Hudson Valley Community College has been awarded a $5,000 Teach Access grant to help fund opportunities for students to learn about adaptive robotics. The grant will support coursework that helps students understand the skills, methods, design principles required to program embedded systems, and create fundamental operational robots that are enabled to learn and adaptively perform physical tasks in the real world in collaboration with humans.
The grant will be used to support the college’s Introduction to Robotics (CISS 180) class, which teaches students foundational concepts in robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML). The 4-credit class, being taught by Adjunct Professor Mac-Arthur Louis, will be offered in person in the college’s state-of-the-art robotics lab at TEC-SMART this fall. Registration for the class is now open.
“Adaptive robotics is an area of critical importance, as AI technology plays a significant role in creating more inclusive digital experiences to accommodate people with disabilities, and students can leverage the programming rigor from this course to build a long, positive, and rewarding career,” said Professor Louis.
Introduction to Robotics (CISS 180) will introduce students to theoretical framework and a wealth of hands-on emerging technology and research opportunities in autonomous intelligent robotic systems. Students will gain a more comprehensive understanding of digital accessibility as they learn to design, develop, and build new technologies with the needs of people with disabilities in mind. The class allows students to conduct user studies with people with disabilities in order to design and pitch prototype projects, then code an accessible application for the robot using Python and Java. CISS 180 class teaches students to use code to operate a drone, a humanoid robot, and a motion planner, among other tools, to complete tasks in a project-based and cohort structured learning environment. Guest lecturers from different technology sectors will present to the class and offer networking opportunities as well.
The grant was awarded by Teach Access, an organization dedicated to fostering collaboration among education, industry, and disability advocacy organizations to help create a more accessible and inclusive world for people with disabilities. Criteria for the grant included potential impact, outreach plans, sustainability, and strong evaluation plans for the coursework it supports.
Professor Louis will be holding an information session for interested students in June, via Zoom; a time and date will be announced in the coming weeks, and anyone who is interested in learning more about CISS 180 is encouraged to email him at m.louis@hvcc.edu for more information.
Published: Wed, 02 Jun 2021 12:05:27 +0000 by t.farrell1