Robots in the AI Classroom: What Smart Machines Can Teach Smart Students

The design and implementation of autonomous robots provides experience with engineering problems as well as with hard problems in artificial intelligence. Our aims in this article are fourfold: First, we describe how the use of robots complements traditional classroom lectures for the teaching of important concepts in a graduate‐level AI class. Second, we discuss the use of robots as a multimedia tool for capturing student interest and facilitating the self‐guided exploration of AI concepts. Third, we relate readings and robots in the curriculum and show how the robots aid understanding of philosophical issues in AI. Finally, we describe the robot kits and the organization of the class, present several completed projects by student teams, and report some of the feedback given by students who completed the course. We also analyze the successes and failures of the first two courses offered and describe the changes made for the recently completed second course.