Impact Of Undergraduate Robotics Research On Recruiting Freshman Students To Major In Engineering Physics, And Computer Science Fields

The goal of this robotic research activity in the UCO’s Engineering and Physics department was to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM ) among the incoming freshmen so that they will be encouraged to pursue a degree in Engineering, Physics, or computer science. The duration of this research activity was four weeks, during which time these students become familiar with research, teamwork, problem based learning, and the procedures involved in engineering design and building. The first phase of the activity, lasting for one week, involved an introduction to basic theory focusing on electronics, mechanics, programming, and engineering design processes. The second phase of the activity, lasting the remaining three weeks, involved researching, designing, and building a conceptual model and prototype of a minesweeper robot. With the facilitation of their peer mentors, students built a working scaled down model that could autonomously navigate, identify, and extract mines. Following the presentation of their project, these students expressed enthusiasm in pursuing a degree in engineering physics and computer science disciplines.