Researchers have developed a new open-source platform to help students build their own low-cost robot companion from scratch.
From smart virtual assistants and self-driving cars to digital health and fraud prevention systems, AI technology is transforming almost every aspect of our daily lives—and education is no different. For all its promise, the rise of AI, like any new technology, raises some pressing ethical and equity questions.
How can we ensure that such a powerful tool can be accessed by all students regardless of background?
Inspired by this call to action, USC (University of Southern California) researchers have created a low-cost, accessible learning kit to help college and high school students build their own “robot friend.” Students can personalize the robot’s “body,” program the robot to mimic their head posture, and learn about AI ethics and fairness in an engaging, accessible way.
The system is outlined in a new study, titled “Build Your Own Robot Friend: An Open-Source Learning Module for Accessible and Engaging AI Education,” presented at the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, education symposium track.
The author of the study says that they believe it is important for students to learn about fairness and ethics in AI in the same way that they learned about math and physics in K-12.
The three-part open-source learning module provides students with hands-on experience and introductory instruction about various aspects of AI, including robotics, machine learning, software engineering, and mechanical engineering. It helps to address a gap in the market for AI education.
Currently, pre-built robots, such as the NAO, are unaffordable for schools with limited resources, while educational robot kits, such as LEGO Mindstorms, though affordable, do not adapt to students at different levels.
The researcehrs are proposing this open-source model to not only improve education in AI for all students but also to make human-interaction research more affordable for labs and research institutions. Ultimately, they want to increase access to human-centered AI education for college students and create a pathway to more accessible research.
To reduce costs and development time for learners, the team customized and simplified Blossom, a small, open-source robot originally developed at Cornell University. Blossom is a common fixture in USC’s Interaction Lab.
Last year, the the research team began to devise ways to use the robot for educational purposes and set to work creating a low-cost, customizable and “human-focused” module that could mirror some of the ways that students will interact with technology in their everyday lives.
To make the robot more affordable, they developed strategies to subsidize its cost. In the version of Blossom presented in the study, the materials are created using 3D printers, instead of more costly laser printing. Currently, one of the team’s customizable robots costs around $250 to make. In comparison, a NAO robot runs at around $15,000.
After constructing their robot friend, students are encouraged to further customize Blossom with, for instance, mechanical eyebrows, color-changing lights, or even an expressive face screen.
The system was piloted in a 2-day workshop in May 2023 with 15 undergraduate college students from a local minority-serving institution. Four teams of students constructed Blossom robots following the learning module assembly guide with blank knitted exterior to personalize with accessories. On the second day, the students used pre-trained head pose tracking and gesture recognition models to detect and mimic nodding behaviors from the user.
From post-workshop surveys, they found that 92% of the participants believed that the workshop helped them learn more about the topics covered and all the participants believed that the workshop encouraged them to study more about robotics and AI in the future.
In continued work, the team plans to further evaluate and improve the module for high school students and K-12 students. Ultimately, the researchers hope to expand access for students at different educational levels.
News Source: USC
