Hampton University, in collaboration with Carnegie-Mellon University, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, the University of the District of Columbia, Norfolk State University, Winston-Salem State University, Morgan State University, Jackson State University, Elizabeth City State University, Duke University, the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, and the University of Michigan, proposes the ARTSI Alliance (Advancing Robotics Technology for Societal Impact). ARTSI is a consortium of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and major research universities (R1s) working together to increase African American participation in computer science, with a focus on robotics. This extension proposal will expand ARTSI to seventeen Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and roughly 10 major research universities (R1s). Hampton University is the new lead institution; Carnegie Mellon University remains the lead R1 school. The extension introduces three new initiatives that (1) improve the quality and uniformity of robotics instruction by developing robotics curriculum modules specific to the needs of HBCUs, (2) pilot a program to attract STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) students to HBCUs by offering robot programming activities in local high schools, and (3) pilot skill-building program for rising sophomores to better prepare them to become involved in robotics research. The extension also includes new collaborations with the Caribbean Center for Computing Excellence (a BPC Alliance in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
The project has offered students a platform, laboratory, and required equipment with mentored training in the field of robotics. This project offers a first-hand research opportunity through projects, laboratory training, course offerings in the field of robotics which has not been offered in the school before. Stdents majoring in different areas including Aviation Science, or Engineering Technology and Computer Science were invloved either via the course Introduction to Mobile Robotics that was offered via this grant, or in the Robotics Research Lab, or as a part of University Robotics Team to compete with other universities. The outreach impact involved demonstrations for non-college students as young as middle school students in major interesting aspects of robotics. The project invloved offering a junior level course named Introdction to Mobile Robotics via department of Math and Computer Science at Elizabeth City State University. This course was offered annually since invlovement of university in the ARTSI project. The couse is considered as an elective course in the curriculm. Students from Engineering Technology and some other majors are also encouraged to take the class. The project resulted to have a University Robotics Team each year that participates in the ARTSI competition with 17 other universities. The project also added a Robotics Research Laboratory at Elizabeth City State University that is focused on state-of-the-art algorithms and research methods for mobile robotics. Students invloved in Robotics Lab were actively invloved in performing research work at ECSU. For example in summer 2011, two students working in Robotics Research Lab won the first prize in research oral presentation at the Sixteenth Annual McNair Research Symposim at ECSU as a result of their work on mobile robotics.
