2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This paper describes a pilot study to explore how introduction to robot programming influences the motivation of new engineering students. Robots have been a significant factor in the growth of several industries, and they play a vital role in advancing critical sectors like defense, manufacturing, medicine, and exploration. Accordingly, it is essential to introduce realistic robots to all engineering students, not only those majoring in robotic-centric programs so that they are well prepared for the modern workplace. When students learn about robots with scaled-down models or without models, they risk not adequately appreciating the physical scale, abilities, and dangers associated with real-world robots. That said, industrial-scale robots are expensive to acquire and maintain and access to them may be restricted: requiring elevated privileges or requiring time-sharing between students. Therefore, it is vital to develop a cheaper and more accessible educational alternative that offers all the benefits of a real industrial robot. This paper describes the implementation of an industrial robot in Augmented Reality (AR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) and how its use affects the motivation of first-year and second-year engineering students in introductory courses. This system allows students to work on a pick-and-place task using a UR10 industrial robot as often as they want and at their
convenience outside of the classroom.
This paper describes the system and the tasks used to test its effectiveness as a motivational factor in engineering education. Specifically, incoming first-and-second-year students in introductory engineering courses were asked to perform a block stacking task in a virtual world with a 3D model and simulation of a robotic arm. The students were split into two groups. In the first part of the study, both groups of students were presented with a desktop interface of the robot and asked to stack blocks in a specific way to mimic everyday pick-and-place tasks that industrial robots typically perform. In the second part of the study, one group observed the demonstration in-person on an industrial-scale robot. In contrast, the second group watched it in an AR environment with a life-size robot model. Additionally, the second group was notified of the existence of the robot arm and its location on campus.
The learning objective for this study was for the students to appreciate the tools that professionals use to program a robot for an industrial pick and place task. Additionally, since we were interested in student motivation, we conducted a 25-minute post-study interview with the participants. We asked questions on the motivational components in the MUSIC (eMpowerement, Usefulness, Success, Interest, Caring) model for academic motivation. We analyzed the interview data using a mix of a priori and open coding methods.
The paper presents a qualitative study that investigated the differences in motivation between students who observed a physical robot and those who observed an AR robot. The study (N=8) found that the interface design of the desktop tool used in the study was highly rated in the interest component of the MUSIC model. On the other hand, the nature of application of the desktop tool scored highly in the success portion. The students found the physical robot useful,
while the AR robot scored highly in the interest portion of the MUSIC model.
This study highlights the potential of AR and VR technology to motivate students in the field of robotics. The implementation studied was an effective proof of concept, and future iterations will include a fully immersive programming interface within a virtual environment to allow collaboration over shared tasks and resources, even when geographically separated. Future iterations will also incorporate accessibility and inclusivity to a greater degree by leveraging Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to integrate the tool effectively into the curriculum of an undergraduate engineering course.