PTC helps Carnegie Mellon expand Robotics outreach

NEEDHAM (BOSTON): Product development company PTC has announced that teachers working with Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotic Academy used Pro/ENGINEER Schools Edition to construct Lego NXT robots as part of the Robotics Academy’s international outreach.

The Academy’s mission is to use the motivational effects of robotics to excite students about science and technology.

Since 2002, Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Academy has developed hands-on-mind-on projects using robotics to teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics concepts. This past summer the Robotics Academy worked with PTC to expand its outreach utilizing PTC Pro/ENGINEER Schools Edition software and PTC University training sessions.

The PTC Education Program provides students with the opportunity to develop expertise with the same software used by professional engineers worldwide. This past summer, teachers spent five weeks at Carnegie Mellon learning how to use Pro/Engineer Schools Edition software.

Pro/ENGINEER Schools Edition complements Carnegie Mellon’s curriculum by providing teachers and students with the parametric solid models for all of the NXT robotics parts. This enables schools to use industry standard software and teach engineering process as they challenge their students to solve engineering design problems.

Using Pro/ENGINEER Schools Edition in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon’s CD-ROM based program, students can design NXT models and then develop animations to test their designs, a critical component of the design process. The ability to test their NXT designs with the Pro/ENGINEER animation tool enhances students’ understanding of engineering processes. It also gives students the opportunity to see their designs in action and to detect and correct any design errors before they build the final product.

“Before anything is manufactured in the future, it will be modeled using parametric solid modeling software,” stated Robin Shoop, director of the robotics academy, at Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute. “Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Academy is interested in developing tools for educators that help prepare students for the new economy. Our collaboration with Pro/ENGINEER expands teachers’ opportunities to engage students in engineering education opportunities.”

"Programs like the Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Academy are an important step in creating excitement about engineering and technology,” said John Stuart, senior vice president global partners and education, PTC.

More than 10,000 academic institutions in 28 countries and over 3.2 million students currently participate in the PTC Education Program.

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