Research on the Intricacies of Robotics and More!

MJ j -

Hello all, and welcome to my second blog post! Have you ever wondered how many possibilities there are in the world of robotics? How about in automation and technology as a whole? This past week, I have been exploring the numerous possibilities and variations my robotics course could take. From looking at an online course that was offered by Northwestern University to comparing it with an AI chatbot’s vision of a possible course, I learned that I would need to do way more digging, which leads me to what I will be attempting to do this week and onwards.

Through a comprehensive analysis and comparison of the various online robotics courses I was able to audit, I aim to outline a foundational framework of essential components for the robotics course I intend to develop. As mentioned, the greatest challenge thus far in my journey is to narrow down what feels like infinite possibilities and find the most suitable path of what to include in the curriculum. Furthermore, I plan to circumvent the need to search up hundreds of additional curriculums by using ChatGPT as an aid to accelerate my search for necessary topics that will need to be covered in the curriculum. Doing so will allow me to direct more attention to the physical materials that I will be addressing more in the coming weeks.

I am super excited about this journey, and I can’t wait to share everything I learn about robotics along the way! To end off this post, I’d like to share some trivia questions that I didn’t know the answer to prior to the preliminary research I conducted thus far (keep in mind that I have been interested in this field for a long time!). I would love to see guesses as to what answers you come up with!

Who is known as the Father of Robotics?

What is the name of the famous robotic dog created by Boston Dynamics?

What was the name of NASA’s Mars Rover that operated for nearly 15 years instead of its planned 90-day mission?

Stay tuned for my next post to learn the answer to the trivia questions as well as my continued progress of my project, and as always,

Stay robotic, stay fantastic- DON’T LET THE HUMANS WIN!

 

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Comments:

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    vinesh_k
    Using AI to streamline your research is a smart move, and it’s exciting to see how you’re narrowing down the endless possibilities. Can’t wait to see what topics make the final cut—what was the most interesting topic in the Northwestern University course you looked at?
    February 26, 2025 at 1:28 pm - Reply
    sidd_s
    Hey MJ! As a person who has absolutely no knowledge about robotics, I have a question for you. Will your robotics course be heavily math focused and theory based, or will it be a more practical and hands on approach to robotics?
    February 26, 2025 at 1:35 pm - Reply
    joaquin_s
    Hello MJ, this all sounds fantastic, and I like how you included trivia. However, I was wondering how complex the curriculum will be once you are done. Will it be more for grade schoolers at BASIS, or it will be pretty in-depth and more for students who have a vested interest in robotics?
    February 26, 2025 at 1:58 pm - Reply
    nico_l
    I'm curious as to what parameters of search you are using to formulate your curriculum, and I still will want to do it after you're done making it, it seems very interesting! I also have the question of whether you intend for a more hands on approach or a lecture style course?
    February 26, 2025 at 2:35 pm - Reply
    Anonymous
    Hello Sidd! My robotics course will be a more practical and hands on approach to robotics, however I might integrate small amounts of theory into the curriculum as well, especially when talking about modern robotics and its future, which I plan to include in it.
    February 26, 2025 at 2:51 pm - Reply
    mj_j
    Hey Vinesh, thank you for commenting! Firstly, I'd like to say that the course from Northwestern was targeted towards an intro college level "Modern Robotics" course, meaning that a lot of the topics require at least some background knowledge. That being said, I was able to ascertain some knowledge as to what I might want to include in my curriculum, such as a glimpse into how robotics is used in the modern day and where it is headed.
    February 26, 2025 at 3:37 pm - Reply
    mj_j
    Hello Sidd! My robotics course will be a more practical and hands on approach to robotics, however I might integrate small amounts of theory into the curriculum as well, especially when talking about modern robotics and its future, which I plan to include in it.
    February 26, 2025 at 3:38 pm - Reply
    mj_j
    Hello Joaquin, and thank you for your interest! I plan to make the curriculum for both people getting into robotics for the first time as well as for those who are somewhat acquainted with it and are interested in learning more. I will do that by laying down the foundations of robotics, but I will also get into some specific topics to make the curriculum still interesting for those that perhaps want a little more exposure. So, in short, it will be more for grade schoolers (specifically grades 8-12) who are interested in taking the course.
    February 26, 2025 at 3:38 pm - Reply
    mj_j
    Thank you for your curiosity Nico! For your first question, I am typically giving Chat GPT as well as other AI chatbots a description of what the parameters of the class curriculum should look like (such as: the course is targeted towards 8-12 graders who don't have any prior knowledge in the field, etc.) When I am looking for real-life courses that are being taught (mostly online ones so I could find materials), I typically just enter "robotics course - intro to robotics university", or some variation of that. As I mentioned in one of my other replies for this post, I intend for this curriculum to be more hands on, however that doesn't mean that there will be no lectures at all (after all, not all information can be dealt with in a hands-on manner.)
    February 26, 2025 at 3:38 pm - Reply

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