Applying Mechatronics To Promote Science / Central Brooklyn Robotics Initiative (AMPS / CBRI)

On November 23, 2009, when President Obama introduced his new initiative, "To Educate and Innovate," he said, "I believe that robotics can inspire young people to pursue science and engineering." For over a decade, our team has advocated engaging students' fascination with modern technologies (e.g., robotics, gaming, and sensing) as a hook to stimulate them to learn science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). For example, in AY2008, to gauge the effectiveness of using robotics to engage youngsters in STEM education, we piloted the CBRI effort. The CBRI pilot was created through grants from the Independence Community Foundation (ICF) and JP Morgan Chase Foundation. In AY2009, the CBRI team received a 5 year NSF grant for a synergistic project "Applying Mechatronics to Promote Science (AMPS)." Moreover, in AY2009, CBRI received generous support from ICF, Chase, Motorola, NY Space Grant, and AGEP.