Robotics For The Streets: Open-Source Robotics for Academics and The Community

In 2022, the principal investigator for this work became an open-source hardware trailblazer fellow. This work was supported through the Open-Source Hardware Association (OSHWA) and a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan foundation with the goal to expand open-source hardware in academia by documenting how to use it to make a library of resources for others to follow. OSHWA has a goal to encourage research and foster technical knowledge by making it more accessible and collaborative. This work seeks to provide a model for how academics can engage in open-source hardware and/or software while also achieving their publishing, teaching, service, promotion, tenure and retention goals.

Open-source hardware are designs that are publicly available for anyone to modify, distribute, make or sell. Open-source software is source code that anyone can access, inspect, modify, improve, and distribute. Open-source robotics is built upon the principles of open-source software and open-source hardware. This type of model is unique, novel and an innovative practice for engineering education and research because it encourages diverse perspectives and voices to contribute to the creation and improvement of technology. This intellectual property is freely available which would be a paradigm shift in the traditional model for academic publishing and research.

The “Robotics For the Streets” project has an express goal of diversifying science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by using open-source robotics to increase access to and visibility of STEM technology as well as inclusion. These robots have the flexibility and modularity for modification based upon the user’s needs. The benefits of this platform include the ability to be appropriate for any level from novice to experts. It is intended to be used for everyone from K-12 teachers introducing students to STEM to graduate students looking to explore advanced topics in artificial intelligence or makers looking for a platform to test out their ideas. It is hoped that this robotic platform will serve as a model and pathway for teachers, professors, practitioners, and STEM enthusiasts, with limited resources to engage in robotics outreach, teaching, and research. It will also enable academics at teaching or primarily undergraduate institutions to meet their professional development goals with respect to promotion, tenure and retention at a low-cost.

Due to the multidisciplinary nature of robotics, it is also an ideal tool for the integration of the arts into STEM to create STEAM. For example, showing how to integrate singing, dancing, and drawing, into robotics or using robotics as an inspiration for stories, poetry, or music. This will be a multimedia presentation that describes the many intriguing aspect of open-source hardware and software.