A Picture Book for the Roboticist— Why we Should Start with Hardware, and How to Teach so it Sticks

Abstract

This thesis explores why and how to teach hardware design in relation to building intelligent systems. We focus on the concepts of modeling, embedded systems, and actuation, and develop a series of hands-on exercises to teach specific concepts based on previous work. We identify and explain the concept of the translation layer, which we define as the interface between high-level controls and the hardware system. We explain the importance of hardware engineering to its operation and explore the role of the hardware engineer in building this layer. We use these ideas to build an undergraduate curriculum in robotics, the syllabi of four core classes, and hands-on exercises for their associated lab components. Along the way we focus on the science of learning that often doesn’t make its way into engineering education. We present a summary of key concepts surrounding how our students learn and use this to explain why hardware engineering is a good medium for teaching. We use this to build a loose design paradigm for what ‘works’ in engineering teaching. And we use that design paradigm to build the aforementioned hands-on exercises. Additional discussions include topics that should be considered when building a curriculum including providing space for low-stakes curiosity, teaching our students about the application of their work to global problems, and including narratives on learning in our teaching.