Design and Impact of a Commercial Educational Robotic Exoskeleton

Abstract

Robotics has been shown to effectively engage students in STEM education. Wearable robots have the potential to appeal to a wider audience due to their inclusion of biological disciplines; however, no educational tool is currently available. Here, we present the design and impact of the EduExo, an educational robotic exoskeleton kit. As requirements, the kit should stand alone, require minimal knowledge and additional equipment, and appeal to a wide audience. User feedback and requests within the first year of availability suggest that there is interest for such kits, within and outside of formal educational settings. We present a few examples of use cases. Further, potential financial barriers seem to be outweighed by the convenience of a ready-to-use kit. We believe the framework and experiences presented here are valuable for future developers of educational robotics kits.