Incorporating robotics into the STEM initiative is an essential part of keeping students relevant and competitive in a global economy. This paper presents an original way of developing courseware for an introductory Robotics course as part of a six-week pre-college engineering summer program. The goal of the course was to expose high school students to Robotics engineering and involve the students in robot designing and building, programming and troubleshooting, collaborative writing, and presentation. After the class, students from diverse academic backgrounds are expected to be well prepared for a college level engineering curriculum. The six-week program consisted of four stages, introduction to Robotics engineering, hardware design, robotics programming, and project development. The application of this courseware proved to be an effective way for students to realize their academic capabilities and engage themselves in group projects. The course was held at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in Queens, New York.Based on the planned course layout the courseware has been developed as follows: (1) Introduction to Robotics engineering, such as engineering design steps and industrial applications. The robot design implemented by college students who won the World Robotics competition has been utilized as an example in the class lecture; (2) Hardware design with a focus on innovative chassis building, and sensor integration. Measurement of wheel diameter and calculation of wheel circumference were noted for use during programming; (3) Software design to program a number of sensors for high quality robot localization, object detection, and manipulator control through the use of algorithms; (4) Group based project development to increase team work efficiency by partnering students of complementary skills. The course culminated in a presentation day where the high school students demonstrated their projects in groups.By the end of the course, nearly all students exhibited a much better comprehension of engineering than they did at the first class meeting. The future improvements of the courseware can be made by preparing a wider array of supplies such as different sensors, various motors and chassis building materials. This would allow high school students to have more options during the robotic design and implementation process, which would result in more demanding brainstorming sessions. Exposing students to challenging concepts will make it easier for them to solve more complex problems when they move on to college to pursue a career in engineering.

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Christopher Chariah is a senior in the Mechatronics Engineering program at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology. He also has a Bachelor's of Science in Respiratory Care. He hopes to merge his expertise in the medical field with his experience in engineering to develop innovative solutions to human problems. He has published a paper that takes a numerical approach to computing a one story structures response to an earthquake. He is also a member of the Vaughn College UAV Club and is volunteering in an NSF research project. Nicholas Kumia Senior in the Undergraduate Mechatronics Engineering Program at Vaughn CollegeHe graduated high school at the age of 16 and has completed the 4-year Mechatronics Program in 3-years. Recently, He co-founded the UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) Club at Vaughn College and has been working as Lead Programmer. He plans to pursue a master's degree in Computer Science to supplement this expertise in Mechatronics Engineering. Mr. Jonathan R. Zubarriain, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and TechnologyJonathan Zubarriain is a senior in the Mechatronics Engineering program at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology. He is co-founder of the Vaughn College UAV Club and has held the position of vice president for two years. He has worked full time as a bench technician while also attending school full time in pursuit of his bachelor's degrees. As much as he loves acquiring knowledge, he also loves sharing this knowledge with other students by working as a student instructor and tutor. He hopes to one day utilize his experience in an impactful and meaningful way. A Low Cost Automated Pill Dispenser for At-Home Use AbstractThis paper outlines a project idea for an Automated Pill Dispenser (APD) for home usage. It is developed using CAD software, 3D printed parts, Arduino Mega Microcontroller, continuous and non-continuous servos, optical sensors and a 5-inch LCD display interface to create a cost effective and reasonably priced alternative to the traditional medication dispensers. The design is modular and able to house up to four dispensing units on one control unit. The basic housing for the dispensing unit consists of three pieces which connect to the control unit which holds the LCD interface. The target users for this project are senior citizens. According to an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, between 2007 and 2009, 99,628 emergency room visits were made by seniors. Two thirds of them were due to accidental overdoses. The design of the machine could be improved by adding a safety measure that would prevent an incorrect amount of pills being dispensed. Aside from this, the current design is effective in showing the potential safety benefits of a low cost at-home pill dispenser.