A Professional Development Program using a Low-Cost Exoskeleton Kit to Support Trainers in Translating Technical Research to Implementable Recommendations
- Conference
- Location
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Minneapolis, MN
- Publication Date
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August 23, 2022
- Start Date
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June 26, 2022
- End Date
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June 29, 2022
- Conference Session
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CPDD Technical Session 1 - Design of Professional Development Curricula
- Page Count
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27
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--40744
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/40744
- Download Count
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418
Paper Authors
Vikram Kapila New York University Tandon School of Engineering
Vikram Kapila is a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He directs a Mechatronics, Controls, and Robotics Laboratory and has held visiting positions with the Air Force Research Laboratories in Dayton, OH. His current research is focused at the convergence of frontier technologies (e.g., robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented/virtual reality, and blockchain) with applications to natural and intuitive human-robot interaction, digital health, and STEM education. Under the Research Experience for Teachers Site, GK-12 Fellows, DR K-12, and ITEST projects, all funded by NSF, and the Central Brooklyn STEM Initiative, funded by six philanthropic foundations, he has conducted significant K-12 education, training, mentoring, and outreach activities to integrate engineering concepts in science classrooms and labs of dozens of New York City public schools. His STEM education research, conducted as a collaborative partnership involving engineering and education faculty, postgraduate and graduate researchers, and K-12 educators, has: (1) created, implemented, and examined over 100 standards-aligned robotics-based science and math lessons and (2) developed, practiced, and examined research-guided pedagogical approaches for science and math learning using robotics. He received NYU Tandon’s 2002, 2008, 2011, and 2014 Jacobs Excellence in Education Award, 2002 Jacobs Innovation Grant, 2003 Distinguished Teacher Award, and 2012 Inaugural Distinguished Award for Excellence in the category Inspiration through Leadership. Moreover, he is a recipient of 2014-2015 University Distinguished Teaching Award at NYU. His scholarly activities have included 3 edited books, 10 chapters in edited books, 1 book review, 67 journal articles, and 171 conference papers. He has mentored 6 research associates; 1 B.S., 45 M.S., and 10 Ph.D. students; 66 undergraduate research students and 11 undergraduate senior design project teams; over 500 K-12 teachers and 130 high school student researchers; and 18 undergraduate GK-12 Fellows and 59 graduate GK-12 Fellows.
Christian Lourido New York University Tandon School of Engineering
Christian Eduardo Lourido received his B.S. in degree in Mechatronics Engineering from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, State of Mexico, Mexico, and his M.S in Mechatronics and Robotics degree from NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY. He is currently a Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, serving as a research assistant under an NSF-funded research project. He is a member of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society.
Hao Su
Dr. Hao Su, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the North Carolina State University. Prior to joining NC State, he was Irwin Zahn Endowed Assistant Professor at City University of New York, City College. He was a Research Scientist at Philips Research North America where he designed robots for lung surgery, and then a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. He obtained the Ph.D. degree in Surgical Robotics from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Su received NSF CAREER Award,Toyota Mobility Challenge Discover Award, the Best Medical Robotics Paper Runner-up Award in the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) and Philips Innovation Transfer Award. He received the Advanced Simulation & Training Award from the Link Foundation and Dr. Richard Schlesinger Award from the American Society for Quality. He holds patents on surgical robotics and socially assistive robots. He currently serves as an associate editor of IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RAL), IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), and IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS).
Abstract
For the effective adoption of wearable robotic devices for use by workers with upper-limb disabilities, the training of occupational therapists is of paramount importance. It requires the creation of targeted training materials and programs that can be deployed to instruct the end-users effectively. This paper will describe a training program intended to support engineering professionals who are expected to translate technical research to implementable recommendations for occupational therapists while avoiding overloading them with too much information. The project seeks to employ pertinent social and educational theories to formulate and enact the education, training, and professional development through extensive face-to-face interactions and practical demonstrations. For illustrative purposes, the paper will include an example lesson based on the use of a low-cost, 3D-printed exoskeleton kit. The functional prototype being developed will include a user interface to allow the engineering professionals to modify the program’s parameters controlling the robotic wearable device using a web or mobile application.
The context of this paper is a hands-on and weeklong professional development workshop that seeks to incorporate effective pedagogical strategies for preparing trainers of occupational therapists to develop relevant curriculum and training materials. The professional development workshop participants will comprise the engineering researchers who are developing a wearable robotic device to be used by workers with upper-limb disabilities. On the first day of the workshop, the facilitators of the professional development program will introduce to the engineering researchers the concepts of project-based learning, 5E instructional model, social capital theory, and cultural-history activity theory (CHAT). These theories will provide engineering researchers with guiding frameworks to develop valuable lessons while considering the interactions between occupational therapists and their patients, including the interpersonal/communicative aspects of those relationships and the cultural, historical, political, and economic dimensions. They will also consider the resources embedded in social structures and how they are accessed and mobilized for purposive actions. For the next two days, the engineering researchers will work in groups with support from the facilitators to create the instructional materials to train occupational therapists, including the presentations, handouts, activity sheets, and other documents. The engineering researchers will present their work to the other participants and facilitators for feedback on the fourth day. They will improve and modify their work on the last day before presenting it to all participants and facilitators.
As an example of a lesson using the 5E instructional model and project-based learning, we will use a ready-to-assemble, low-cost, 3D-printed exoskeleton kit equipped with a servo motor with position feedback and a force sensor. The participants will assemble the kit and test four control modes: a) record and play a trajectory control, b) point-to-point movement control, c) basic admittance control, and d) virtual wall control. By testing the different control modes and modifying their parameters, they will experience the working principles behind exoskeleton technologies and reflect on how this technology can help workers with upper-limb disabilities.
The final paper will provide details on the features that the user interface will have, the various procedures of the example lesson, and an investigation of the extent to which the lessons and activities designed by the participants align with the proposed theoretical frameworks.
Kapila, V., & Lourido, C., & Su, H. (2022, August), A Professional Development Program using a Low-Cost Exoskeleton Kit to Support Trainers in Translating Technical Research to Implementable Recommendations Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40744
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