Balanced Integration of Theory and Applications in Teaching Robotics

Robotics has become part of the curriculum in almost every engineering school. This is mainly because it is a topic that involves different engineering knowledge bases in a medium that fosters innovation and creativity. The educational value provided by robotics makes it an ideal activity for students to integrate technical knowledge and hard skills as well as soft skills and creativity, thereby meeting several of the criteria of the US Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in one activity. Robotics is also effective in recruiting and engaging students. Robotics is, though, a very dynamic topic, directly influenced by changes in technology, among other factors. In fact, in the history of robotics education, different themes have emerged and others disappeared, resulting in a continuous challenge for educators to accommodate these themes in their courses without compromising engineering basics. One major and continuous challenge facing educators is how to balance theory and applications in robotics courses. The design and analysis of robotic systems are essential parts of robotics engineering education, while demand is increasingly shifting towards applications and the implementation of these systems. This paper is based on the author's experience in the field. It presents a summary of the methods and benefits of incorporating robotics in engineering education as well as an analysis of the challenges facing educators. It also includes a focused discussion on balancing theory and applications in a robotics course. Experience in teaching a hands-on robotics course is provided as an example of how to handle some of these challenges. The course outcomes include industrial-grade functional robotics systems and confident students ready to take on challenges, from applications to research and development in the field of robotics.