This article describes an open-source robotic manipulator platform aimed at different levels of STEM education and popularization. It presents the hardware that was used to make a suitable low-cost low-weight manipulator and an evaluation of its capabilities, as well as the software components that were developed to make the platform accessible at…

This study investigates the use of an assistive humanoid robot for teaching to and learning among young children in an informal learning environment. The robot is called NAO and built by SoftBank Robotics. NAO was used to teach a mathematic concept of measurement to young children. They engaged with the robot through the teaching and learning of…

When the needs of present and future life are examined, 21st-century skills are gaining importance day by day. There are various teaching methods, techniques and aids that support the development of individual skills and characteristics. Coding has also taken its place among these methods and techniques and continues to gain popularity with…

Today's language classrooms are challenged with limited classroom time and lack of input, and output practice in a stress-free environment (Hsu, 2015). The use of commercial, readily available tools such as Personal Robots (PRs; e.g. Amazon's Echo, Jibo) might promote language learning by freeing up class time, allowing for a more focused…

The effects of a socially interactive robot on the conversational turns between four young children with autism and their mothers were investigated as part of the intervention study described in this research report. The interventions with each child were conducted over 4 or 5 days in the children's homes where a practitioner facilitated…

This article describes an outreach program to broaden participation in computing to include more students with visual impairments. The precollege workshops target students in grades 7-12 and engage students with robotics programming. The use of robotics at the precollege level has become popular in part due to the availability of Lego Mindstorm…

This paper describes the design and implementation of a tool for experimenting with mobile robotics concepts, primarily for use by children and teenagers, or by the general public, without previous experience in robotics. This tool helps children learn about science in an approachable and interactive way, using scientific research principles in…

Santa Clara University's Robotic Systems Laboratory conducts an aggressive robotic development and operations program in which interdisciplinary teams of undergraduate students build and deploy a wide range of robotic systems, ranging from underwater vehicles to spacecraft. These year-long projects expose students to the breadth of and…