Robot+Geometry

Project Summary:

My current research project aims to determine how the Game as Life, Life as Game (GaLLaG) technology at Arizona State University can be applied to education. The GaLLaG technology aims to create a more interactive environment that encourages certain behaviors by creating feedback. This technology is still in its infancy. It’s currently a loosely organized set of sensors and technology (Indigo software, iRobots, OLPCs and X10 sensors, to name a few) which the GaLLaG team is working to bring together to create easy applications. Simple, in-home tests are being conducted to determine how the technology can be used most effectively.

My research aims to bring this interactive element to the classroom to create //intelligent tangible learning// environments for children from elementary school to middle school (the exact age group which will be targeted has yet to be determined). Through combining teaching experience with technical and programming skills, am working towards designing and implementing basic geometry using the iRobot and automation software.

Dr. Erin Walker, a graduate student working under Dr. Winslow Burleson, and I are working together on this project. Before the semester started, she was in the beginning stages of a geometry-based education application for GaLLag. Our goals were in line, so we’re now working closely together. Before I joined, she had already met with several groups of students to evaluate possible learning activities and to receive feedback on the most difficult topics that we could cover.

My research thus far has been primarily concerned with the set up and operation of the robot. The iRobot setup process has not been formalized, and the equipment doesn’t have an established set-up routine. I have been researching the relationship between the iRobot, the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child – An inexpensive laptop), the Indigo server and python code. I am currently trying to determine the most effective tools with which I can set up the robot.

Click the link below to see the poster from the 2011 FURI Symposium.