Computationally-Enhanced Craft Items: Toward "Programmable Parts" for Educational Robotics

The notion of educational robotics—much like the broader notion of robotics in general—permits a variety of interpretations. As robots differ in their design, so do the educational issues accentuated by these devices. The issues involved in (e.g.) creating a model of a stationary industrial robot might be quite different from those involved in creating a model Mars rover; creations made of Lego bricks raise engineering concerns different from those made of Fischertechnik pieces; the notion of "machine vision" for a soccer-playing robot might be distinct from that for a Braitenberg [1984] vehicle that simply avoids obstacles.