Seven big ideas in robotics, and how to teach them

Robotics is widely recognized as an interdisciplinary mixture of engineering and computer science, but the latter component is not well represented at many undergraduate institutions. The sophisticated technologies that underlie perception, planning, and control mechanisms in modern robots need to be made accessible to more computer science undergraduates. Following the curriculum design principles of Wiggins and McTighe (Understanding by Design, 2nd Ed.), I present seven big ideas in robotics that can fit together in a one semester undergraduate course. Each is introduced with an essential question, such as "How do robots see the world?" The answers expose students to deep concepts in computer science in a context where they can be immediately demonstrated. Hands-on labs using the Tekkotsu open source software framework and robots costing under $1,000 facilitate mastery of these important ideas. Courses based on parts of an early version of this curriculum are being offered at Carnegie Mellon and several other universities.

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