I-Corps: Autonomous Robotic Instructor for Workforce Training

I-Corps：用于劳动力培训的自主机器人教练

• 批准号: 2029983
• 负责人: Roman Lubynsky
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-08-15 至 2022-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2029983&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Autonomous; Robotic; Instructor; Workforce

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project will be to define the requirements needed to develop technology to train the next generation workforce and narrow the skills gap in advanced manufacturing. By the year 2025, the Manufacturing Institute estimates that the US manufacturing sector will demand 2 million more jobs be filled by the labor force. Traditional schools and apprenticeships alone cannot meet the increasing demand for skilled labor. Small- to medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) cite a “skills gap” in advanced manufacturing while receiving more orders than they can fill. The SMMs seek to hire more workers to increase output, but they cannot find enough workers with the necessary skills. Currently, the most successful solution to these problems focuses on providing SMMs with workers just out of high school. However, training costs and the time spent training workers are significant barriers. This proposed technology aims to help companies train current workers with the skills necessary to compete in the modern manufacturing economy.This I-Corps project is based on the development of an autonomous robotic system that embodies interactive learning for workforce training. The proposed robotic technology is an instructor that delivers educational materials from a remote online learning system. The technology also is a machine that demonstrates physical actions and that physically interacts with learners. By streamlining instruction with physical demonstration and interaction, the team establishes a unique pedagogical approach that may engage a broad population, including those having no engineering training. To accomplish this, a software architecture has been developed to control the robot and facilitate robust teaching. The software is cloud-based and modularly designed so that different industrial robots may be easily exchanged with minimal reconfiguration. In addition, this methodology represents the first educational robot that customizes its curriculum in real-time based on user learning style and background by collecting data on the learner as they progress through the course and making decisions accordingly.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是确定开发技术所需的要求，以培训下一代劳动力，缩小先进制造业的技能差距。到2025年，制造业协会估计，美国制造业将需要200万个额外的工作岗位。传统的学校和学徒制本身无法满足对熟练劳动力日益增长的需求。中小型制造商（SMM）指出，在先进制造业中存在“技能缺口”，同时收到的订单超过了他们的能力。中小型企业寻求雇用更多的工人来增加产量，但他们找不到足够的具有必要技能的工人。目前，解决这些问题最成功的办法是为高中刚毕业的工人提供SMM。然而，培训成本和培训工人所花费的时间是重大障碍。这项拟议中的技术旨在帮助企业培训现有工人，使其具备在现代制造业经济中竞争所需的技能。I-Corps项目基于自主机器人系统的开发，该系统体现了劳动力培训的交互式学习。拟议的机器人技术是一个教师，提供教育材料从远程在线学习系统。这项技术也是一种机器，可以演示身体动作，并与学习者进行身体互动。通过简化教学与物理演示和互动，该团队建立了一个独特的教学方法，可以吸引广泛的人群，包括那些没有工程培训。为了实现这一点，已经开发了一个软件架构来控制机器人，并促进强大的教学。 该软件基于云计算，采用模块化设计，因此不同的工业机器人可以轻松交换，只需最小的重新配置。此外，该方法代表了第一个教育机器人，它根据用户的学习风格和背景，通过收集学习者在课程中的进展数据并做出相应的决定，实时定制其课程。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。