Free online program on Human-Robot Interaction

The introduction to Human–Robot Interaction MOOC provides a broad overview of the multidisciplinary topics central to modern HRI research. The courses are available for free at edX.

In collaboration with edX and UCX, I am offering a MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) on Human-Robot Interaction. The Professional Certificate in Human-Robot Interaction consists of two courses that start on September 1st 2021. You will learn:

  • The latest research information on Human-Robot Interaction and research methods in the subject area.
  • How robots work and how to design one
  • What the various forms of Human-Robot Interaction are, including spatial, verbal and non-verbal
  • How robots manage emotions
  • The practical applications of robots and their role in society

Introduction to Human-Robot Interaction

The Introduction to Human-Robot Interaction course provides a broad overview of the multidisciplinary topics central to modern Human-Robot Interaction research and introduces all the relevant background concepts; describing how robots work, how to design them, and the specifics of spatial and non-verbal interaction.

Methods and Application in Human-Robot Interaction

The Methods and Application in Human-Robot Interaction course continues to explore the multidisciplinary topics central to modern Human-Robot Interaction research and looks at the role that robots may play in our society; investigating the real world application areas such as: learning, healthcare, personal assistants, and transport.

 

Robots in Education

An Introduction to High-Tech Social Agents, Intelligent Tutors, and Curricular Tools

Our new book “Robots in Education” has been published by Routledge.

Robots in Education is an accessible introduction to the use of robotics in formal learning, encompassing pedagogical and psychological theories as well as implementation in curricula. Today, a variety of communities across education are increasingly using robots as general classroom tutors, tools in STEM projects, and subjects of study. This volume explores how the unique physical and social-interactive capabilities of educational robots can generate bonds with students while freeing instructors to focus on their individualized approaches to teaching and learning. Authored by a uniquely interdisciplinary team of scholars, the book covers the basics of robotics and their supporting technologies; attitudes toward and ethical implications of robots in learning; research methods relevant to extending our knowledge of the field; and more.

South Island Short Course Championship 2021

JASI Masters are looking forward to hosting the South Island Short Course Champs on 10/11 September 2021 at Jellie Park. Please come and join us. The meet will be held over three sessions – Friday night, Saturday morning and afternoon.

Para entries are also very welcome for the first time ever. Registration details will be available in early July.

South Island Short Course Championship 2021

Bill and Mary’s House

Building Instructions for Bill and Mary’s House

The LEGO Idea Book 6000 was a great inspiration for me as a child. I did not have all the bricks back then and probably not now either. But we can build all the models digitally. This is my first go at creating a model with instructions in Stud.io. You can download the instructions in the PDF format. Happy building!

bill-mary-house-lego-idea-book-6000

 

Creating a custom Minifigure in Stud.io – The Case of Bill and Mary

Tutorial on creating custom digital LEGO Minifigures.

I used to own LEGO Ideas Book 6000 when I was a child and still own a copy. The two main characters in this story, Bill and Mary, are not available in any of the major LEGO digital design software packages, such as LEGO Digital Designer, Stud.io or Mecabricks. Time to learn something new. This tutorial will show you how to create your own custom digital LEGO Minifigure.

Frist, I had to create the decals for both figures, since the original minifigures had stickers. I used Adobe Illustrator to create the graphics and Bricklink’s PartDesigner to create the custom LEGO parts.

For the decal design, I used  some of the available shape templates. PartDesigner’s manual has the specific dimensions: 605×512 pixels. So let’s start with creating a new Illustrator document with these dimensions.

Next, we create the artwork without a background layer, since this will give us transparency later.

Now it is time to export the graphics as a png file.

Download and install PartDesigner. When you create a new document, use the minifigure template.

Click on the little mountain icons on the torso and select the PNG file we just created.

Add the model to the viewport.


We can now delete the legs, arms and head.

Next, it is time to safe the new part, ideally with its official LEGO number.

Only the torso of Bill and Mary are unique and I uploaded 973bp0386.part (Bill’s torso) and 973pb0385.part (Mary’s torso) to my website.

Now, we can export the parts to Stud.io. Make sure that you give the part meaningful names and include the proper LEGO ID number is the optional section.

In studio, we have to select the custom parts library.

We can search now for Bill and find this part.

Drag and drop the torso into the scene and add the other parts to the model. The complete model is available for download here.

Now we can add some original models from the LEGO Idea Book 6000, some roads and greenery and we have a perfect first shot.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial on how to create custom digital minifigures.