los proyectos desarrollados por los alumnos de Florida. La ciudad de Florida debido a su situación geográfica (rodeada de agua) debe tener en cuenta su entorno a la hora de proyectar sus edificios. Por ello, los alumnos debían analizar elementos como la incidencia del sol, agua y viento y las ventajas o desventajas de una fachada basada en este tipo de geometría. La innovación de este tipo de proyectos radica en: la internacionalización de los alumnos y docentes, la introducción de aprendizaje por retos, aprendizaje por competencias y evaluación por rúbricas.Hilario Pérez, L.; Verdejo Gimeno, P. (2022). La Arquitectura sostenible desde un punto de vista matemático a través de la geometría fractal bajo un proyecto COIL. En Proceedings INNODOCT/21. International Conference on Innovation, Documentation and Education. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 527-535. https://doi.org/10.4995/INN2021.2021.1340752753

Resultados y aprendizaje de la docencia en tiempos de confinamiento

[ES] Nadie podría imaginarse la situación vivida durante la cuarentena sufrida a raíz de la pandemia mundial del Covid-19, situación que como en todos los diferentes estamentos, modifico de forma sustancial la forma de enseñar y aprender, así como los canales tradicionales de aprendizaje. Durante este confinamiento se hizo necesario continuar con el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje cambiando el aula tradicional por plataformas digitales que permitieran el flujo continuo de comunicación e interacción entre el profesor y el alumno. Además, se debieron de utilizar nuevas herramientas para permitir la evaluación del alumnado, lo que supuso un verdadero reto tanto por la ausencia del alumno físicamente en el proceso, como por establecer un control durante el proceso de evaluación. Esta gran experiencia, no cabe duda de que realizada en un tiempo record, no ha tenido únicamente inconvenientes, pues también se han podido evidenciar ventajas sustanciales que en gran medida pueden ser trasladadas en convivencia con la docencia tradicional presencial.Verdejo Gimeno, P.; Hilario Pérez, L. (2021). Resultados y aprendizaje de la docencia en tiempos de confinamiento. En Proceedings INNODOCT/20. International Conference on Innovation, Documentation and Education. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 651-659. https://doi.org/10.4995/INN2020.2020.11889OCS65165

Towards a Vector Field Based Approach to the Proper Generalized Decomposition (PGD)

[EN] A novel algorithm called the Proper Generalized Decomposition (PGD) is widely used by the engineering community to compute the solution of high dimensional problems. However, it is well-known that the bottleneck of its practical implementation focuses on the computation of the so-called best rank-one approximation. Motivated by this fact, we are going to discuss some of the geometrical aspects of the best rank-one approximation procedure. More precisely, our main result is to construct explicitly a vector field over a low-dimensional vector space and to prove that we can identify its stationary points with the critical points of the best rank-one optimization problem. To obtain this result, we endow the set of tensors with fixed rank-one with an explicit geometric structureThis research was funded by the GVA/2019/124 grant from Generalitat Valenciana and by the RTI2018-093521-B-C32 grant from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades. DocumentFalco, A.; Hilario Pérez, L.; Montés Sánchez, N.; Mora Aguilar, MC.; Nadal, E. (2021). Towards a Vector Field Based Approach to the Proper Generalized Decomposition (PGD). Mathematics. 9(1):1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/math9010034S1149

Gamification for Maths and Physics in University Degrees through a Transportation Challenge

Our society is immersed in the Fourth Industrial Revolution due to the fast evolution of the new technologies that are modifying the labor market. In the near future, technologies related to Industry 4.0 will produce totally new goods and services. Therefore, the educational systems should adapt their programs to the future needs of an uncertain labor market. In particular, mathematics will play a key role in future jobs and there is a strong need to connect its teaching methodologies to the new technological scene. This work uses the STEAM approach (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) along with active methodologies and educational robotics with the aim of developing a new strategy for the application of mathematics and physics in an engineering degree. In particular, a transportation challenge is posed to tackle the teaching–learning process of the Bézier curves and their applications in physics. A pilot project is developed using a LEGO EV3 robot and an active methodology, where students become the center of the learning process. The experimental results of the pilot study indicate an increase in the motivation due to the use of robots and the realistic context of the challenge

TERRITORIALIDADE INDÍGENA E DIREITO ESTATAL: CONSIDERAÇÕES À LUZ DO PLURALISMO JURÍDICO

O presente artigo buscará analisar o conceito de territorialidade indígena frente ao direito estatal. Diante da dicotomia envolvendo a concepção de território entre indígenas e Estado, os conflitos fundiários levam a uma reflexão sobre o pluralismo jurídico, a eficácia do direito consuetudinário perante a Constituição Federal de 1988 e a condição jurídica dos povos indígenas em face dos territórios atualmente homologados. O estudo permite concluir sobre a necessidade de maior aproximação entre a ciência antropológica e o direito acerca de diversos conceitos, e o pluralismo jurídico surge como um dos possíveis caminhos para esse diálogo. A partir do método indutivo e da pesquisa bibliográfica, histórica, antropológica e jurisprudencial, o artigo buscará chegar ao resultado esperado

CROSSWORKS: GAUDI

[ES] El proyecto de innovación docente Crossworks se entiende como un crisol de trabajo donde se reunen todas las asignaturas del primer curso de Grado en Architecture, en un intento de provocar relaciones transversales entre ellas que mejore el rendimiento del alumno en las ciencias básicas y le otorgue una visión integradora y global de la arquitectura. El proyecto se ha estructurado en varias fases, una en aula, después la visita “in situ” al edificio objeto de análisis, y posteriormente la realización de talleres con una temática común pero trabajados desde asignaturas aparentemente distantes como Matemáticas e Historia del Arte, o Física y Dibujo Arquitectónico. Los resultados han sido altamente esperanzadores, no solo en el rendimiento académico de los alumnos, sino en la cohesión del grupo y la integración de las distintas culturas participantes.Diaz, A.; Verdejo, P.; Ros, A.; Hilario, L.; Giménez, A.; Ferrer, T. (2019). CROSSWORKS: GAUDI. En INNODOCT/18. International Conference on Innovation, Documentation and Education. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 423-432. https://doi.org/10.4995/INN2018.2018.8788OCS42343