An Effective Way of Teaching Fundamentals of Robotics to Undergraduate Students using RoboAnalyzer

Abstract

Robots are becoming increasingly important as the world continues to evolve. Robots are needed to achieve higher production rates and competitiveness. Many universities have already started to offer robotics courses in response to the growing demand for automation. However, in a traditional classroom teaching method, students find it challenging to apply pure mathematical algorithms in robotics. The lack of visualization of robot modelling affects the students learning interest. It becomes imperative to introduce simulation software in teaching the fundamental concepts of robotics. This paper presents the application of the RoboAnalyzer tool to teach the robotics course at the undergraduate level. The methodology was adopted to complement the theoretical concepts of robotics. In the present study, we collected feedback from the students about the method. The results show that around 76 % strongly agreed that the RoboAnalyzer tool improved learning efficiency, and 74 % strongly agreed that the combination of conventional teaching and the simulation tool is better than the traditional teaching method. RoboAnalyzer was implemented during the academic year 2019 – 2020 and received a positive response.