Creativity And Robotics

Have fun with LEGO BOOST and Scratch programming while building smart robots that can interact with the world around you Key FeaturesGet up to speed with building your first LEGO BOOST robotic modelBuild interesting robotics prototypes that can perform tasks just like real-life machinesDiscover exciting projects to bring classic LEGO bricks to life using motors and sensorsBook Description LEGO BOOST is a feature-rich creative toolbox that helps kids to develop science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills in a fun way. The LEGO BOOST kit consists of motors, sensors, and more than 840 LEGO pieces to bring various multifunctional robots to life. This book will take you on an interesting and enjoyable journey where you will have fun building robots while developing your problem-solving and logical thinking skills. This book is an end-to-end guide that will take you from a beginner to expert level of robot building with LEGO BOOST and Scratch. Starting with the unboxing and a brief introduction to LEGO BOOST, you'll quickly get your first robotic model up and running. You'll understand how to use the electronic and non-electronic components and have fun building a range of intriguing robotics projects with increasing complexity and advanced functionality. Throughout the book, you'll work on a variety of amazing projects, such as building your own R2D2, a fictional character from Star Wars, that will pique your curiosity to learn robotics and help you explore the full potential of the LEGO BOOST kit. Once you've had fun working with the projects, you'll be introduced to an interesting challenge for you to solve by yourself! By the end of this book, you'll have gained the skills to build creative robotics projects with the LEGO BOOST creative toolbox, and have built on your logical thinking and problem-solving skills. What you will learnUnbox the LEGO BOOST kit and understand how to get startedBuild simple robots with gears and sensorsDiscover the right parts to assemble your robotsProgram your BOOST robot using the Scratch 3.0 programming languageUnderstand complex mechanisms for advanced robotsDevelop engaging and intelligent robots using electronic and non-electronic componentsCreate more than 10 complete robotics projects from scratchDevelop logical thinking and unleash your creativityWho this book is for This book will help 7 to 12-year-old children who want to learn robotics with LEGO BOOST develop their creativity, logical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Teachers, trainers, and parents who wish to teach robotics with LEGO BOOST and Scratch will also find this book useful.

The first compendium on robotic art of its kind, this book explores the integration of robots into human society and our attitudes, fears and hopes in a world shared with autonomous machines. It raises questions about the benefits, risks and ethics of the transformative changes to society that are the consequence of robots taking on new roles alongside humans. It takes the reader on a journey into the world of the strange, the beautiful, the uncanny and the daring – and into the minds and works of some of the world’s most prolific creators of robotic art. Offering an in-depth look at robotic art from the viewpoints of artists, engineers and scientists, it presents outstanding works of contemporary robotic art and brings together for the first time some of the most influential artists in this area in the last three decades. Starting from a historical review, this transdisciplinary work explores the nexus between robotic research and the arts and examines the diversity of robotic art, the encounter with robotic otherness, machine embodiment and human–robot interaction. Stories of difficulties, pitfalls and successes are recalled, characterising the multifaceted collaborations across the diverse disciplines required to create robotic art. Although the book is primarily targeted towards researchers, artists and students in robotics, computer science and the arts, its accessible style appeals to anyone intrigued by robots and the arts.

While technologies continue to advance in different directions, there still holds a constant evolution of interdisciplinary development. Robotics and mechatronics is a successful fusion of disciplines into a unified framework that enhances the design of products and manufacturing processes. Engineering Creative Design in Robotics and Mechatronics captures the latest research developments in the subject field of robotics and mechatronics and provides relevant theoretical knowledge in this field. Providing interdisciplinary development approaches, this reference source prepares students, scientists, and professional engineers with the latest research development to enhance their skills of innovative design capabilities.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed or discouraged by what it means to be "productive" in the new world, Productivity Is For Robots provides a roadmap for unlearning the "hustle and grind dogma" that leads to stress and burnout. Filled with lessons from history's greatest artists, entrepreneurs, and visionaries, the book weaves together stories to show readers how to reach new levels of human connection, creativity, and flow. From Ernest Hemingway to James Cameron, Theodore Roosevelt to Salvador Dali, J.K. Rowling to Steve Martin, the book explores how dozens of creators have produced meaningful work--not by being robotic in work ethic, but by embracing the tools of human nature. With chapters on developing intuition, cultivating self-awareness, and tapping into creative flow--Productivity Is For Robots is a call to reclaim what it means to be human in the new world. McComb argues that, "productivity without purpose is an arrow without a target," and that by ditching the "productivity protocols" in which we've been indoctrinated, we can reconnect with what matters, overcome creative blocks, and yes--be more productive than ever. Whether you're in a creative rut, burnt out from endless chasing, or trapped in a Groundhog Day of mediocrity, the principles in this book will help you thrive. It's time to double down on what sets us apart from technology. It's time to confirm once and for all: I'm not a robot

Discover how to use the LEGO MINDSTORMS Inventor kit and boost your confidence in robotics Key FeaturesGain confidence in building robots using creative designsLearn advanced robotic features and find out how to integrate them to build a robotWork with the block coding language used in robotics software in a practical wayBook Description LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor is the latest addition to the LEGO MINDSTORMS theme. It features unique designs that you can use to build robots, and also enable you to perform activities using the robot inventor application. You'll begin by exploring the history of LEGO MINDSTORMS, and then delve into various elements of the Inventor kit. Moving on, you'll start working on different projects which will prepare you to build a variety of smart robots. The first robotic project involves designing a claw to grab objects, and helps you to explore how a smart robot is used in everyday life and in industry. The second project revolves around building a working guitar that can be played and modified to meet the needs of the user. As you advance, you'll explore the concept of biomimicry as you discover how to build a scorpion robot. In addition to this, you'll also work on a classic robotic challenge by building a sumobot. Throughout the book, you'll come across a variety of projects that will provide you with hands-on experience in building creative robots, such as building a Dragster, Egg Decorator, and Plankton from Spongebob Squarepants. By the end of this LEGO book, you'll have got to grips with the concepts behind building a robot, and also found creative ways to integrate them using the application based on your creative insights and ideas. What you will learnDiscover how the Robot Inventor kit works, and explore its parts and the elements inside themDelve into the block coding language used to build robotsFind out how to create interactive robots with the help of sensorsUnderstand the importance of real-world robots in today's landscapeRecognize different ways to build new ideas based on existing solutionsDesign basic to advanced level robots using the Robot Inventor kitWho this book is for This book is for robot enthusiasts, LEGO lovers, hobbyists, educators, students, and anyone looking to learn about the new LEGO Robot Inventor kit. This book is designed to go beyond the basic build through to intermediate and advanced builds, and enables you to add your personal flair to the builds and codes.

This book describes recent approaches in advancing STEM education with the use of robotics, innovative methods in integrating robotics in school subjects, engaging and stimulating students with robotics in classroom-based and out-of-school activities, and new ways of using robotics as an educational tool to provide diverse learning experiences. It addresses issues and challenges in generating enthusiasm among students and revamping curricula to provide application focused and hands-on approaches in learning . The book also provides effective strategies and emerging trends in using robotics, designing learning activities and how robotics impacts the students’ interests and achievements in STEM related subjects. The frontiers of education are progressing very rapidly. This volume brought together a collection of projects and ideas which help us keep track of where the frontiers are moving. This book ticks lots of contemporary boxes: STEM, robotics, coding, and computational thinking among them. Most educators interested in the STEM phenomena will find many ideas in this book which challenge, provide evidence and suggest solutions related to both pedagogy and content. Regular reference to 21st Century skills, achieved through active collaborative learning in authentic contexts, ensures the enduring usefulness of this volume. John Williams Professor of Education and Director of the STEM Education Research Group Curtin University, Perth, Australia

How to educate the next generation of college students to invent, to create, and to discover—filling needs that even the most sophisticated robot cannot. Driverless cars are hitting the road, powered by artificial intelligence. Robots can climb stairs, open doors, win Jeopardy, analyze stocks, work in factories, find parking spaces, advise oncologists. In the past, automation was considered a threat to low-skilled labor. Now, many high-skilled functions, including interpreting medical images, doing legal research, and analyzing data, are within the skill sets of machines. How can higher education prepare students for their professional lives when professions themselves are disappearing? In Robot-Proof, Northeastern University president Joseph Aoun proposes a way to educate the next generation of college students to invent, to create, and to discover—to fill needs in society that even the most sophisticated artificial intelligence agent cannot. A “robot-proof” education, Aoun argues, is not concerned solely with topping up students' minds with high-octane facts. Rather, it calibrates them with a creative mindset and the mental elasticity to invent, discover, or create something valuable to society—a scientific proof, a hip-hop recording, a web comic, a cure for cancer. Aoun lays out the framework for a new discipline, humanics, which builds on our innate strengths and prepares students to compete in a labor market in which smart machines work alongside human professionals. The new literacies of Aoun's humanics are data literacy, technological literacy, and human literacy. Students will need data literacy to manage the flow of big data, and technological literacy to know how their machines work, but human literacy—the humanities, communication, and design—to function as a human being. Life-long learning opportunities will support their ability to adapt to change. The only certainty about the future is change. Higher education based on the new literacies of humanics can equip students for living and working through change.

Children's creativity - the ability to come up with novel, surprising, and valuable ideas - has been known to contribute to their learning outcomes and personal growth. Standardized ways to measure creativity and divergent thinking reported that as children enter elementary school, their creativity slumps and thinking becomes more convergent, especially around the 4th grade. One cause for this is school curricula become more structured and lose the aspect of creative play. This is especially concerning for kids growing up in the era of Artificial Intelligence, where mechanical and repetitive jobs that require structured thinking move to machines. To be successful in this world of intelligent agents, we must empower children not only to understand how these intelligent agents work, but also to be able to think creatively about generating new artifacts in consort with such agents, which requires imaginative novel thought. In this thesis, I explore whether a social robot's interaction with children can be an effective way to help children think more creatively. I suggest two ways in which robots used as pedagogical tools can help children think more creatively are: 1. through artificial creativity demonstration, such as showing the use of novel ideas, and 2. through offering creativity scaffolding, such as asking reflective questions, validating novel ideas, and engaging in creative conflict. I designed four collaborative game-based activities that involve child-robot interaction and afford different forms of creative expression: 1. Droodle Game, which affords verbal creativity, 2. Magic Draw, which affords figural creativity, 3. WeDo Construction with Jibo, which affords construction creativity and 4. Escape Adventure, which affords divergent thinking and creative problem solving. I designed the behavior of the robot such that it either scaffolds the child for creative thinking, or the robot gives the appearance of creative thinking by artificially emulating human creativity. I evaluated the role of the social robot in influencing children's creativity by running comparative studies between children playing these creativity games while interacting with the robot with creativity-inducing behaviors (creative condition), and without creativity-inducing behaviors (non-creative condition). Children who interacted with the creative robot exhibited higher levels of creativity than children who interacted with a non-creative control robot. I conclude that children can model a social robotic peer's creative expression via social emulation. When scaffolded for creativity, children exhibited higher levels of creativity. This enabled me to develop a robot scaffolding paradigm which fosters creativity in young children. This thesis contributes design guidelines for child-robot interactions which promote creative thinking, and provides evidence that these creativity inducing behaviors exhibited by social robots can foster creativity in young children.

Make your First Robot will help students to build and program their first robot using Arduino. It starts with an introduction of the hardware and software required to build and program the robots. The concepts are explained with simple analogies. Detailed explanation of the functionalities and programming of each hardware component are given. Integration of all the hardware components and programs to make a fully functional robot is explained for a mini Path-finder and Robotic Arm. Inexpensive components are used to build these robots. This book will flourish your imagination to the next level of robotics.