Setting the table or cooking – robots are being programmed to carry out everyday activities like these in a research lab at CoAI JRC partner University of Bremen. All of the robots and their environments also have digital twins, but until now, these have only been available to researchers with sophisticated equipment and sufficient expertise. The IntEL4CoRo project is overcoming this limitation by introducing the virtual lab to students as well.
The team of IntEL4CoRo (Interactive Learning Environment for Cognitive Robotics) have created web version of the virtual lab that can easily be accessed and used by students, and have incorporated work with digital robots in courses in cognitive robotics and integrated intelligent systems at the University of Bremen.
The web-based student platform is almost identical to the previous version for researchers, and offers three different lab environments: a kitchen, a home environment, and a drugstore. Students learn how to program robots to carry out small everyday tasks in their respective environments, such as putting a carton of milk in the refrigerator or folding laundry. In the future, students will also be able to use the platform for their own independent projects, for example, as part of their bachelor’s or master’s theses.
The IntEL4CoRo team provides both the virtual learning environment and the learning materials as open educational resources, which can also be accessed via the Education Floor of the CoAI Virtual Research and Training Building. More information is available in the press release from the University of Bremen.