Problem Scoping in Designing Biomimetic Robots

Abstract

We examine problem scoping in our interdisciplinary curriculum where students build biomimetic robots. Biomimicry is a context for learning biology, computational thinking, and engineering design. In the solution space, students narrow the scope of their robot designs, informed by animal structure-function relationships. In the challenge space, they narrow the scope of real-world disasters by modeling them in the classroom. This dual problem scoping enables students to be active participants shaping the content of their learning.