ROBOTICS: a hands-on introduction to hardware (abstract)

To provide our students with a more complete understanding of computer architecture, organization, and hardware, we in the Computer Science Department at CWU proposed an integrated approach to these topics in a grant proposal to NSF's CSIP Program. One of the aspects of this proposal was to develop a course entitled Microprocessor Systems. This course was to be supported by a laboratory built around an intentionally primitive microprocessor/computer development system which prevents extensive hardware from masking machine architecture and operation. Our overall objective for the course was to aid students in comprehending that during their careers as computer scientists they may encounter, in addition to supercomputers, mainframes, minis, and micros, the computer in a variety of engineering systems whose outputs will not always be on hardcopy, tape, disc, or CRT screen. With funds from NSF to purchase equipment for the supporting laboratory, CPSC 418 Microprocessor Systems was offered for the first time in the Spring Quarter of 1989. The central equipment purchases for this course's laboratory were eight LJ Electronics Atlas II Robotic Systems and two CES Industries 6009 Robotic Systems. While our objectives were primarily aimed at having students learn more computer architecture, organization and hardware, we also wanted them to learn some elementary robotics and general interfacing techniques. Thus, the course was offered as a four-credit, undergraduate research oriented course in which students were offered open-ended projects to complete. The course, its laboratory and equipment, student projects, and future plans for a robot programming language translator as student projects will be presented. It is planned that progress in the robot programming language translator will be presented at the 1991 ACM/CSC.