Web Based Robotics: Supporting Wide Area Educational Access to Autonomous Mobile Robot

计算机科学(31)近年来，移动自主机器人的设计和编程课程在技术机构中变得流行起来。这些活动为学生提供了许多实践领域的经验，包括电路分析、计算机编程、项目管理和技术写作。这一概念验证项目通过提供获得这些经验的广泛机会，克服了以前这种机会有限的问题，特别是在资源不足的城市地区。它正在开发一门完整的自主机器人课程，将通过纽约州立大学学习网络在万维网上教授。学生们能够为远程机器人开发控制代码，通过将程序上传到互联网来测试代码，然后通过实时视频馈送观察实际机器人的表现。该项目正在研究最适合于网络课程的教学技术，以便为将向纽约州各地的学生提供的自主机器人课程开发一套高质量的产品教育包。通过连接到WWW的常见的廉价计算机可以访问本课程。由外部评估员对课程进行形成性和总结性评价，包括将其有效性与传统的现场课程进行比较。正在通过一个网站和会议介绍来传播评价结果和课程材料。目前正在编写一份讲师手册，其中包括教学大纲和样本项目，以使其他网站能够在该课程被证明成功的情况下对其进行调整。

Computer Science (31)In recent years, courses in the design and programming of mobile autonomous robots have become popular at technical institutions. These activities offer students experience in a number of practical areas, including electrical circuit analysis, computer programming, project management, and technical writing. This proof-of-concept project overcomes the previous limited availability of such opportunities, particularly in under-resourced urban areas, by providing wide access to those experiences. It is developing a complete autonomous robots course to be delivered over the World Wide Web through the State University of New York Learning Network. Students are able to develop control code for a remote robot, test the code by uploading the program over the internet, and then observe the actual robot's performance over a live video feed. The project is investigating the pedagogical techniques best suited for web-based courses in order to develop a production quality educational package for the autonomous robots course to be offered to students across the state of New York. Access to the course is provided through commonly available, inexpensive computers linked to the WWW. The formative and summative evaluation of the course conducted by an external evaluator includes comparing its effectiveness with a traditional on site course. Dissemination of the evaluation results and the course materials is being accomplished by a web site and conference presentations. An instructor's manual with syllabus and sample projects is being developed to enable other sites to adapt the course, if it proves to be successful.