WaterBotics
WaterBotics is the curriculum content of the Build IT Scale-Up project (BISU), a 5-year National Science Foundation awardee under the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program. The project is sponsored by Stevens Institute of Technology and is run by the college’s Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE), in partnership with the League for Innovation in the Community College (the League) and the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP). The WaterBotics program provides students at the middle and high school levels with an opportunity to use LEGO Mindstorms™ and basic principles of physics and engineering to design, create, and test submersible robots that are able to complete a series of sophisticated underwater tasks. The curriculum is being disseminated by partner sites through professional development training workshops and online support.
Project Status
In progress
Partners
League for Innovation in the Community College
National Girls Collaborative Project
Stevens Institute of Technology, Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education
Futher information
For more information about WaterBotics, contact
A National Science Foundation Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) grant provided funding to expand TechREACH to Eastern Washington. ITEST is designed to increase the opportunities for students and teachers to learn about, experience, and use information technologies within the context of STEM. The ITEST program was established by the National Science Foundation in response to the growing demand for professionals in the STEM workforce. ITEST grants fall into one of several categories, such as research, strategies, and scale-up.
The BISU project is a scale-up of another ITEST project called Build IT, originally implemented in formal classroom settings around New Jersey and parts of New York City. BISU aims to expand the project to other states, as well as to after school and summer programs. Partnering hub sites at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, OH and Texas Girls Collaborative Project in Austin, TX have begun implementing Waterbotics curriculum in their regions. Additional hub sites, including the Kentucky Girls STEM Collaborative Project, will be added in following years of the grant.
The Waterbotics curriculum challenges students to build a fully submersible robot to perform various underwater tasks. These challenges provide an opportunity for participants to gain skills and knowledge in several areas of science, engineering, and technology. Participants learn about and apply the engineering design process and experience what it is like to engage in science, technology and engineering careers. CIESE hosts Underwater Robotics Competitions at Stevens Institute.
During the project, the robots must navigate the pool in a variety of patterns. Students begin their first challenge by creating robots that can maneuver both forward and backward in a pool. View a video of robots performing this motion here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pu1oPK2CXE
The second challenge is to maneuver their robots in a figure eight pattern on the surface of the water. View a video of robots performing this motion here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdwv1by7b7k
For videos of the robots performing the challenges underwater, you can view footage from the Texas Girls Collaborative Project 2010 WaterWorks summer camp here:
