Teaching stem competencies through an educational mobile robot

The STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) competences have taken the classroom of new generations, due to the need to instill interest in technical sciences and promote the careers of the future. In underdeveloped countries, free access to technology is limited by the scarcity of economic resources, for this it is required low-cost tools that facilitate better multidisciplinary learning. This work presents the implementation of an educational mobile robot to teach STEM competencies; the physical structure has been designed using 3D modeling and printing in PLA. The electronic system presented in this work is based on the Arduino embedded card that connects distance, weight, temperature and color sensors, two DC motors, and an LCD screen. In addition, the mobile robot has Bluetooth communication to connect it to external devices. The interaction with the user (student) is done through a mobile application and an HMI that is displayed on a personal computer. The robot’s features allow the measurement of physical variables, conversion of magnitudes, analysis of the operation of sensors and actuators, and the use of control interfaces. Experimental performance tests are carried out by individuals with an average age of 12 years (K-12), who are subjected to a learning test before and after applying this proposal. Finally, usability tests are carried out on teachers to validate the system developed. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020.