PlatypOUs—A Mobile Robot Platform and Demonstration Tool Supporting STEM Education

Abstract

Given the rising popularity of robotics, student-driven robot development projects are playing a key role in attracting more people towards engineering and science studies. This article presents the early development process of an open-source mobile robot platform—named PlatypOUs—which can be remotely controlled via an electromyography (EMG) appliance using the MindRove brain–computer interface (BCI) headset as a sensor for the purpose of signal acquisition. The gathered bio-signals are classified by a Support Vector Machine (SVM) whose results are translated into motion commands for the mobile platform. Along with the physical mobile robot platform, a virtual environment was implemented using Gazebo (an open-source 3D robotic simulator) inside the Robot Operating System (ROS) framework, which has the same capabilities as the real-world device. This can be used for development and test purposes. The main goal of the PlatypOUs project is to create a tool for STEM education and extracurricular activities, particularly laboratory practices and demonstrations. With the physical robot, the aim is to improve awareness of STEM outside and beyond the scope of regular education programmes. It implies several disciplines, including system design, control engineering, mobile robotics and machine learning with several application aspects in each. Using the PlatypOUs platform and the simulator provides students and self-learners with a firsthand exercise, and teaches them to deal with complex engineering problems in a professional, yet intriguing way.

A ROS-Based Open Tool for Controlling an Educational Mobile Robot

“…This robot has been successfully utilized for university instruction, professional development, and online courses on ROS and robotics [22]. PlatypOU is a mobile robot designed for laboratory practices and demonstrations, capable of being remotely controlled through an electromyography device [23]. MiniRos is a compact, structured mobile robot designed for outdoor educational and research purposes.…”

State-of-the-Art on Brain-Computer Interface Technology

“…This technology has been used in various ways for educational purposes, ranging from helping students with special needs learn how to control their movements and communicate effectively to providing more immersive learning experiences for all learners [148][149][150][151].…”

The Contribution of EEG Headsets in the Development of Brain Capacity

“…We did not manage to find a lot of consumer usage of Mindrove -Arc. Most studies used modified variants for experiments that used brainwaves to teach robotics to handle specific tasks [30][31].…”