Discover how technology has changed the world around us by pursuing technological solutions to everyday problems. While using scientific and engineering methods, learn how electricity, electronic systems, magnets, and circuits work. Understand the design process and bring your ideas to life. Explore how engineering advances your ideas and the world!

Unit 1: What is Engineering?

Are you creative or innovative? Are you an inventor? Peering into history we find the human race has been effective at piecing together ideas from their natural resources. New ideas are created every day, sometimes by accident, sometimes out of a need to solve a local or world problem. Let’s begin our discussion by first understanding how we have arrived at today’s technology and concepts of engineering.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Define and identify a technological system

• Define engineering and describe its history

• Explain how and why technological development and diffusion has rapidly increased

• Describe how technology has shaped social, cultural, political, and economic landscapes throughout history

• Describe how the development and use of technology has influenced past events

Unit 2: The Science of Electricity

In this unit we peer into the atom and its properties. We identify what electricity is and how we can manipulate the electrons of an atom. We will cover some invaluable formulas that allow us to quantify electricity as it is applied to the generation and consumption of energy.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Describe the structure of the atom and how it defines a conductor, semiconductor, and insulator

• State the relationships between voltage, current, and resistance by the use of Ohm’s Law.

• Calculate electrical power and energy

• Describe the three laws of electrostatics

• Explain the difference between a base unit and a derived unit

Unit 3: Circuits: The Building Blocks

As technology advances, so do the tools of discovery. The historical experiments, formulas, and data collection of the past have led to many amazing discoveries, yet we don’t stop there. Imagine if advances in the light bulb stopped with Thomas Edison; perhaps his invention would have sufficed if we didn’t know better. Since Edison first illuminated his world, the light bulb hasn’t changed because of a newer type of coiled metal filament. Rather, it was a process of innovation driven by our understanding of the atom and how we can manipulate known elements that continue to allow advances to happen. The latest light bulb technology generates less heat and extends the life of the bulb, and it achieves this by employing easier manufacturing methods. Many times new technology is integrated into existing processes as manufacturers make the transition from one product to the next. Some processes just make sense to keep. In this unit, we will compare examples of technology processes that have remained essentially unchanged with others that are always evolving in the process of becoming greater.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Describe an open and closed-loop electronic system with its input, process, and output components

• Describe the characteristics of permanent and electromagnets

• Apply Ohm’s Law and Watt’s Law in a resistive circuit

• Understand the differences between direct current and alternating current.

• Identify electronic components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors

Unit 4: Types of Circuits

Have you ever wondered how computers think and answer questions? How applications make extensive use of artificial intelligence? Humans may think logically, but do computers? To answer these questions, we must first identify how we make decisions in our world with given choices. How is a question asked and how is an answer delivered? We will find that, with the proper electronic components, we can mimic the yes and no answers using on and off digital signals. In this unit, we will view the transition from analog devices with vacuum tubes and hand-wired circuitry to far more complex digital signal processing using digital integrated circuits (IC).

What will you learn in this unit?

• Describe Kirchhoff’s Current and Voltage Laws

• Describe the use of diodes and transistors

• Understand how to use logic gates

• Interconvert binary, decimal, and hexadecimal values

• Identify various common electronic schematic symbols

Unit 5: Engineering Tools and Safety

Engineers design, invent, and create; they solve problems. They need tools to assemble their ideas as well as tools to make adjustments and test that their ideas are working properly. Those tools were once just an idea themselves and eventually became the appropriate tool for specific applications.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Describe various tools and equipment used by engineers

• Identify common hazards found in the lab or workplace

• Apply safety protocols in a lab or workplace

• Identify rules and regulations that govern employees and employers

Unit 6: Putting Scientific Tools into Action

Before there was a formal study of science, there was natural philosophy. Philosophers sought to understand the natural world by questioning how it all operated. They theorized and kept records of observations about the world. Eventually, mankind sought to manipulate the resources found in the world for the benefit of both the inhabitants and the environment. Today’s scientists seek to understand this natural world and help advance our knowledge one step further into the future with each experiment.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Identify the steps that formulate the scientific method

• Make a clearly defined hypothesis

• Differentiate between an independent and dependent variable

• Differentiate between qualitative and quantitative data

• Collect and write data in significant figures

Unit 7: The Engineering Design Process

Our technological resources are the ingredients that an engineer will use to cook up an awesome design. Some of the technological resources by themselves will be limited in purpose; however, when combined like pieces in a puzzle, a great piece of artwork develops to serve a greater good. For example, a thermometer alone can give us data from its temperature reading, but when coupled with an alarm or flashing light it can now become an alert, a method of communicating information to us, or when coupled with a switch, it can now turn on or off an electrical signal at a set temperature for air conditioning. The efforts of how the engineer arrives at a solution still follow a logical order and are itself a process. In this unit, we will break down those steps that engineers take in order to arrive at their goal.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Understand the engineering design process

• Identify criteria and constraints

• Identify the qualities of a great design

• Understand the evaluation process for testing a design

Unit 8: Putting it All Together: Solid Modeling, Technical Drawing, and Prototyping

The most complicated event of invention and innovation is taking the idea from the mind and moving it into the real world. As much as you can verbally express an idea, most of the time it is not until you sketch or model that idea that others understand it. The invention of paper, in itself, has brought us a method of expressing ideas, and it even acts as a medium to store that knowledge. With the onset of computers, we now have vast storage space to design multistory buildings and multilevel ships that may be accessed via virtual reality. Elements inside those models can even be manipulated in that virtual space. Once a design is realized, it can be simulated, testing its physical properties while still in the computer. Once finalized, it can be prototyped or placed into production. From a computer file, an object or idea can be run through various manufacturing processes including 3D printing, laser cutting, or even computerized milling. These and many other machines take the design and produce the object. Our advances in materials manipulation and production allows ideas to move from our brain to the computer and into a prototype or even final production sometimes as quick as a few minutes. This unit identifies those key features that our ideas prototyped.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Identify various pictorial and orthographic drawing techniques

• Apply ISO and ANSI standards on technical drawings

• Apply part-dimensioning techniques

• Apply CAD software for 3D solid modeling

• Identify CAD based tools for part analysis

Do you like to invite solutions to solve problems? Applied engineering has advanced areas such as energy, transportation, health and genetics, alternative energy, food packaging, etc. Explore various inventions and solutions that have solved problems across industries. Examine how artificial intelligence and technology are making an impact on breakthroughs. Evaluate the range of robotic and STEM-related career options available for you to make a difference in lives with your contributions and innovations.

Unit 1: Think About It: Problem Solving in the Real World

Viktor Schauberger was an Austrian philosopher and inventor, as well as a proponent of creating new technology by mimicking nature. In the 1990s, while looking for a sustainable way to protect a river’s banks during flooding, Otmar Grober, a master river engineer in Austria, implemented some of Schauberger’s concepts by controlling the river’s characteristics from the inside out by adding boulders and reconfiguring the center of the river instead of building up the banks. This approach to solving problems from the inside out is just one of the approaches to thinking that can further our understanding of the relationship between a problem and its solution(s). We will also take a look at how technology can assist us in solving some of the most complex problems in history.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Describe how we use technology to solve problems

• Analyze how the development of technology affects various systems

• Differentiate types of thinking processes involved in problem-solving

• Outline the steps involved in marketing a product or implementing a solution

Unit 2: Working with the Team

Whether you want to open a startup engineering firm or work for a certain corporation, there are similar roles you may play throughout. How will you manage your time and resources when completing tasks? What is your skill level and what strengths do you bring to your work? In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach attached a small diesel engine to a wooden bicycle, producing the first true motorcycle. Speeding along at seven miles per hour, it led the way for today’s popular two-wheeled transportation. But what’s more important than that one invention was their teamwork. What types of skills did they have that complemented each other so well?

What will you learn in this unit?

• Critique the importance of ethical and professional behavior

• Draw conclusions about the importance of the characteristics of good leadership and teamwork

• Evaluate member roles of an engineering team

• Summarize the common key tasks for project managers

Unit 3: Communicating Through the Process

Have you ever heard the saying Teamwork makes the dream work? Well, it’s true! From the construction of the pyramids in ancient Egypt to the soaring skyscrapers of today, there’s clear evidence that when people pull together, incredible products can result. Today’s teams are unique; members can be on separate continents while working toward the same goal! And in some cases, team members aren’t even human! How can so many participants stay on the same page when they all bring something different to the table? And how do you get everyone back on track when the process begins to break down? In this unit, we unlock the secrets to productivity using a single key: communication.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Identify and implement conflict resolution techniques

• Communicate across time zones with people of various cultures

• Describe and demonstrate professional expectations

• Classify various methods of communication

Unit 4: STEM Careers in Action

In the near future, you will be looking toward a career that satisfies both your income and lifestyle—but how do you get there? What degree or certification do you need to work for a particular industry? In this unit, we’ll do a cross-curricular study of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and learn how it can be our vehicle to achieve that future career goal. We also discover how STEM industries utilize expert engineers and how you, as an engineer, can have a variety of career options in many sectors of industry.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Make the connection of how STEM is integrated in our society

• Study the similarities and differences in various STEM industries

• List the advantages and disadvantages of alternative power sources

• Correlate emerging technologies with future careers

Unit 5: Spotlight: Technology and the Environment

How are you impacting the environment? Are you helping to enhance it or could you potentially be indirectly harming it? Whether traveling to school, enjoying our heating or air conditioning comforts, or grabbing something to eat via the grocery store or fast food our actions impact the environment. Does that mean we need to change how we operate in this world? Before making any drastic changes, let us first study the ways our technological lives affect our social and natural environments.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Identify trade-offs that occur when developing new technology

• Draw conclusions about how technology affects the environment

• Describe how various engineering disciplines have helped to lessen our impact on the environment

Unit 6: Look Toward the Future: Developing New Technologies

In your engineering journey, new challenges will always keep appearing. Our understanding of the natural world has helped develop new concepts that can be applied to solve our problems and needs. Sometimes we have control and can drive that technology on our own terms, while at other times we are pressed for time and are pushed or compelled into making new discoveries. Whether it’s trying to make something smaller, faster, stronger, or generally more efficient, there are limits to everything—but sometimes we are able to go farther than we ever thought we could!

What will you learn in this unit?

• Describe how and why technology progresses

• Identify technological trends and progress in various fields

• Summarize concerns and possibilities related to artificial intelligence

• Discuss the legality of intellectual property

Unit 7: Contemporary Issues in Engineering

We have arrived at many technological advances in our society that have created many solutions—yet we keep on having new problems. We’re now making the latest autonomous vehicles and package-carrying drones, but what issues will these cause in the future? We are living in a time when a futuristic world needs to make hard decisions today before it can carry on. We have to weigh the benefits of ideas that may help our society against the problems that they will ultimately create. Will they be worth it? And as someone who may choose a career in the field of technology, which side will you be on?

What will you learn in this unit?

• Describe contemporary issues in our technology

• Identify sources of technological problems

• Determine interrelated problems among various technological fields

• Plan advocacy around contemporary societal issues

Unit 8: Spotlight on Robotics

Humans have been fascinated by robotics for a long time. Being able to build and create them has presented us with incredible challenges and, in many cases, life-changing solutions. Robotic applications can be found in just about every field in industry, which provides many opportunities for your future career. As we come to a close in this final unit, now is the time to attempt to identify your aspirations and resources available to achieve those goals. One thing we have learned over thousands of years of human existence, from pyramids to planes, is that if you can dream it, you can do it!

What will you learn in this unit?

• Identify how robotic systems play a role in our society

• Research various Career and Technical Student Organizations

• Identify potential competitions and tech challenges to take part in

• Connect robotics to future career goals

Are you fascinated with how machines work? Robots are machines, and they are all around us, from helping doctors in surgeries to helping to keep our homes clean. Explore the physics, mechanics, motion, and the engineering design and construction aspects used to develop robots. Learn how models are created through both sketches and software. Discover STEM careers and the education needed to enter this high-demand field.

Unit 1: Work with Robots

Automation fascinates us! Watching a machine move an object on its own captivates our mind as we attempt to figure out the secrets behind its trickery. In reality, it is all based in math and the sciences of materials. To be able to understand this or create such animated objects, we must take a lesson from those who came before us and made those discoveries that will help us build these machines. In this unit, we identify the educational requirements that will qualify us to design, build, or operate robotic machines.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Describe the educational requirements for career goals

• Explain ethical issues and resolutions in STEM careers

• Identify human rights and appropriate etiquette in a diverse workplace

• Explore occupations in industrial robotics and engineering

Unit 2: Health and Safety

Whether you are working virtually, in industry, or in a classroom-training environment, safety is always a priority. There are dangers and risks all around us that we should not take lightly. Even the new appliance, machine, or tool we purchase for home use comes with a certain level of required safety. The attached warning labels and manuals normally alert us as to proper use and hazards. In this unit, we learn what those warning signs are telling us about those dangers, as well as what we should do if there is an emergency!

What will you learn in this unit?

• Identify OSHA standards and how hazards are communicated in the workplace

• Follow general lab safety procedures

• Distinguish between fire prevention and emergency fire procedures

• Explain emergency first-aid procedures

Unit 3: Simple Machines, Mighty Mechanisms

Robots are machines, and they function in our physical realm of touch, sight, and sound and move based on the physics of our reality. Not only that, but many of today’s machines reflect the mechanical concepts that drove the world’s earliest machines—that is, at its most basic, the goal remains one of performing some kind of work, and that work requires energy as an input. And when you are confronted by modern, complex machines, keep in mind that they can always be broken down into their component parts and actions. By understanding the many parts and components used in machines, we can compile our own custom mixes of equipment to design robots that can perform a variety of tasks. In this unit, we will focus on the mechanisms that have evolved to manipulate our physical world.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Describe the use of the six simple machines as they relate to robotics

• Calculate torque as it applies to mechanical advantage

• Determine mechanical advantage of various machines

• Identify various drivetrain systems

Unit 4: Let’s Build a Model

One of the most common problems in this world is communication. How do you explain or describe an idea to others, especially with the many languages out there? Since a picture is supposed to be worth a thousand words, the visual arts can be an effective way to get a point across. But in robotics, it doesn’t stop there! Let’s learn how a penciled sketch and a few measurements can be entered into a computer and then sent to be constructed on a machine!

What will you learn in this unit?

• Discuss engineering drawings standards

• Evaluate tools used in computer-aided design

• Enhance your spatial reasoning skills

• Identify measuring tools used in engineering

Unit 5: Robot Mechanics and Motion

Before the computer came the machine, but without the two you wouldn’t have a robot. As robots have become more important in today’s society, their applications and capabilities have vastly increased. Robots are used for all sorts of things now—from assisting doctors in surgeries, to roving the surface of Mars, to helping humans keep their homes clean! To make robots capable of accomplishing such a wide variety of tasks, many different styles of robotic machines have been developed. In this unit we investigate the mechanical side of robotics. We’ll meet robots with human-like hands, robots that weld, robots that hop on one leg, robots that balance on a sphere, robots that fly, and robots that swim! What you might think of as a robot right now will probably change by the end of this unit!

What will you learn in this unit?

• Describe the design and construction of a robotic arm

• Demonstrate knowledge of robotic joints

• Identify various robot end effectors or manipulators

• Explain a variety of robots and their mechanical form

Unit 6: Robot Physics

Robots come at a cost—a cost of time, energy, and material resources, among others. All of these are taken into consideration when designing robotic systems. A robot can be designed to operate very quickly, but if it has to sit and wait for other robots to complete their tasks, then that isn’t efficient. A robot can be designed for extreme heavy lifting, but if all it is moving are boxes of light snacks, then energy is being wasted just in the movement of the robot’s own weight. Robots are not a one-size-fits-all type of solution. They are designed to accomplish a specific set of tasks, hence the evolution of all the different styles you learned about in the last unit. Ultimately, a robot’s design aims to minimize energy loss while maximizing its ability to accomplish its task. Physics calculations used in robotics are quite complicated, but our goal in this unit is to understand the concepts behind the mathematics and be able to see some examples of how these concepts govern the design and control of robots.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Describe the principles of robotic physics

• Discuss linear displacement, velocity, acceleration, and momentum

• Explain angular displacement, velocity, acceleration, and momentum

• Calculate vector forces\

• Understand the impact of inertia and momentum on robotics

Unit 7: Engineering Design Methods

Have you seen or heard of a robot and thought to yourself, how did someone come up with that idea? Or perhaps the thought is—of course! Why didn’t I think of that? Once a robot is invented and available to help solve problems in our lives, we often can’t imagine a life without it. But before that robot’s invention, someone had to identify that problem and then find the right robotic solution! In this unit, we’ll go through the process of identifying a problem, coming up with a design solution, and then refining that solution to build a robot. This same method is used in the development of all kinds of products and engineering solutions, and it takes on an even more crucial role when it comes to robotics because of the applications they are used in. Let’s dive in!

What will you learn in this unit?

• Keep an engineering notebook

• Understand the role of criteria and constraints in the design process

• Apply the engineering design process for robotics

• Identify aspects of quality in a product

• Describe tools used for prototyping and mass production

Unit 8: Keeping Robots and Coworkers Happy

Here you are, at the final unit of this course. You’ve learned about so many components of the field of robotics. But how does it all fit together? How do we apply all of these skills and processes to actually design a robotic system? In this unit, we will take you on a hypothetical field trip into a design project for an automation firm called eDynamics. In this story, you play the role of a junior mechanical engineer trying to make their way in a brand new job. You will be challenged technically and interpersonally, and your professionalism will be put to the test. Will things go as planned? Read on to find out!

What will you learn in this unit?

• Explain the importance of effective teamwork in the fields of engineering and robotics

• Employ critical thinking skills to solve problems both independently and as a team

• Conduct technical research to gather decision-making information

• Identify appropriate workplace standards of behavior

• Understand the process of developing, analyzing, and testing a prototype

The robots have invaded… and they’re here to make our lives easier. You’ve learned about the basics of robotics and STEM careers, but now we’re going to learn about manipulating the physical world to create desired effects. In this course, you’ll learn to manipulate electrical signals to create logic and memory, how to quantify the physical world through variables, and how to have an impact through tools. You’ll discover how to choose the best tools and materials, how to create AI, and how to take an idea from initial planning to a completed project. Let’s continue the pursuit of a career in robotics so the friendly invasion can thrive!

Unit 1: Power Supplies and Energy Sources

Powering up a robot’s computers, electric motors, sensors, and other auxiliary equipment requires an energy source. Although we would love to incorporate a battery that could last forever or perhaps even a wireless form of endless energy, we have to acknowledge that we continue to live within the realm of physics. So, when a robot is powered by a wall socket, where does that transferred energy come from? If a robot relies on batteries, how is that chemical energy formed? How do we even know how much electrical energy our robotic system requires? In this unit, you will discover that there are constraints and specific design criteria that will guide your understanding of the options and technology available to convert energy into a power supply for robotic systems.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Explain electrical voltage, current, and resistance

• Differentiate between direct current and alternating current

• Calculate an electrical circuit’s current, voltage, resistance, and power using Ohm’s law

• Configure DC power sources in series and in parallel

• Describe generator action

• Identify a variety of circuit protection devices

Unit 2: Tech Systems

In this unit, we’ll look at the brains of automation and robotics—the transistors that regulate signals, the sensors that take in information, and the microcontrollers that tie everything together. We’ll dive into the computer processing needed for robots to understand the world. Then, we’ll learn about the systems a robot uses to follow instructions and how you can give a robot those instructions.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Understand and label the parts of a microcontroller

• Describe modern transistors and their historical importance

• Accomplish a variety of goals using a transistor in a circuit

• Make informed decisions about which hardware a robot will require

• Explain how information flows through open- and closed-loop robotic systems

• Identify various wired and wireless communication systems used in robotics

Unit 3: Robotic Programming

In this unit, we’ll look at what it means to program equipment on both a conceptual level and a practical level. We’ll see that, while there are ways to be closer to the equipment, high-level programming languages make it possible to code a machine while thinking like a human. We’ll see microcontroller programs in action and then dive into the basic vocabulary and grammar—the semantics and syntax—of the programming language of our microcontroller. These will unlock limitless possibilities as we’ll be able to tell a robot to act if something happens as well as while given conditions are true. At the end, we’ll create our first real-world physical effect: making a light blink.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Explain what a program compiler and assembler do

• Communicate with a microcontroller to send and receive data

• Identify and use common programming semantics and syntax

• Understand how a variety of programming loops can affect microcontrollers

• Implement ways to control and organize the flow of data

• Program the digital output of a microcontroller

Unit 4: Sensors and Circuitry

A robot that didn’t interact with the world wouldn’t be much of a robot at all. Even a calculator needs to respond to pushed buttons. Something like a drone needs to respond to buttons, too, but also must keep track of acceleration, elevation, orientation, and more. In short, robots have to be able to sense their environment. In this unit, we’ll discover the many ways physical properties can be identified, measured, and taken in by the microcontroller brains of systems for processing, manipulation, and distribution.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Describe what sensors are and do

• Calculate the output of a voltage divider

• Explain how analog and digital sensors differ

• Program a microcontroller to collect a sensor’s data

• Build series and parallel circuits on a breadboard

• Identify various types of sensors used in robotic and automated systems

Unit 5: Output Systems

With tiny signals from a microcontroller, we can control and automate large and complex systems. This is done with transistors, but as we’ll see, it also can be accomplished with charged wires wrapped around nails (i.e., electromagnets). With that foundation, we can then push alternating and direct current through motors that spin and motors that step. We’ll see how air and fluids can be manipulated to create forces that are powerful enough to punch nails into wood and subtle enough to tighten a screw. Said simply, we’ll discover how all the designs and components we’ve discussed thus far can be used to impact the world.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Incorporate circuit control devices, such as a microcontroller-controlled relay, into robotic designs

• Explain the differences between AC and DC motors

• Manipulate a DC motor’s direction and speed of rotation

• Control servo and stepper motors

• Describe the characteristics of various fluid systems

• Include sound-based output and temperature controls in robotic systems

Unit 6: Tools, Equipment, and Materials

For a moment, take a mental walk through your local hardware store. You probably won’t see robotic sensors and motors, but you will notice many of the tools and most of the materials for developing a prototype. Building a robot requires expertise with a wide variety of hand tools and power tools. You’ll need them to shape materials with cuts and holes. You’ll also walk by all the woods, plastics, and metals that you’ll cut, drill, bend, and fasten to create your prototype. And, of course, there will be the electronic measurement equipment from previous units. In this unit, we’ll learn a little more about the prototyping tools and materials. A deeper understanding of their best uses and characteristics will guide your work. It’ll also make that trip to the hardware store a bit more exciting as, strolling through the aisles, you’ll know the possibilities that all those tools and materials unlock.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Describe a variety of prototyping materials

• Explain how and when to use a variety of drills when prototyping

• Understand the common tools used to make cuts

• Customize materials with electronic tools, glues, and fasteners

• Use materials and tools that are specifically for use with electronics

Unit 7: Artificial Intelligence

What keeps a swarm of bees in formation? What allows a pet animal to know friend from foe? Taking lessons from the biological brain, computer scientists, engineers, and roboticists come together to develop methods of learning for machines. Although not one-size-fits-all, the processing power capacity and computer memory can help determine just how intelligent a machine might be. In this unit, we’ll see how the worlds of human and machine intelligence come together and look at the implications for both technology and society at large.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Explain how human intelligence informs artificial intelligence

• Describe machine learning techniques

• Recommend uses of cloud-based AI systems

• Analyze the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence

Unit 8: To the Drawing Board

From discovering how to manipulate electricity in components to deciding on which saw blade to use when cutting up wood, you’ve come a long way and learned many things. It’s now your turn to brainstorm, design, and build a robotic device or system. But to do so, you’re going to need to know a few more things. Where should you start? What are the ways projects are managed? How do roboticists collaborate? What goes into a prototype? And what do you do once the prototype is ready? In this unit, we will look at some ways to stay organized throughout the process and how we can communicate our findings to others.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Apply project management tools and concepts

• Utilize the engineering design process in a robotics project

• Create a prototype of a robotic machine

• Analyze, test, and refine a prototype

From outer space to the oceans and everywhere in between, robots are doing everything from solving complex problems to simply making daily life easier. But, there has to be a beautiful mind behind the machine, and this is where you come in! In this course, you will identify a problem and using the skills you’ve learned, you will apply the principles of engineering and robotics to design an innovative robot to solve the problem. Robotics engineers are problem solvers ̶ are you ready to step up?

Unit 1: Objects in Space

In 2021, the spacecraft carrying the Mars Perseverance rover jettisoned its heat shield before entering the blazing-hot atmosphere of Mars. An enormous parachute opened and carried the robot to the planet’s surface. Perseverance kicked up dirt and rocks billions of years old as it landed. The six-wheeled robot’s purpose is to collect rocks and data, including signs of ancient life. Space has long captured our imagination, and we’ve come a long way. In this age of automation and technology, robotics plays a key role in space exploration and research missions. After we examine the historical roots of flight and space travel, we’ll dive into the role of robotics and automation in troubleshooting space. What does space travel hold over the next 10, 20, or 30 years? What problems might current and future engineers face? How can robotics play a role in solving those problems? What problems can you solve using the principles of flight?

What will you learn in this unit?

• Explain how airplanes are designed to give humans the ability to fly

• Identify the basic components of a rocket and the stages of a rocket’s flight

• Compare and contrast the different types of fuels used by rockets

• Describe the use of robots in modern space exploration

Unit 2: Robotics on Earth

Humans gather a variety of resources from the natural world that we need for survival: food, clothing, and shelter. Beyond that, advanced civilizations have also learned how to navigate, circumvent, and control the elements to build better cities and livelihoods. As civilizations grew, the structures they built became bigger, longer, and more advanced. In the modern world, we are doing something similar by using robotics to help us further harness all that nature has to offer.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Identify types of transportation and their potential future applications

• Distinguish between different types of dams, the materials used to build them, and robotic applications

• Describe how humans redirect and control water using dams and canals, and the role of robotics in these processes

• Explain the steps taken by engineers and the robotic technology they use to ensure that their structures are precise, efficient, and stable

Unit 3: On the Assembly Line

Robots are taking our jobs! You may have heard this statement before, but how accurate is it? Robots and robotic components have been in the workforce for decades now, but rather than making us obsolete, robots are possibly just making our work easier by doing the necessary but tedious or dangerous tasks for us. How are robots accomplishing this? In the process of adding these devices to the workforce, what new jobs and opportunities have been created?

What will you learn in this unit?

• Summarize how computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) is used to improve manufacturing by integrating robotics into industrial processes

• Identify the different components of a manufacturing robot, including its functions and limitations

• Analyze how robots are being used in health care along with current breakthroughs and other areas of growth

• Compare manual and automatic farming practices, noting the benefits of using robots in agriculture

Unit 4: Really Smart Robots

Robots are taking our jobs! You may have heard this statement before, but how accurate is it? Robots and robotic components have been in the workforce for decades now, but rather than making us obsolete, robots are possibly just making our work easier by doing the necessary but tedious or dangerous tasks for us. How are robots accomplishing this? In the process of adding these devices to the workforce, what new jobs and opportunities have been created?

What will you learn in this unit?

• Summarize how computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) is used to improve manufacturing by integrating robotics into industrial processes

• Identify the different components of a manufacturing robot, including its functions and limitations

• Analyze how robots are being used in health care along with current breakthroughs and other areas of growth

• Compare manual and automatic farming practices, noting the benefits of using robots in agriculture

Unit 5: The Design Process

Building a robot is not quite like making Grandma’s famous cookies. Although they are delicious, you can’t follow the path someone else has taken and expect to get something new and exciting. Robotics is innovative, and the boundaries are constantly moving. This means that building a robot requires you to be in charge. When making cookies, you need to have the exact ingredients, temperature, and baking time. With robotics, you need to identify a problem, do research, and plan before you are finally ready to begin the building process. Let’s explore what it takes to be ready for construction when designing a robot.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Using the design process model, identify a problem and solution that incorporates robotics

• Summarize some of the basic tools and power sources used in robotics

• Apply mathematical concepts to a robotics problem in order to present designs and models

• Write a proposal for a robotics project that solves a problem

Unit 6: Presenting Your Solution

How you would build a robot in your bedroom is very different from how an engineer at their workplace would build a robot. You might tinker, play around, and find some instructions online. An engineer would think, research, plan, document, prototype, and propose before even starting to think about building. Here, we will continue to explore the topic of moving from robot hobbyist to robot professional as we dive a little deeper into the process of building a robot professionally from start to finish. We will also go over the process of presenting your robot solution—both on paper and through a presentation—and the necessary documentation that goes with it.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Summarize how your robotics idea can be presented to an audience at various levels

• Write a methodology for solving a problem you have identified using robotics

• Describe orally and in writing your robot and the problem or problems it will solve

• Create and interpret engineering drawings and electrical schematics for a robot

Unit 7: Working Together

You have probably been on some great and productive teams over the years and some…not-so-productive teams. By and large, robotics engineering is a team effort; it requires participants to work with others to reach an established goal. What qualities make a team productive and efficient? What can a team do to reach its goals? Let’s take a look at some of the best practices for running and participating on a team.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Summarize the components of project management using Agile and Scrum

• Apply project management principles by developing a timeline and establishing goals

• Select and use an appropriate tool for scheduling a project build

• Identify the ways a team can function using appropriate norms, ethics, and conflict resolution

Unit 8: Prototype Your Robot

You have probably been on some great and productive teams over the years and some…not-so-productive teams. By and large, robotics engineering is a team effort; it requires participants to work with others to reach an established goal. What qualities make a team productive and efficient? What can a team do to reach its goals? Let’s take a look at some of the best practices for running and participating on a team.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Summarize the components of project management using Agile and Scrum

• Apply project management principles by developing a timeline and establishing goals

• Select and use an appropriate tool for scheduling a project build

• Identify the ways a team can function using appropriate norms, ethics, and conflict resolution

You have learned how to think like a robotics engineer, and now, it’s time to design and build like one to breathe life into your machine. In this course, you’ll explore how to add more complexity to your creations to make them more efficient, capable, and better able to handle advanced tasks. You will also learn how models and simulations can enhance robotic development and construction. After a real-world safety review, a deeper dive into advanced applications and systems, and improving your prototype, you’ll finalize and launch your robot. Are you ready to continue improving the world with your machine? Let’s automate!

Unit 1: Robot Safety

Safety is essential, and working with robots poses specific safety challenges. As you launch into more advanced robot design and building, you will be engaging in tasks that come with greater risk and the potential for risk to personal safety. In this unit we will explore various aspects of robot safety and discuss the steps we can take to keep ourselves and those around us safe. As we start to build our robots, this review will ensure that we begin on the right foot.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Understand the types of risks associated with robotics construction and wiring

• Evaluate different safety organizations and their activities

• Explain the types of safety risks related to working with or alongside robots

• Describe different types of batteries and the potential safety hazards they represent

Unit 2: Sensors and Specialized Applications

Imagine losing your five senses for a day. What would you be able to do? Just as your five senses are critical to your daily life, a robot’s sensors are critical to its ability to function. But unlike the five senses most humans and animals have, a robot requires more to function optimally, and there is a plethora of robotic sensors to choose from. How do they work? How do you use them? Let’s explore the topic of sensors some more and learn how to incorporate them into our projects.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Categorize the different classes of sensors according to the human senses that they mimic

• Explain how different sensors collect and use data from the environment to provide useful information to programmers

• Describe how sensors see data and how passive and active electrical components generate or filter data

• Classify and choose a robot control for a robotics project based on the robot’s task, the robot’s environment, and the materials available

Unit 3: What’s Up, Robot?

We’ve been talking a lot about building a robot, but what about controlling the robot? Writing code is one way to communicate with your robot, but how does it receive and use directions? What do you need to consider when giving a robot directions? These are some of the questions we will tackle this unit as we consider how best to communicate and share information with your robot.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Classify robot actions based on the subsystem that controls them

• Describe different ways robots communicate with humans and other robots

• Compare different forms of wireless communication to decide which one best fits a given situation

• Choose a method for motion planning based on a robot’s environmental conditions

Unit 4: Programming Your Robot

You’ve already learned how to code, but we have added a lot more to our tool belt since we first began this course. After a quick refresher on the theory and guiding principles behind computers and the internet, we’ll tackle some advanced tips and tricks for improving your programming skills. So, pull out your programming software, and get ready to polish your code!

What will you learn in this unit?

• Describe some of the primary components that make up computers and the internet

• Summarize how computers utilize bits to store information and use binary and hexadecimal systems to store numbers and colors

• List the main control structures and create advanced switching algorithms

• Plan and execute high-level coding using flowcharts, pseudocode, comments, variable naming, functions, and error identification

Unit 5: Improving Your Design

You have a prototype, but how can you make it better? We’ve learned a lot about best practices, but what are some practical ways you can improve your robot? Is your robot collecting a lot of data or sensor values that you are having trouble keeping track of? Is your code getting too long to manage easily? Does your robot need to follow a path, but you’re having trouble figuring out how? Here, we will explore ways that you can add more complexity to your design while making it more efficient, more capable, and better able to handle advanced tasks.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Develop arrays in a program to store, collect, and/or retrieve data

• Create a loop that uses data from an array to implement a program

• Use motor functions to map a path for a robot to follow

• Combine motor control functions with sensor-based functions to devise a closed-loop, mobile robot program

Unit 6: Heavy Lifting

The mobile robot is often the most explored aspect of robotics for students, but robotic arms are possibly one of the most widely used forms of robots. Industries have been employing robotic arms to support workers and manufacturers for decades. In this unit, we’ll take a look at special considerations for engineers designing robotic arms and how models and simulations help with their development and construction.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Identify some common types of robotic arms and describe some of the important design considerations

• Summarize how thermodynamics and pressure impact the design, construction, and use of a robotic arm

• Compare and contrast tolerance and allowance, explaining how they may be used to create a fault-tolerant system

• Define how models and simulations improve robots and help identify areas of weakness before construction

Unit 7: Test and Evaluate Your Robot

You’ve made it this far, having completed all the work necessary to design and build the first prototype of your robot. Now what? Is it safe to call it done? While you could stop here, you would be missing out on the potential to improve your design by fixing hidden problems and adding new features you didn’t think of before. Let’s learn about the important steps to finalizing your robot design.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Recall the steps of the design cycle and describe how testing applies to the development of a robot project

• Apply the steps involved during testing and evaluation in a robot project

• Compare and contrast elements involved in the process of redesigning and refining

• Explain how the Six Sigma process can be used to improve a new or existing design

Unit 8: Presenting Your Robot

Deciding when your robot is complete can be a tough decision because there always seems to be one more thing to do. And once the robot is ready, how will you share it with the public? A great product or idea is no good if it’s left on a shelf somewhere. Let’s take a look at the steps involved in bringing a robot to the market and learn more about career paths in robotics.

What will you learn in this unit?

• Justify the decision that a robotics project is ready to be closed and the robot is ready for launch

• Describe the methods for reviewing a project and identify common reasons for project failure

• Prepare a robotics presentation suitable for your audience and purpose

• Generate ideas for future career pathways in the robotics field