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Tom Lauwers
PhD Student

Email address: tlauwers@andrew.cmu.edu
Office: NSH A504
Phone: (412) 268-6723

Mailing address:
Carnegie Mellon University
Robotics Institute
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Jump to: Research interests | Keywords | Labs & groups | Projects | Publications

Research interests

My work focuses on using applications of robotic technologies to positively impact motivation and learning in science and technology education. I am pursuing a methodology for an integrative design which incorporates not just the constraints of cost and technology, but also considers the needs of curricula and educators. I believe that to develop effective educational technologies, one must first identify the key concepts taught in the course for which the technology is being developed, and then map those concepts to interactions that can be provided by technology. By doing so, one can use the existing curriculum to feed into the design decisions for which technological features to include or dismiss.

I am involved with several projects in which I hope to elaborate on the above method and create examples of how such a method can be applied to real-world classroom situations to enhance technology design and, hopefully, students' conceptual learning.

Research interest keywords

control, curriculum development, design, education, entertainment robotics, human-robot interaction, mobile robots, robotics art, and sensors

Current Labs & Groups [Past labs]

CREATE: Community Robotics, Education and Technology Empowerment - CREATE brings together our mission in furthering Human-Robot Interaction with our desire to disruptively redefine how communities can make sense of their context through the use of robotic technologies.
TechBridgeWorld - TechBridgeWorld innovates and implements technology solutions to meet sustainable development needs around the world.

Current Projects [Past projects]

Educational Robotics - We are developing both physical robots and curriculum that will make educational robotics viable at the middle school and high school levels.
Telepresence Robot Kit - To design, create, and disseminate robotics curricula and technologies that motivate young women and men to actively explore science and technology.
Toy Robots Initiative - The Toy Robots Initiative aims to commercialize robotics technologies in the educational, toy and entertainment fields.
 

Publications

Note: This list may not be comprehensive. It contains only those publications in the RI publications database. Entries are listed in reverse chronological order.

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