Work in Progress: Building the Mechatronics and Robotics Education Community

Abstract

research interests include robotics, computer vision, and image processing, with ongoing projects in humanoid robotics, robot navigation and guidance, biomedical image processing, and stereo and motion vision. He led WPI teams in the DARPA Robotics Challenge and NASA Space Robotics Challenge and is author or co-author of over 100 papers. His research has been supported by DARPA, NASA, NIH, NSF, and industry. He is a member of Sigma Xi, and a senior member of IEEE and ACM.

Diversity and Inclusion in Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering Education

“…The project leaders write: "Our vision is that MRE will become one of the most impactful disciplines of engineering; attracting diverse and innovative students, graduating professional engineers who will design, develop, and implement transformative autonomous technologies, and improving health and welfare sectors while extending human reach to previously inaccessible realms large and small, near and far." [2] This paper advances the discussions on diversity and inclusion (D&I) in MRE at the 4th FoMRE workshop with a literature review, workshop findings, and findings from an online survey to the MRE community in the United States. The scope is limited to participation of women and URM at the college level (two-year and four-year degree programs), a level at which little is found in the academic literature specific to diversity and inclusion in MRE.…”

“…This paper resulted from the Fourth Future of Mechatronics and Robotics Education (FoMRE) Workshop held September 27-28, 2019 at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan. This workshop was the final in a series of National Science Foundation (NSF)supported academic and industrial workshops in a project that aims to define and promote the concept of MRE as a distinct engineering discipline, build a community of MRE educators, and promote diversity and inclusivity within the MRE community [2]. The project leaders write: "Our vision is that MRE will become one of the most impactful disciplines of engineering; attracting diverse and innovative students, graduating professional engineers who will design, develop, and implement transformative autonomous technologies, and improving health and welfare sectors while extending human reach to previously inaccessible realms large and small, near and far."…”

WIP: Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering Definitions Among Students, Educators, and Industry Professionals

“…• Develop a diverse, inclusive community of MRE educators, students, and practitioners • Define the MRE knowledgebase as a community • Achieve recognition of MRE as a distinct engineering discipline • Accelerate adoption of MRE courses and curricula [2] During the course of planning, running, and documenting the workshops, the organizers had the opportunity for discussions about the nature of MRE and our individual perceptions of the field.…”

“…Despite the growing need for MRE professionals and increasing numbers of undergraduate and graduate degree programs, this field does not yet enjoy recognition as a distinct and identifiable discipline. [1], a team of MRE educators launched a series of four workshops on the Future of Mechatronics and Robotics Education (FoMRE) with the vision that "MRE will become one of the most impactful disciplines of engineering; attracting diverse and innovative students, graduating professional engineers who will design, develop, and implement transformative autonomous technologies, and improving health and welfare sectors while extending human reach to previously inaccessible realms large and small, near and far" [2].…”

Practical Skills for Students in Mechatronics and Robotics Education

“…Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering (MRE) is experiencing enormous increases in interest among industry, university faculty, and students. Recognizing the need for preparing highlyeducated MRE professionals, many universities and colleges are adopting MRE as a distinct degree program [1]. However, there is little agreement on the concepts and skills that such an MRE degree program should cover.…”