Mobsya

Robots have generated interest for use in schools since Seymour Papert's work; however, when his Logo turtles were introduced in the 1980s, they proved to be unreliable, expensive, and limited [1]. Since then, we have seen various affordable, reliable, and polyvalent platforms such as LEGO Mindstorms [1] or the Bee-Bot [2]. Robotics has become more appealing, and it is an established fact that educational robots can improve children?s motivation [3], [4]. Robotics also embodies a wide range of disciplines that allow its use in a broad educational area and in interdisciplinary studies. Its use in compulsory schools can bring technology to a larger audience that includes both genders.

We demonstrate a scenario in which a mobile robot, according to a plan, builds a structure that it can then enter. The robot interacts with the construction using local sensing. This synthesis of planning and stigmergy opens the way to new construction techniques using mobile robots.

The introduction of technology in the public school teaching process could help increasing the weak motivation we can observe toward engineering studies. To achieve this goal, one main obstacle is motivating public school teachers to use technological tools in their teaching activity. In this paper we present how to use a large public robotic festival to introduce such educational tools to teachers. A survey made among the teachers helps in understanding their expectations in this particular context and the potential impact of this action, giving hints on how to run this type of activity.