F&M Stories
Behind the Scenes: Student-Coded Robots in Action
A global group of Franklin & Marshall seniors is shaping the way future visitors to the College interact with technology.
International students Yaruusan Altankhuyag 鈥�26, Cristina Gao 鈥�26, Inna Shapovalenko 鈥�26 and HiuChun Wong 鈥�26 spent the final weeks of the fall semester programming a robot to lead visiting students and families through a playful quiz about the College.
The group came together in a course titled 鈥淗uman-Robot Interaction鈥� (HRI), taught by Jason 鈥淲illie鈥� Wilson, assistant professor of computer science.
鈥淚n class, we talk a lot about how 鈥榟uman鈥� the robot should look. How would you perceive this robot? Would you feel friendly or indifferent?鈥� asked Altankhuyag, a computer science major and minor from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
F&M staff and students take a quiz about the College, led by a robot, as Yaruusan
Altankhuyag 鈥�26 looks on. (Photo by Deb Grove)
HRI 鈥渆xamines both the technology that makes it possible and the diverse and complex implications derived from interacting with people,鈥� Wilson said.
A drop-in session before final exams opened the robot lab to F&M students and staff to interact with a trio of robots and provide feedback to student groups tasked with programming them.
HRI student groups interviewed admissions staff, faculty and other students to develop requirements for their individual robots, and then designed and developed the machine鈥檚 interactions.
Coding robots isn鈥檛 new for Shapovalenko, a computer science and physics double major from Chernihiv, Ukraine.
"I have a strong passion for hands-on mechanical and electrical engineering projects."
She assembled two versions of NASA STELLA spectrometers as a summer intern at the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC), a research center within the University of Wisconsin鈥揗adison.
In summer 2024, Shapovalenko interned for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and developed an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV), 鈥渁 drone for exploring the ocean.鈥�
鈥淚 have a strong passion for hands-on mechanical and electrical engineering projects," she said.
Still, the HRI project presented Shapovalenko with a new challenge. 鈥淚've never worked with this specific version of the robot,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think the most important thing is working in a team.鈥�
For Wong, the project provides a competitive advantage as he eyes a career merging cognitive science and machine learning.
鈥淚 see graduate school as a technical training so I can move forward to a doctorate in cognitive science,鈥� said Wong, a cognitive science major from Hong Kong.
Cristina Gao 鈥�26, of Beijing, discusses the rewards and challenges of coding a robot. She is a double major in computer science and cognitive science with a philosophy minor. (Photo by Deb Grove)
Students collaborate during a course titled 鈥淗uman-Robot Interaction鈥� (HRI), taught by Jason 鈥淲illie鈥� Wilson, assistant professor of computer science. (Photo by Deb Grove)
A closer look at one of the robots coded by computer science majors at F&M.
Students collaborate during a course titled 鈥淗uman-Robot Interaction鈥� (HRI), taught by Jason 鈥淲illie鈥� Wilson, assistant professor of computer science. (Photo by Deb Grove)
A student-coded robot captures an image of F&M staff photographer Deb Grove.
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Your ideas may start in the classroom, but they won鈥檛 be contained there. Learning by doing is part of our DNA as Diplomats. We prioritize the transformative power of hands-on learning to enhance your professional development experiences, including opportunities to participate in groundbreaking research.
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