Robotic teachers' assistants - Low cost robots for research and teaching activities

摘要

In this article, an overview of low-cost robots, discussing basic characteristics, applications, and motivation for future success, is presented. The importance of low-cost robots can be recognized by the fact that they can be available everywhere at different levels of cost and complexity. Therefore, the aim of this article is to suggest the use of low-cost robots both for teaching and investigation to any teacher or researcher in any institution with the possibility to achieve significant results. Particular attention has been addressed to research and teaching activities in university institutions with the aim to stress the fundamental role of engineers' formation in robotics by using low-cost robots with novel solutions. Examples of a successful activity using low-cost robots have been illustrated as those developed at the Laboratory of Robotics and Mechatronics (LARM), Cassino, Italy.