REU Site: Research Opportunities in Bioinspired Robotics

REU 网站：仿生机器人研究机会

• 批准号: 1560268
• 负责人: Hugh Bruck
• 金额: $ 38.22万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland, College Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1560268&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: REU; Site; Research; Opportunities; Bioinspired

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site program at the University of Maryland (UMD)College Park offers new and exciting summer research opportunities to diverse and talented cohorts of undergraduates, from institutions with limited or no research opportunities in the field of bioinspired robotics (defined as robots that are inspired by natural systems such as insects, birds, mammals, and reptiles). Bioinspired robots will be used to target the efforts of first responders after a natural disaster and provide a number of tasks to assist humans (e.g., carrying extra goods, repairing damaged goods, building structures, etc.). However, designing, fabricating, and applying these robots is a long-term scientific and engineering challenge. Each summer, this REU site will provide 10 undergraduates with resources and opportunities to begin tackling some of these challenges. The program will collaborate with UMD's Women in Engineering program and the Center for Minorities in Science and Engineering to better recruit and assess the impact of this program on women and underrepresented minority students who traditionally suffer from the "leaky pipeline" in which percentages of these students decrease as they move up through the ranks of research positions. This problem will be addressed by focusing on career and academic development (seminars and graduate student mentors) in addition to providing a new network of role models through a diverse mentoring pool. A more diverse group of highly educated researchers in this critical research field will create a larger workforce to solve the nation's toughest environmental, technical, and national security challenges.Bioinspired robotics offer a truly interdisciplinary systems research challenge that encompasses biology, materials, mechanical design, control, sensors and actuators, power, and electronics. To provide the collaborations necessary to solve some of these challenges and encourage students toward future research careers, the program will: 1. Define diverse teams of faculty, graduate student mentors, and undergraduate researchers. 2. Provide exciting research topics covering many aspects of bioinspired robotics. 3. Encourage collaboration and discussion through non-traditional means, including social media forums like Facebook and informal lunch talks among students. 4. Offer tutorial and professional development seminars in addition to field trips to local labs. 5. Assess project success through short-term, long-term, quantitative and qualitative metrics. The discoveries made during these collaborations will be communicated to the broader scientific community via publications and presentations.

这个研究经验的本科生（REU）网站计划在马里兰州（UMD）大学公园的大学提供了新的和令人兴奋的夏季研究机会，以多样化和有才华的本科生群体，从机构有限或没有研究机会在仿生机器人领域（定义为机器人是由自然系统，如昆虫，鸟类，哺乳动物和爬行动物的启发）。生物启发机器人将用于自然灾害后第一反应者的工作，并提供许多任务来帮助人类（例如，搬运额外的货物、修理损坏的货物、建造结构等）。然而，设计、制造和应用这些机器人是一项长期的科学和工程挑战。每年夏天，这个REU网站将提供10名本科生的资源和机会，开始解决这些挑战。该计划将与UMD的妇女在工程计划和科学与工程少数民族中心合作，以更好地招募和评估该计划对妇女和代表性不足的少数民族学生的影响，这些学生传统上遭受“泄漏管道”，这些学生的百分比随着他们通过研究职位的排名而下降。解决这一问题的办法是，除了通过多样化的指导人才库提供一个新的榜样网络之外，还注重职业和学术发展（研讨会和研究生导师）。在这个关键的研究领域中，一个更多样化的受过高等教育的研究人员群体将创造一个更大的劳动力队伍，以解决国家最严峻的环境，技术和国家安全挑战。生物启发机器人提供了一个真正的跨学科系统研究挑战，包括生物学，材料，机械设计，控制，传感器和执行器，电力和电子。为了提供必要的合作，以解决这些挑战，并鼓励学生对未来的研究生涯，该计划将：1。定义由教师、研究生导师和本科生研究人员组成的多元化团队。2.提供令人兴奋的研究课题，涵盖生物启发机器人的许多方面。3.鼓励通过非传统方式进行合作和讨论，包括Facebook等社交媒体论坛和学生之间的非正式午餐会谈。4.除了到当地实验室实地考察外，还提供辅导和专业发展研讨会。5.通过短期、长期、定量和定性指标评估项目成功。在这些合作中取得的发现将通过出版物和演示文稿传达给更广泛的科学界。