Skip to main content

Exposing Robot Learning to Students in Augmented Reality Experience

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Smart Industry & Smart Education (REV 2018)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems ((LNNS,volume 47))

Abstract

This paper considers a learning process in which the student teaches the robot new tasks, such as lifting unknown weights, via reinforcement learning procedure. Using CAD software, we ran virtual trials using the robot’s digital twin in place of physical robot trials. When performing the task, the robot measures and sends the value of the weight to an IoT controller implemented on the ThingWorx platform and receives parameters of the optimal posture found through the virtual trials. When we presented the robot learning process to high school students they had difficulty fully understanding the robot’s dynamics and selection of posture parameters. To address this difficulty, we developed an augmented reality interface which allows students to visualize robot postures on the digital twin and monitor the change in parameters (such as the center of gravity) measured by virtual sensors. The student can select a weightlifting posture and control the robot to implement it.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Richert, A., Shehadeh, M., Plumanns, L., Grob, K., Schuster, K., and Sabina, J.: Educating engineers for Industry 4.0: virtual worlds and human-robot-teams. Empirical studies towards a new educational age. In: Proceedings of EDUCON, pp. 142–149 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Porter, M.E., Heppelmann, J.E.: How smart, connected products are transforming competition. Harvard Bus. Rev. 92(11), 64–88 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Porter, M.E., Heppelmann, J.E.: How smart, connected products are transforming companies. Harvard Bus. Rev. 93(10), 96–114 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Kanda, T., Hirano, T., Eaton, D., Ishiguro, H.: Interactive robots as social partners and peer tutors for children: a field trial. Hum. Comput. Interact. 19(1), 61–84 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Verner, I., Polishuk, A., Klein, Y., Cuperman, D., Mir, R.: A learning excellence program in a science museum as a pathway into robotics. Int. J. Eng. Educ. 28(3), 523–533 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Arumugam, S., Kalle, R.K., Prasad, A.R.: Wireless robotics: opportunities and challenges. Wirel. Pers. Commun. 70(3), 1033–1058 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Fiorella, L., Mayer, R.: The relative benefits of learning by teaching and teaching expectancy. Contemp. Educ. Psychol. 38, 281–288 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Okita, S.Y., Schwartz, D.L.: Learning by teaching human pupils and teachable agents: the importance of recursive feedback. J. Learn. Sci. 22(3), 375–412 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Harada, K., Kajita, S., Saito, H., Morisawa, M., Kanehiro, F., Fujiwara, K., Kaneko, K., Hirukawa, H.: A humanoid robot carrying a heavy object. In: Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 1712–1717 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Arisumi, H., Miossec, S., Chardonnet, J.R., Yokoi, K.: Dynamic lifting by whole body motion of humanoid robots. In: IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp. 668–675 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Rosenstein, M.T., Barto, A.G., Van Emmerik, R.E.: Learning at the level of synergies for a robot weightlifter. Robot. Auton. Syst. 54(8), 706–717 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Ahlgren, D.J., Verner, I.M.: Socially responsible engineering education through assistive robotics projects: the RoboWaiter competition. Int. J. Social Robot. 5(1), 127–138 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Verner, I., Cuperman, D., Cuperman, A., Ahlgren, D., Petkovsek, S., Burca, V.: Humanoids at the Assistive Robot Competition RoboWaiter 2012. In: Robot Intelligence Technology and Applications 2012, pp. 763–774, Springer, Heidelberg (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Verner, I., Cuperman, D., Krishnamachar, A., Green, S.: Learning with Learning Robots: A weight-lifting project. Robot Intelligence Technology and Applications, vol. 4, pp. 319–327. Springer, Berlin (2017)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  15. Verner, I., Cuperman, D., Reitman, M.: Robot online learning to lift weights: a way to expose students to robotics and intelligent technologies. Int. J. Online Eng. 13(8), 174–182 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Porter, M.E., Heppelmann, J.E.: Why every organization needs an augmented reality strategy. Harvard Bus. Rev. 95(6), 46–57 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Igor Verner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Verner, I., Reitman, M., Cuperman, D., Yan, T., Finkelstein, E., Romm, T. (2019). Exposing Robot Learning to Students in Augmented Reality Experience. In: Auer, M., Langmann, R. (eds) Smart Industry & Smart Education. REV 2018. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 47. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95678-7_67

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics