Using Robots To Increase Interest In Technical Disciplines In Rural And Underserved Schools

Abstract

In Kansas, there are many schools, due to a rural or underserved nature, that fall short in providing access to technical resources to further interest in science education. We have developed a program, using robots, to interest school children in technical disciplines. This program is targeted at schools that do not have people or financial resources to fund a similar program on their own. To make the program interesting, robots are utilized as the vehicle to excite children about science. Our experience indicates that robots are almost universally captivating for children of all ages, in our case, K-12 students.