A Toolkit for Learning: Technology of the MIT LEGO Robot Design Competition

Abstract

The LEGO Robot Design Competition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a hands-on, project-based workshop class for undergraduates developed to excite students about robotic technology as they build a competitive autonomous robot of their own design. This paper analyzes two aspects of the technology created for the workshop: the robotic contest specifications and the hardware and software control technology created for the students' use. The goal is to illuminate the iterative process of designing the workshop class, which led to lessons about educational technology, classroom culture, and its impact on students' learning. The results of this work include recommendations about structuring design problems for students, features of educational technology for maximizing students' learning, and thoughts on the role of design in engineering education. Each year since 1991, over one hundred and fifty undergraduates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have participated in ...