59 Engineering-Manufacturing The objective of the project is to develop a multidisciplinary robotics course that emphasizes the integrated system development nature of robotics and cross-functional teamwork. The project adapts aspects of the General Robotics course at CMU, the Robot Building Laboratory Project developed jointly at Swarthmore College and Bryn Mawr College, and robotics tools developed at Drexel University. This General Robotics course is available for undergraduate students of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, and Industrial Engineering. Accordingly, it emphasizes the multidisciplinary nature of robotics by surveying the different fields with respect to robotics. The course uses a hands-on approach to teaching the subject where laboratory exercises complement lecture material. This provides students in the different engineering fields an opportunity to experience how their discipline interfaces with other disciplines. Another aspect of the course is to create cross-functional teams comprised of students from the different areas to develop a robotics project. This is an important experience that provides students opportunities to learn about functioning in multidisciplinary teams. To enhance this learning experience, material is presented that teaches students principles of teamwork and group dynamics. The adaptation of the materials includes two major innovations. The first is to include material specifically on teamwork and integrated system design. The second innovation is the way the course is taught. This involves the material being developed with sufficient detail for each area so that any one or two engineering faculty members may teach the course.
