Work in Progress: Accessible Engineering Education for Workforce 4.0

Abstract This Work in Progress paper will describe an AI-enabled robotic lab that aims to advance accessible engineering education in a first-year engineering course. The recent emergence of Industry 4.0 demands a new education paradigm, namely Education 4.0, with incorporation of topics such as automation, robotics, and Internet of Things. Several recent studies have projected that up to 375 million workers worldwide will experience changes in their occupational categories by 2030. Creating and implementing effective education and training programs for preparing the future workforce for Industry 4.0 remains a challenging task. Recent research has suggested that effective integration of contemporary technology can enhance teaching and learning. An AI-enabled robotic manipulator is proposed as a technology-integrated teaching and learning platform for testing a variety of educational research paradigms such as situated cognition, collaborative and inquiry-based learning. Situated learning, as described by Lave and Wenger, is a theory that emphasizes the importance of socially situated practice for the process of learning new knowledge. According to situated learning theory, the content knowledge can be delivered effectively to students by creating a situational context for learning that has direct relevance and resemblance to real-life applications and that has meaning for students. This paper seeks to use the theory of situated learning to additionally render an inclusive learning environment that has the potential for promoting accessible engineering education. This paper will specifically address how robotics labs and projects can be used in first-year engineering education while helping students develop team-building skills. The outcome of the study can provide answers to the research question: How to create practical and accessible engineering education for the Industry 4.0 workforce? This study aims to develop a robotics laboratory to promote experiential learning. A new lab with two different work scenarios is planned for the Fall 2022 semester. The first scenario entails creating a robotic solution that can assist physicians by delivering or holding objects in the operating room. The second scenario is to support construction workers by lifting and stacking objects. The lab performance metrics will be accuracy, precision, alignment, and time of task completion. A student survey will be sent out at the end of the semester includes 22 Likert-scale questions and two qualitative questions. The data will then be used to further assess the learning outcome and improve the instruction and learning design. The learning outcome will be cross-referenced with students' racial, cultural, and gender backgrounds. Additional lab scenarios can be developed to increase educational accessibility. This paper has the potential to draw interest from K-12 and university educators as the proposed robotic platform is affordable, versatile, robust, and will allow students to visualize the impact of automation in our society. The outcome of this study will reveal how to effectively deliver intensive technological content at an early stage of college learning. This study will increase STEM career awareness amongst students by showing them the relevance of these disciplines in their everyday lives.