Precision Low-Cost Robotics For Math Education Work In Progress

Abstract

A professor and several teachers in mathematics have collaborated with an engineering professor and his students at our university since 2011 in developing robots for math education. This project was started with the clear goal to develop low cost robots that use off-the-shelf commercial grade components and are thus easy to incrementally acquire, build, maintain and repair. Further, this robot, unlike currently available commercial education robots, would be built to be transparent in exposing the underlying math, physics, engineering, and technology principles. A group of engineering undergraduates first built low cost prototypes and explored alternatives for cost effective solutions. In a following semester, Seventeen ninth grade pre-engineering students worked in teams to build their own low cost robots (an improved version), program them and use them to draw various geometric shapes1-3. This course was designed to enhance their interest in engineering and math, while providing a social context of empowerment, competition, and cooperation. The results indicate that these students benefited from the use of robots. Two papers document the research results of student interviews to evaluate the effectiveness of this course 4,5. This will be described further below. In the 2103 ASEE conference paper1, a two-boat problem was examined to demonstrate how robots can be used for solving complex math problems in an intuitive and incremental manner. The problem is visually and dynamically solved. Successive approximation is used to identify a trend and come close to a solution. After examining the problem from multiple perspectives, the students become comfortable that the result that they have gotten with the robots is near to the mathematically correct solution. Students can stop with the robotic investigation at any point and solve the problem algebraically. Earlier student interviews demonstrated that robots help students visualize challenging real world applications and secure multiple representations of a problem. They also develop a lasting hands-on experience in a social context and a better attitude towards math education and engineering realities. Building low cost robots that schools can afford would ensure access, availability and foster mainstream instruction with robots that would prepare our next generation in math and engineering principles. This latest paper is focused on the final phase of engineering research, to build in precision in robots so the distances traversed and angled turned are mathematically exact. Problem solving can be significantly supplemented with robotics, even if a robot is imprecise, goals that are well appreciated by high school students who are in a pre-engineering program. However, it is also essential to make the robot a tool for teaching math to all students, so interest in math and engineering can be enhanced for all. This is required to make the robots useful in classroom environment for teaching mathematics. Several engineering enhancements already implemented and currently undergoing implementation will be covered in detail in the paper. These significantly improve the precision of the robot; here precision implies the yield of a repeatable solution. Ten graduate and undergraduate engineering students worked during this semester to improve accuracy and incorporate methods for error correction and detection to build a robot that solves a math problem much more accurately. Thus, the focus is not only making the problem solving exercise more repeatable and precise, but also enhance the eventual accuracy of the solution. This will be presented in more detail at the conference (as it is underway at present). Concurrent to this engineering effort, research is also underway to develop math lessons that can be incorporated in a class environment. This will be covered briefly in this paper. This will also be covered in more detail in the presentation. The presentation will also be supplemented with student and teacher surveys (contribution of the fourth author, an undergraduate engineering student with interest in education research).

Publication Date

1-1-2015

Publication Title

ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings

Volume

122nd ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition: Making Value for Society

Issue

122nd ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition: Making Value for Society

Document Type

Article; Proceedings Paper

Personal Identifier

scopus

Socpus ID

84941997551 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84941997551

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