Vviewpoints
DOI: 10.1145/1787234.1787244
education
preparing computer
science students for
the Robotics Revolution

PHotoGraPH by etHan J. tIra-tHoMPson/CarneGIe Mellon

BegInnIng In the 1970s, a se- ries of technological ad- vances in computing has repeatedly reshaped the undergraduate computer science curriculum. Affordable bit-mapped displays brought GUI interfaces into widespread use, gave us the new field of human-computer interaction, and led CS departments to introduce courses in computer graphics and HCI. The maturation of networking technology that led to the Internet and the Web also spawned a whole spectrum of new courses, from the nuts and bolts of network protocols to the social impacts of online communities. The microprocessor that launched the personal and then wearable computer revolutions, and in conjunction with the growth of wireless networks, produced new types of platforms that are always on and always with us, has led to courses targeting smartphones and PDAs instead of conventional computers. And when inexpensive graphics processors and sound cards grew electronic gaming into a multibillion-dollar business with revenues comparable to the film and music industries,a CS departments responded by introducing a variety of multidisciplinary courses in game design. 9

 

a Estimated 2008 revenues from Hoovers.com: motion pictures $33 billion; music $15 billion; computer and electronic games $12 billion.

art in Development calliope: a prototype create/aSuS robot with a pan/tilt camera and gripper arm.

Robotics is the leading candidate
for the next dramatic change in the
CS curriculum. Advances in sensing,
actuator, and power technologies are
fueling an explosion in robotics com-
parable to what microprocessors did
for computing three decades ago. In
a 2007 Scientific American article, Bill
Gates drew a parallel between today’s
robotics industry and the computing