Educational Outdoor Mobile Robot for Trash Pickup Kiran Pattanashetty, Kamal P. Balaji, and Shunmugham R Pandian, Senior Member, IEEE Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing-Kancheepuram Chennai 600127, Tamil Nadu, India [email protected] Abstract— Machines in general and robots in particular, programs to motivate and retain students [3]. The playful appeal greatly to children and youth. With the widespread learning potential of robotics (and the related field of availability of low-cost open source hardware and free open mechatronics) means that college students could be involved source software, robotics has become central to the promotion of in service learning through introducing school children to STEM education in schools, and active learning at design, machines, robots, electronics, computers, college/university level. With robots, children in developed countries gain from technological immersion, or exposure to the programming, environmental literacy, and so on, e.g., [4], [5]. latest technologies and gadgets. Yet, developing countries like A comprehensive review of studies on introducing robotics in India still lag in the use of robots at school and even college level. K-12 STEM education is presented by Karim, et al [6]. It In this paper, an innovative and low-cost educational outdoor concludes that robots play a positive role in educational mobile robot is developed for deployment by school children learning, and promote creative thinking and problem solving during volunteer trash pickup. The wheeled mobile robot is skills. It also identifies the need for standardized evaluation constructed with inexpensive commercial off-the-shelf techniques on the effectiveness of robotics-based learning, and components, including single board computer and miscellaneous for tailored pedagogical modules and teacher training. sensors. It is remote controlled by children using smart phone Children in developed countries also have the advantage app or video game controller. The robot is also equipped with air quality sensors to display air pollution levels to the children and of technological immersion, the exposure to the latest public. The project can improve STEM education, environmental technologies and gadgets [7], and opportunities for tinkering literacy and civic engagement among school children, while and making, e.g., [8]. However, passive learning as providing interdisciplinary service learning opportunities for exemplified by the chalk and talk model is still the norm in college and university students. Results of a prototype mobile many developing countries including India, and sometimes in robot design, development, and deployment are presented to school systems in Western countries too [9]. Therefore, the illustrate the effectiveness of the approach. emergence of inexpensive open source hardware and free, open source software leading to innovative Do It Yourself Keywords— Mobile robot; STEM education; Environmental (DIY) robotics projects can be a boon to enterprising students, literacy; Human Robot Interaction; Active learning teachers, and school systems in developing countries, e.g., [10]. I. INTRODUCTION Another area in which the educational systems in In the globally competitive economy of today and developing countries lag is the limited outreach of research tomorrow, a well-educated, creative, and innovative and higher educational institutions. In the USA, for example, workforce is essential for the success of nations. In the USA, leading funding agencies such as the National Science the National Academy of Sciences’ landmark 2005 report Foundation specifically mandate community and schools "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" and its 2010 update outreach as a secondary, broader impact of sponsored called for significant investments in science, technology, and research projects [11]. National research agencies such as education [1]. The 2009 National Academy of Engineering NASA, NOAA, and research wings of the Department of report emphasized the need for engineering education in Defense too incorporate outreach in their research and schools (K-12), particularly focusing on the need to bring in development endeavors. Given the appeal of robots and more girls and underrepresented minorities into science, machines to children and youth, university faculty and technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) [2]. students can involve themselves in service learning, mentoring These steps are supported by extracurricular initiatives and community outreach by taking the robotics research test like US FIRST Robotics competitions for high school beds and educational systems from the lab to local schools, students, and FIRST Lego League competitions for and to a broader audience using the power of the Web/cloud, elementary and middle school students. The ever decreasing e.g., [12]. cost of hardware (motors, sensors, microcontrollers, and In addition to being a catalyst for creative, hands-on computers) on the one hand, and its increasing versatility and education in schools and colleges, robotics is one of the power on the other has led to the popularity of robotics disruptive technologies of our time and has significant courses and projects in college and university engineering linkages to other major technologies like autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, renewable energy, cyber-physical needs of students, faculty and even researchers in both systems, Internet of Things, and so on [13]. Therefore, early developing and developed countries, e.g., [17]-[19]. Several exposure to and experience in robotics projects can contribute low-cost open source mobile robot platforms in literature are significantly to educating an innovative workforce of the identified in [6], e.g., MIT SEG, Harvard Kilobot, etc. These future. robots are small in size and typically meant for indoor use. In this paper, an innovative and low-cost, outdoor mobile robot is designed and developed for interaction with school III. EDUCATIONAL OUTDOOR MOBILE ROBOT FOR TRASH children, and to act as a roving trash can while the children are PICKUP volunteering for trash pickup. The educational robot is A major public health problem facing many developing constructed using commercial off-the-shelf materials and countries, particularly India, is a lack of sanitation and components, open source hardware, and free open source uncollected trash littering the streets, roads, and sidewalks. software. The instructions for interested school and college Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the Indian students to build their own robots will be made available Government has launched a Clean India (Swachh Bharat, in online in future. Interaction of children with the robot takes Hindi) mission on October 2, 2014. The goal is to make India the drudgery out of trash pickup activity and makes it a fun ‘clean’ by October 2, 2019 (birthday of Mahatma Gandhi). exercise collectively. It is hoped that the project will One of the authors has had experience in using contribute to raising environmental awareness, help clean up underwater robots (remotely operated vehicles, ROVs) in the environment, and promote STEM and robotics education promoting environmental education among school children among children, while encouraging community service, [5]. In various Disney theme parks during 1995-2014, a radio- service learning, and mentoring by college/university students. controlled trash can-shaped talking robot Push made rounds of The mobile robot is also fitted with a low-cost air quality the park and interacted with children and other visitors, monitoring system so that reliable measurements of promoting environmental conservation and recycling [20]. neighborhood air quality can be conveyed to the public. Similarly, several companies market licensed trash cans shaped like the Star Wars movie droid R2D2. Autonomous trash collection robots have been considered II. AFFORDABLE ROBOTS FOR EDUCATION a benchmark mobile robot design problem, e.g., for design competitions, as it involves several common tasks such as path Many of the commercial, off-the-shelf robotic kits used planning, navigation, object detection and discrimination, by children in affluent countries are generally far too obstacle avoidance, task sequencing, and, often, multi-agent expensive to be adopted on a large scale in developing coordination [21]. Yang, et al have developed a robotic trash countries. One fifth of the world population (1.2 billion barrel, consisting of a commercial mobile robot (iRobot people) lives on less than $1 a day, and about half the world Roomba) with a trash can mounted on top [21]. Their population (2.8 billion people) earns less than $2 a day [14]. emphasis is on socially acceptable interactions of the robot in By comparison, the popular LEGO EV3 Core Set costs around public spaces. Kulkarni and Junghare [22] have developed an $500, an older LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit costs $650 or autonomous wheeled vehicle with on-board manipulator for more, and a VEX Dual Control Starter kit costs more than indoor trash detection and collection using ultrasonic sensors. $800 (the actual prices in developing countries are much An autonomous wheeled humanoid-type robot for home mess higher due to shipping cost and import duty). cleanup has been proposed by Ma, et al. [23]. It is equipped In the above context, engineers, technologists, with two six degrees of freedom manipulators, and uses sensor researchers, and educators need