AUVSI's Unmanned Systems 2016

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A Student Robot Challenge using the Meccanoid G15KS Personal Robot (Room 271-272)

02 May 16
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM

Tracks: Academic, Ground, Research and Development

The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) oversees universities, community colleges, and colleges of applied technology in the State of Tennessee. The TBR has an Office of Mobilization and Emerging Technology that is tasked with evaluating technology for adoption by TBR institutions. One technology that was acquired for evaluation was the Meccanoid G15KS Personal Robot. The Meccanoid is a mobile humanoid unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) with articulating arms and head and is capable of being programmed/operated by multiple methods. In order to assess the potential usefulness of the Meccanoid, four TBR institutions were given a robot kit along with a challenge: have undergraduate students build, learn to program, and imagine potential uses for the Meccanoid. The author led a team of undergraduate students from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) through this process. The students’ reflections of the build and programming processes will be discussed. The MTSU students were challenged to identify an educational and a practical use for the Meccanoid. The uses identified by the MTSU students will be presented. Potential uses developed by the other TBR student teams will also be presented.