Surf, Turf, and Above the Earth: An Aggressive Robotics Development Program for Integrative Undergraduate Education

摘要

The Santa Clara University School of Engineering conducts a low-cost, aggressive, integrative educational program focused on developing intelligent robotic systems. The centerpiece of this program a is a set of yearly undergraduate design projects in which teams of senior students completely design, fabricate, test, operate, and manage high-quality robotic systems. These systems include spacecraft, underwater vehicles, terrestrial rovers, airships, telescopes, and industrial robots. The mission objectives of these robotic systems are diverse, ranging from enabling scientific discovery, to verifying and validating advanced technology, to providing rich engineering education experiences. Specific missions have included marine archaeology, coastal ecology, Earth and space environment characterization, robotic formation flying and constellation control, and autonomous operations. These compelling studies are conducted by undergraduates, graduate students, and professional researchers from nonprofit research centers, industry, and the government.