David  Williams

David Williams

Scholar Title

MIT EECS - Texas Instruments Laboratory Undergraduate Research and Innovation Scholar

Research Title

Robot Kit for 6.01

Cohort

2013–2014

Supervisor

Dennis M. Freeman

Abstract

Currently, 6.01 uses prebuilt robots to explore the concepts of EECS. The philosophy behind the class, however, is that students learn best when they are actively engaged in problem solving in such a way that they feel a degree of ownership of their work. Therefore, I will be designing a robot that students will be able to build up from scratch in weekly labs. The new robot will be smaller, faster, and cheaper than the current one, yet still have all of the same functionality. I will also be working with the 6.01 instructors to redesign the curriculum around the new robot. This will include designing, testing, and evaluating new labs, as well as restructuring old ones.

Quote

I worked at LIDS to help release the RLPy framework, a python library created to facilitate research and education on Markov Decision Processes. I designed a GUI platform for controlling multiple robots for research purposes at the Drexel Data Fusion Lab. I have also been a lecture assistant for 6.01 and have a great deal of passion for pedagogy.

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