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

在国家科学基金会主要研究仪器项目的奖励下，瓦萨学院的一个由五名研究人员组成的团队正在建造和装备一个跨学科的机器人研究实验室(IRRL)。结合认知科学、生物力学和计算机科学的研究和教育，IRRL将容纳6种不同类型的40个机器人，用于特定和共享的目的-模拟和测试复杂系统。具体来说，研究人员将利用IRRL的设施(1)开发新的机器人平台，(2)用计算机模拟虚拟机器人，(3)测试动物运动、多智能体合作和人类概念学习的理论，(4)将机器人系统纳入计算机科学教育。调查人员预计，计算机模拟和机器人在真实世界中的实验相结合，将对每一学科产生重要的新见解。在美国国家科学基金会的资助下，调查人员将获得机器人、计算机和碾磨设备，用于修改和制造机器人系统。IRRL旁边的两名全职科学技术人员将根据需要对机器人进行维护和改装。此外，瓦萨学院还与北卡罗来纳州达勒姆的Nekton Technologies LLC建立了研究伙伴关系。这一合作的目标是对Nekton的DragonFlyTM水上机器人进行改造，使其可以作为评估鱼类和类鱼机器人游泳性能的机械控制的平台。调查人员将监督一个房间的翻新工作，以创建IRRL。改造资金由瓦萨学院提供。该项目将对文科环境下的本科生的科学教育产生几个重要的影响。首先，计算机科学系的调查人员将把机器人纳入各级课程，为学生提供关于其程序运行情况的有形反馈。其次，该组织今年举办了一场机器人大赛，吸引了来自四个不同专业的12名学生；比赛将每年举行一次，学生们将使用IRRL的复杂工具。第三，在该项目的三年中，教职员工将资助12名本科生成为瓦萨大学本科生研究暑期研究所的机器人研究员，这是一个为期10周的全职实习。第四，教员们正在为认知科学、计算机科学和行为与神经科学专业的学生开发一种新的关联序列(Vassar的等同于辅修课的)，以IRRL中开发的机器人系统和过程为特色。

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.