Hacking with Robots ‘n’ Microcontrollers — The Last 50 Years and Beyond
Fred Martin, UMASS Lowell

Fred will give a brief history of the thread of robotics he has been
involved with, going back to the turtles of W. Grey Walter (1950s) and
Seymour Papert (1960s), and continuing into early LEGO-based materials
(1980s) and his own work with Programmable Bricks, the Handy Board, and
Crickets. He will present his current activities in this space, including
“Artbotics” (robots + art) and “Performamatics” (computer science +
music). The context around each will be described, as the technology and
social/educational context are always so entwined.

Bio
Dr. Fred Martin is an Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the
Computer Science department at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He directs the Engaging Computing Group, which develops and studies the use of technological materials for engineering and science education at
the K-12 and university levels. Fred also has led collaborations between
art and computer science faculty, including the NSF-funded Artbotics and
Performamatics projects. Fred helped launch the worldwide robot contest
phenomenon by co-founding the MIT Autonomous Robot Design Competition, and
by publishing the textbook, “Robotics Explorations” (2001), along with the
Handy Board robot controller platform. Fred holds a BS in Computer
Science (1986), an MS in Mechanical Engineering (1988), and a PhD in Media
Arts in Sciences (1994), all from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.

Where: E14-240
Date: Friday, October 1
Time: 3:00-4:00pm