Popular interest
in robotics has increased astonishingly in the last few years. Robotics is seen
by many as a field that offers major new benefits in education at all levels.
Is it a fad? Not at all. Robots are excellent tools to train students’
competency in both academy and industry. Robotics in Education can enhance
their knowledge in science, mathematics, physics, mechanics, and programming,
as well as time management, project management, problem solving skills,
creativity, and teamwork. Many schools have set up their own robotics lab for
extracurricular activities, but most schools still lack the resources. Students
may not be able to own a robot all by themselves. If it can be shown that
robotics has sustained potential in education, virtual robot with easy programming
tools will give students an alternative platform for learning in the area of
robotics.
Fig. 1 – 1: RCJ CoSpace Rescue Challenge @RoboCup2013, Eindhoven,
The Netherlands
The CoSpace
Robot Rescue Simulator (CSR-Rescue) has been developed by the Advanced Robotics
and Intelligent Control Centre (ARICC), Singapore Polytechnic with the aim of
providing a fun and engaging way for young people to develop their
computational thinking skills and to get involved in programming and algorithm
development. The CSR-Rescue is the only official platform for the
RoboCupJunior CoSpace Rescue Challenge.
RoboCupJunior CoSpace Rescue Challenge is an
educational initiative to promote knowledge and skills in engineering design,
programming, electronic control, and the 3D simulation through robotics for
young minds. The CoSpace Challenge aims to fuse real and virtual robotic
technologies towards bridging two prominent areas of the future namely,
Interactive Digital Media and Robotics.
In CoSpace Rescue, a team has to develop
appropriate strategies for both real and virtual autonomous robots to navigate
through the real and virtual worlds and collect objects at the same time
competing with other team’s robots that are searching and collecting objects
from the same real and virtual worlds.
The RoboCupJunior CoSpace Rescue competition
includes Primary and Secondary Categories.