Getting Started

Hello! My name is Mariana Liebman-Pelaez and I am using this blog to share my work for the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF). The project Tully Foote (my mentor) and I are working on is a little open ended but has a very clear goal: to make it easier to teach robotics using Willow Garage's TurtleBot.  Since its release, the TurtleBot has exceeded many expectations by becoming a widely used platform for teaching and personalizing robots.  While there are many great examples out there of courses and projects that use the TurtleBot, we are looking to provide a space so that users and educators can share their experience using TurtleBot to collaboratively design robotics courses.  In addition, the OSRF is looking to produce a MOOC using CloudSim and the simulator Gazebo for students to learn robotics without the need of a physical TurtleBot.  The idea is to use the outcomes of the collaborative robotics course designs for this MOOC.

As a little background, I recently graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in mechanical engineering.  During my time at school, I worked with the Tufts Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO), teaching science and engineering to elementary school students.  We spend a lot of time discussing and working on curricula in order to improve understanding and bring in more creativity to science and engineering education.  I enjoy tinkering, running, crafty projects, gardening, travelling and cooking!