CPSBot: A low-cost reconfigurable and 3D-printable robotics kit for education and research on cyber-physical systems

Abstract

A new robotics kit for education and research on cyber-physical systems is proposed. Mechanical design, electrical design, and software development methods are discussed. The result of the design effort is the CPSKit, a 3D-printable Arduino-based mobile robot kit with various capabilities. The CPSKit is meant to be low-cost, 3D-printable, and use off-the-shelf electronics so the users can modify and build customized robots depending on their budget. The kit can be used at K-12 or university levels, and the 3D-printable design makes it accessible for students to manufacture in the classroom using low-cost 3D printers. Moreover, the kit does not sacrifice key capabilities of a mobile robot, namely odometry and wireless communication. These capabilities which are necessary for a high-level autonomous mobile robot are often left out of existing educational robotics kits. Several applications and examples are demonstrated to show the capabilities of the CPSKit.