This project aims to enhance engineering education by integrating technical learning with emotionally resonant experiences through a unique robotic firefly lab activity. Delivered in three weekly lab sessions as part of an introductory robot design course, this activity introduces first-year engineering students to multi-agent robotics while fostering a sense of community and emotional engagement. Each student programs an individual robot, creating a swarm that synchronizes their lights, which is designed to evoke positive emotions and reflect the diversity of student perspectives in a harmonious collective.
The initiative includes modernizing robot design for classroom use and developing an assessment framework to evaluate the emotional and technical impacts of the activity. If successful, the firefly robot will become a permanent part of lab courses, enhancing students’ perceptions of harmony and belonging. The project builds on a previous pilot that elicited strong positive emotions but did not fully capture qualitative outcomes. By bridging technical and emotional elements, the project aligns with current educational scholarship that emphasizes the importance of emotional engagement in STEM learning, promoting an inclusive, people-first approach to engineering education.
Project Team
Derrick Yeo
Robotics
Funding
This team was awarded $5720 in funding in Spring 2025.