REU Site: Research Opportunities in Bioinspired Robotics

马里兰大学(UMD)学院园区的本科生研究体验(REU)站点项目为来自生物启发机器人(定义为受昆虫、鸟类、哺乳动物和爬行动物等自然系统启发的机器人)领域研究机会有限或没有研究机会的不同和有才华的本科生提供新的令人兴奋的夏季研究机会。受生物启发的机器人将被用来瞄准自然灾害后第一反应人员的努力，并提供一些帮助人类的任务(例如，搬运额外的货物、修复受损的货物、建筑结构等)。然而，设计、制造和应用这些机器人是一个长期的科学和工程挑战。每年夏天，这个REU网站将为10名本科生提供资源和机会，让他们开始应对其中的一些挑战。该计划将与UMD的女性工程项目和科学与工程少数群体中心合作，更好地招募和评估该项目对女性和代表不足的少数族裔学生的影响，这些学生传统上患有“漏水管道”，在这种管道中，这些学生的比例随着他们在研究职位上的晋升而下降。除了通过不同的辅导池提供新的榜样网络外，还将通过侧重于职业和学术发展(研讨会和研究生导师)来解决这一问题。在这一关键研究领域，由受过高等教育的研究人员组成的更多元化的团队将创造更多的劳动力，以解决美国最严峻的环境、技术和国家安全挑战。受生物启发的机器人提供了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来解决其中的一些挑战，并鼓励学生走向未来的研究生涯，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不同团队。2.提供令人兴奋的研究主题，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交谈。4.除了对当地实验室的实地考察外，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。

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.