Introducing ROAVEE: An Advanced STEM-Based Project in Aquatic Robotics

One way that STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) initiatives are being utilized is to encourage schools and teachers to integrate key science-based concepts into daily instruction. The reason is simple: it is more than just an instructional improvement or curricular enhancement; it is a research-based strategy that addresses the future needs of a technology-driven work force and sustaining a global economy. The importance of STEM is further validated by its prominence in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). One of the most effective instructional approaches toward the implementation of STEM in grade-level courses is through project-based learning. In project-based learning, instruction occurs through student-centered investigations focused on a specific topic driven by a set of objectives, culminating in a broadly defined product or technique. Projects foster an environment of discussion, creativity, problem solving, inquiry, modeling, and testing, and are applicable to students in all grade levels and subjects, but particularly within the STEM arena. In this paper, we describe a STEM-based project entitled ROAVEE (Remotely Operated Amphibious Vehicle for Environmental Exploration), which was initially introduced into a physics class but would later include the collaborative involvement of environmental science, robotics, and computer science students. This project challenged the students to design, model, construct, test, and navigate a robotic vehicle equipped with sensors that can collect environmental data in air and water.