Low cost educational robotics with Arduino technology

The main objective of this proposal is the integration of an educational project in the classrooms, based on the construction of a Remotely Operated Vehicle, from low-cost tools, considering open-source hardware and software, having selected Arduino as an open-source hardware platform and Scratch as an open-source software implementation.

In addition to the main objective, it has been considered that robotics should be present in the education of any student, due to its didactic and practical nature, regardless the school/high school and the development that teachers make of this theme. Therefore, this proposal includes a demonstration workshop dedicated to robotics and programming which is also extrapolated to an exhibition in museum of science/technology. It will provide students a set of tools to build underwater robots, in line with the "Maker" philosophy and working realistically, creating dynamic activities that complement the teaching work and stimulate interest in science, technology and innovation. As an additional element of innovation, the proposal includes a training program for teachers in the Scratch programming language. This proposal is set as an excellent opportunity to disseminate to citizens in general and more specifically to students, the extensive and exciting field of professional development that through innovative technologies applied to the knowledge and the sustainable use of the ocean, can be found and developed in Spain.

Finally, the project context is also used to actively disseminate the results of the UNDERWORLD project, related to underwater radiocommunications, in the framework of the Scientific, Technic and Innovation Plan 2013-2016, section 1: “Research Challenges”.