nCoV-BusterBot: Mission Simulation Lab Modules for Supporting a Lab-based Autonomous Systems Class in a Remote Learning Environment

This paper describes a series of lab modules designed to support student learning after a lab-based course in autonomous systems switched to a remote learning format during the spring of 2020 The Autonomous Unmanned Systems Stream is a course-based undergraduate research experience that serves first-year students at the University of Maryland Incoming cohorts begin their year-long experience in January with a ten-week training syllabus that relies on a balance of scholarly inquiry and in-lab activities to engage key experiential learning modes Students then form teams and propose unmanned-vehicle projects with societal relevance beyond the classroom that they pursue for the rest of the year Student training was disrupted in Spring 2020 when universities were forced to cancel in-person classes and close labs due to the global COVID-19 outbreak I created two extension lab sequences to facilitate basic experimentation with embedded hardware and motion planning concepts while helping students to develop basic decision-making strategies for their own research projects nCoV-BusterBot is a fictional vehicle that disinfects indoor spaces using an onboard UV emitter array;the labs simulate its mission using a hardware-in-the-loop ground station framework and with a separate paper-based board game designed to be printed and assembled at home Student survey results indicate the new labs helped maintain student engagement after transitioning to a remote learning format and were successful in supporting their respective learning and research outcomes © 2021, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA All rights reserved