Improving Outreach Interactivity in the Virtual Environment – Evaluation of A Computer Vision Controlled Soft Robotic Hand to Broaden Participation in Bioengineering

Holly M Golecki; Nathan Yoonsuh Chung; Thomas Tran; Phillip Liang

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: June 26, 2024
Conference Session: Flaming Moe's Influence: Bio-Inspired STEM Explorations, Hot Stuff!
Tagged Division: Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 14
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--47592
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47592
Download Count: 136

Paper Authors

biography

Holly M Golecki University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign orcid.org/0000-0003-3691-0420

visit author page

Dr. Holly Golecki (she/her) is a Teaching Assistant Professor in Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an Associate in the John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. She holds an appointment at the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine in the Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences. She is also a core faculty member at the Institute for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access in the College of Engineering. Holly studies biomaterials and soft robotics and their applications in the university classroom, in undergraduate research and in engaging K12 students in STEM. Holly received her BS/MS in Materials Science and Engineering from Drexel University and her PhD in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University.

visit author page

author page

Nathan Yoonsuh Chung University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

biography

Thomas Tran University of Chicago

visit author page

Thomas Tran earned his undergraduate degree in bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). There he engaged in engineering education and soft robotics research in the Golecki Group. He helped design a soft robotics curriculum aimed at exposing K-12 students to engineering. He implemented the program with over 150 students and has published literature and results detailing students’ perceptions of engineering. He is currently pursuing a Master's of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago.

visit author page

author page

Phillip Liang University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

Student attitudes toward mathematics and science are developed during middle and high school. Hands-on features of outreach activities can positively impact the disposition of middle and high school students toward STEM. Lockdowns and school closures limited participation in outreach during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even prior to the pandemic, these programs were limited for students in many in low resource or rural schools. The necessity for virtual learning environments over the past number of years inspired the development of new outreach activities for young students to interact with engineering projects remotely. Most solutions presented in literature involve a completely virtual experience. To address students’ desire to interact with physical products of engineering and leverage the benefits of physically interacting with engineering devices, we built and tested a new tool for outreach: a physical prosthetic hand that can be operated by students from their own homes. In this paper we describe the development an interactive experience to teach K12 students about prosthetics, medical devices, and soft robotics by controlling a laboratory-based physical robotic hand via webcam that is reliable in a variety of contexts. To evaluate this curriculum, we also present results of a mixed methods approach to collect quantitative and qualitative data on the tool and students’ perceptions of engineering as a result of using the tool. Previous research has shown that new materials in soft robots may foster robotics interest for a diverse population of students and expand students’ ideas about what robots do and how engineering can be used in human-centered design. A soft robotic hand that can be controlled virtually by mimicking simple hand gestures via webcam. Open source computer-vision software, commonly used in social media applications, recognizes human right hands using a webcam through video conferencing software. After developing the interactive tool, we tested it both in functionality and participant perception. Results from data collected in this work describe response times of the tool in virtual and in person scenarios with data collected from over 60 participants. We also detail the challenges to implementing with variable webcam resolutions and in busy classroom environments, as well as the criteria needed for successful implementation. We also present data on student perceptions of the activity. Data collected through Institutional Review Board approved surveys reveals positive attitudes toward the activity, student perceptions of robotic hands and the importance of realistic finger structures, specifically for students interested in bioengineering, and new ideas about how students relate robotics to human-centered design. The results from this study provide insight into (1) creating accessible outreach curricula, (2) expanding the applications of robotics in outreach, and (3) building pre-college curricula that impact student perceptions of and interest in engineering. The goal of the new outreach tool is to highlight human-centered applications of robotics and to enable remote outreach, broadening access to engineering. Post pandemic, this virtual, hands-on outreach may expand access to engineering for students in rural areas or with limited access to pre-college engineering.

Citation
Format

Golecki, H. M., & Chung, N. Y., & Tran, T., & Liang, P. (2024, June), Improving Outreach Interactivity in the Virtual Environment – Evaluation of A Computer Vision Controlled Soft Robotic Hand to Broaden Participation in Bioengineering Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--47592

TY - CPAPER
AB - Student attitudes toward mathematics and science are developed during middle and high school. Hands-on features of outreach activities can positively impact the disposition of middle and high school students toward STEM. Lockdowns and school closures limited participation in outreach during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even prior to the pandemic, these programs were limited for students in many in low resource or rural schools. The necessity for virtual learning environments over the past number of years inspired the development of new outreach activities for young students to interact with engineering projects remotely. Most solutions presented in literature involve a completely virtual experience. To address students’ desire to interact with physical products of engineering and leverage the benefits of physically interacting with engineering devices, we built and tested a new tool for outreach: a physical prosthetic hand that can be operated by students from their own homes. In this paper we describe the development an interactive experience to teach K12 students about prosthetics, medical devices, and soft robotics by controlling a laboratory-based physical robotic hand via webcam that is reliable in a variety of contexts. To evaluate this curriculum, we also present results of a mixed methods approach to collect quantitative and qualitative data on the tool and students’ perceptions of engineering as a result of using the tool. Previous research has shown that new materials in soft robots may foster robotics interest for a diverse population of students and expand students’ ideas about what robots do and how engineering can be used in human-centered design. A soft robotic hand that can be controlled virtually by mimicking simple hand gestures via webcam. Open source computer-vision software, commonly used in social media applications, recognizes human right hands using a webcam through video conferencing software. After developing the interactive tool, we tested it both in functionality and participant perception. Results from data collected in this work describe response times of the tool in virtual and in person scenarios with data collected from over 60 participants. We also detail the challenges to implementing with variable webcam resolutions and in busy classroom environments, as well as the criteria needed for successful implementation. We also present data on student perceptions of the activity. Data collected through Institutional Review Board approved surveys reveals positive attitudes toward the activity, student perceptions of robotic hands and the importance of realistic finger structures, specifically for students interested in bioengineering, and new ideas about how students relate robotics to human-centered design. The results from this study provide insight into (1) creating accessible outreach curricula, (2) expanding the applications of robotics in outreach, and (3) building pre-college curricula that impact student perceptions of and interest in engineering. The goal of the new outreach tool is to highlight human-centered applications of robotics and to enable remote outreach, broadening access to engineering. Post pandemic, this virtual, hands-on outreach may expand access to engineering for students in rural areas or with limited access to pre-college engineering.
AU - Holly M Golecki
AU - Nathan Yoonsuh Chung
AU - Thomas Tran
AU - Phillip Liang
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Improving Outreach Interactivity in the Virtual Environment – Evaluation of A Computer Vision Controlled Soft Robotic Hand to Broaden Participation in Bioengineering
UR - https://peer.asee.org/47592
DO - 10.18260/1-2--47592
ER -