Summer exchange program: A unique platform to broaden exposure and address several dimensions of learning

Abstract

CAUTION: Catamaran-type Autonomous Underwater-sensing Twin-propped Instrumented Ocean Navigator is an active learning and design project that has been ongoing at University of Maryland Eastern Shore. CAUTION efforts are integral to the AIRSPACES (Autonomous Instrumented Robotic Sensory Platforms to Advance Creativity and Engage Students) project that is supported through funds made available to UMES by Maryland Space Grant Consortium (MDSGC). Besides CAUTION the AIRSPACES project also involves students with design activities and experiential learning endeavors in the UMES Robotics Laboratory with robotic arms (Microbots, 4-Degree of Freedom SCARA and 6-Degree of Freedom anthropomorphic arms) and mobile platforms such as Create 2 (IRobot) and Go Pi Go (Dexter Industries), as well as field based efforts involving multispectral aerial imaging with drones and ground robots for acquiring field measurements to validate remotely sensed data. This paper is based on experiential learning and research efforts in the 2017 summer on selected aspects of the AIRSPACES project, undertaken by undergraduate engineering students during the Summer Exchange Program (SEP) under the supervision of participating UMES faculty. SEP is an exchange program among universities that are affiliated with Maryland Space Grant Consortium (MDSGC). For the 2017 summer, Mr. Blake Prout, a sophomore mechanical engineering major at UMBC and Ms. Kalah Cross, a junior industrial engineering major at Morgan State University (MSU) spent 10 weeks at UMES. Mr. Blake Prout was assigned to the CAUTION project and worked closely with Mr. Mehmood Mohsin, an engineering senior at UMES. Ms. Cross worked with two other junior engineering students at UMES (Mr. Habilou Ouro-Koura and Mr. Hafeez Shittu) to set up some of the robotic devices in the new robotics facility for future K-12 outreach efforts. In addition to project efforts the exchange students also got an opportunity to experience student life in a new campus as well as to visit NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility. They also presented their work at a Summer Exchange Symposium held at the Johns Hopkins Conference Center in Baltimore.