RUI: Acquisition of Robotic Systems for Research in Cognitive Science, Biomechanics, and Computer Science

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With an award from the National Science Foundation's program for Major Research Instrumentation, a team of five investigators at Vassar College is building and outfitting an interdisciplinary robotics research laboratory (IRRL). Combining research and education in cognitive science, biomechanics, and computer science, the IRRL will house 40 robots of six different kinds for a specific and shared purpose - to simulate and test complex systems.Specifically, the investigators will use the facilities of the IRRL (1) to develop novel robot platforms, (2) to simulate virtual robots with computers, (3) to test theories of animal locomotion, multi-agent cooperation and human concept learning, and (4) to incorporate robotic systems in computer science education. The investigators expect that important new insights in to each discipline will result from the combination of computer simulation and experiments with robots in a real physical world setting.With funds from the NSF, the investigators will acquire robots, computers, and milling equipment for modification and fabrication of the robotic systems. Two full-time scientific technicians, housed next to the IRRL, will maintain and modify robots as needed. In addition, Vassar College has established a research partnership with Nekton Technologies LLC (Durham, North Carolina). The goal of the partnership is to modify Nekton's DragonFlyTM aquatic robot so that it may be used as a platform to assess the mechanical control of swimming performance in fish and fish-like robots. The investigators will supervise the renovation of a room to create the IRRL. Funds for the renovation are provided by Vassar College.This project will have several important impacts on the science education of undergraduates in a liberal arts environment. First, the investigators in the computer science department will incorporate robots into all levels of the curriculum, giving students tangible feedback about the workings of their programs. Second, the group this year ran a robot competition, which drew 12 students from four different majors; the competition will be run annually and students will use the sophisticated tools of the IRRL. Third, over the three years of the project, the faculty members will sponsor 12 undergraduates to become Robot Fellows in Vassar's Undergraduate Research Summer Institute, a ten-week, full-time internship. Fourth, the faculty members are developing a new correlate sequence (Vassar's equivalent of a minor), "Embodied Intelligent Systems," featuring robotic systems and processes developed in the IRRL, for majors in cognitive science, computer science, and behavior & neuroscience.