Designing Hands-On Robotics Courses for Students with Visual Impairment or Blindness

School laboratories let students playfully experience the fundamentals of, for example, robotics, computer science, and technology-related topics. By working with LEGO Mindstorms, secondary school students get a chance to learn on a cognitive, emotional, and haptic level and gain experiences with the aid of even more advanced robotics. However, due to an impairment or lack of sight, it is hardly possible for some students to fully participate in a programming process or in building a robot. To overcome this unintentional discrimination, the interdisciplinary student laboratory “RoboScope” at RWTH Aachen University has teamed up with a group of experts to develop a barrier-free robotic course. Since then, the course has been tested and implemented based on concurrent evaluations and frequently held at RWTH and several other German schools. The presented work covers an overview of different kinds of visual impairment and lab settings and the development cycle of the courses at RWTH from design to testing, implementation, and further development regarding the evaluations. Evaluations show that students who are visually impaired or blind appreciate the opportunity to participate in the field of robotics. An insight into the evaluation concept that differs from “regular” courses in the “Roboscope,” as well as the results are used for further development

Enabling Innovation in Engineering Education by providing Flexible Funds for teaching Staff

This study evaluated the influence of addition of 10% calcium chloride (CaCl(2)) on the setting time, solubility, disintegration, and pH of white MTA (WMTA) and white Portland cement (WPC). A test of the setting time was performed following the #57 ADA specifications and a test of the final setting time according to the ASTM. For the solubility tests disintegration and pH, Teflon rings were filled with the cements and weighed after setting. After 24 h in a desiccator, they were once again weighed. Thereafter, they were immersed in MiliQ water for 24 and 72 h and 7, 14, and 28 days, with maintenance in the desiccator and weighing between periods. The pH of water in which the rings were immersed was measured immediately after contact with them and in the other periods. The addition of CaCl(2) provided a significant reduction (50%) in the initial setting time of cements. The final setting time of WMTA was reduced in 35.5% and the final setting time of WPC in 68.5%. The WMTA with CaCl(2) absorbed water and gained weight with time, except for in the 24-h period. The addition of CaCl(2) to the WPC reduced its solubility. The addition of CaCl(2) increased the pH of WMTA in the immediate period and at 24 and 72 h and for WPC in the immediate period and at 24 h. The addition of CaCl(2) to WMTA and WPC reduced the setting times and solubility of both and increased the pH of cements in the initial periods. (J Endod 2009;35:550-554

針葉樹葉クチン成分及びその分解物の効率的な大量取得法の確立と高度利用法開発の試行

平成7年度-平成9年度年度科学研究費補助金 (基盤研究(A)(2)　課題番号07556101) 研究成果報告

Digital Transformation of Engineering Education - Empirical Insights from Virtual Worlds and Human-Robot-Collaboration

Cyber-physical systems and “Industry 4.0” will require future engineers to handle big data and complex, multidisciplinary problems as well as to collaborate with machines in “hybrid teams”. As some work spaces will be virtualized or remotely controllable new communication skills and the knowledge of virtual worlds are necessary. Furthermore, working as a team with machines demands not only knowledge of mechanical engineering and machines but also an extended understanding of team working. To meet such challenges future engineers need to acquire new skills and qualification. This task does not only concern engineering students and trainees but also teachers for engineering. Questions about how to prepare for newly needed engineering competencies for the age of Industry 4.0, how to assess them and how to teach and train e.g. human-robot-teams have to be tackled in future engineering education. The paper presents theoretical aspects and empirical results of a series of studies, which were conducted to investigate engineering education in virtual worlds as well as different aspects about team building in hybrid teams