Communications of the ACM
Turning Tiny Robots Into Student Recruiters
As part of the New Mexico Computer Science for All program, the University of New Mexico recently demonstrated its iAnts project to students from the Next+Gen Academy in Albuquerque.
Credit: Ryan Montano
The Santa Fe Institute, in collaboration with the University of New Mexico (UNM), hopes to excite high school students about the possibilities of computer programming by showing them the results of programming.
As part of the NM Computer Science for All program, UNM recently demonstrated its iAnts project to students from the Nex+Gen Academy in Albuquerque. The iAnts are tiny robots made from iPods, placed on wheels, and programmed to communicate and swarm the way real ants do.
One UNM student programmed a simulation that visualizes how the iAnts engage with each other and the obstacles in their environment. The visualization enables students and researchers to see how parameters of the model can change the number of tags that are found and the number of collisions that occur between robots.
UNM professor Melanie Moses and her students are building simulations to explore how real ants might perform when they are given tasks. She also is helping to expand the program into a permanent part of the curriculum in state high schools.
Several local schools already have been trained in the curriculum, and this summer, UNM plans to offer an online course to help prepare teachers and a course on campus for dual credit for high school students.
From UNM Newsroom
View Full Article
Abstracts Copyright © 2015 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
No entries found