I-Corps: Translation potential of a neurally controlled manipulator as an assistive robotic educational platform

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a robotic educational platform to engage students in assistive and rehabilitation robotics learning experiences early in their education. Rehabilitation and assistive robots are becoming a necessity for the rapidly growing elderly population and their caregivers, and industrial collaborative robots (cobots) are increasingly being used to augment the skills and physical capabilities of the workforce.

The proposed educational system (pedagogical platform and lesson plan) is designed to provide engineering education material aimed at teachers of engineering electives. It is appropriate for 8th and 9th grade students (approximately 8 million in the United States) who are taking engineering by design and foundation of technology courses as well as upper grade students (10th-12th) in subsequent tech elective classes.

The proposed technology allows students to learn about robotics and assistive technology devices that aim to amplify or compensate for human capabilities. In addition, the platform and associated curriculum enable teachers to meet multiple objectives of educational standards by leveraging interdisciplinary projects that aim to improve quality of life.

This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of a neurally controlled manipulator. It is a two-degree of freedom robotic arm used to teach robotics and collaborative robotics principles, primarily in secondary education technology classes. Through this platform, students learn to assemble a robotic arm, microcontroller, sensors, and software to mirror the characteristics of a human arm.

In addition, students learn to command their intention and move the manipulator using their muscles' surface electromyography signals (sEMG) as the biomechanical metrics. The proposed technology also includes a curriculum that describes each lesson, multiple hands-on classroom projects, and optional bonus activities for students wanting to explore further.

This platform may allow students to design, build, and experiment with readily available lightweight and durable components. Its interdisciplinary modular nature accommodates various hands-on experiential learning activities to teach core science and engineering concepts.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.