The Richmond Section, on behalf of IEEE Region 3, applied for and received a grant of $15,000 to purchase and distribute XRP Robots to schools, libraries, and other non-profit groups that are involved in STEM education. (Click here to see the announcement of this grant, including the original application.) All Sections throughout Region 3 are eligible to participate. Any funds from this grant that remain after December 31, 2024, will need to be returned, so we need to move quickly.

So far, the following Sections have expressed an interest in participating:

• Atlanta Section
• Canaveral Section
• Central Virginia Section
• Eastern North Carolina Section
• Florida West Coast Section
• Melbourne Section
• Mississippi Section
• Piedmont Section
• Richmond Section
• Winston-Salem Section

Even if your Section is not listed yet, there is still time to join in!

The eXperiental Robotics Platform (XRP) was created by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and DEKA Research and Development (the company run by the Founder of FIRST Robotics) to introduce students to robotics, electronics, and programming at a very low cost. IEEE, as an educational organization, can purchase all the parts needed for a student to assemble a complete robot for approximately $100.

The robot is completely open source and can be used by students in a wide range of grade levels. Elementary school students, for example, might use block programming to make the robot do something very simple like following a path. More advanced students might choose to program the robot using MicroPython rather than block programming. The platform is designed to be modifiable and expandable, so advanced students might chose to add new types of sensors, extra motors or actuators, or redesign the frame to better suit their application. The robot can even be used to challenge students at the university level. DigiKey, for example, has a video that explains how to add computer vision and object detection to the XRP robot using a Google Coral TPU.

So where do you come into the picture?

We need people in all kinds of roles to get involved and we need to move quickly. Our funding is only available for this year. After December 31st, any unused funds go back to IEEE.

• Are you a parent of a pre-university student? Perhaps you can reach out to their school and get the school interested in receiving some of these robots along with lesson plans describing how to make use of the robots. Connecting with schools is always a challenge for someone not already involved with a school, but schools tend to quickly respond to the parents of their students.
• Are you a web site developer? Perhaps you can help set up the website that will be used to track the usage of the robots. The more we can show that the robots are being used, the easier it will be to find ongoing funding sources after this year’s grant runs out.
• Are you a software engineer? Perhaps you can develop new software add-ins for the platform. It is meant to be expanded upon by users like you.
• Are you an electronics enthusiast? Perhaps you can integrate a new sensor type into the robot so that students gain new functionality that they can make use of.
• Are you into 3D printing? Perhaps you can help us make modifications to the robot or its brackets that will enable new functionality.
• Are you a university student who needs to choose a Senior Design Project? Perhaps you and your team could take on several hardware and software tasks and create something that students around the world could make use of in the coming years.
• Are you involved in pre-university STEM education? Perhaps you can help us turn our ideas into something that is in the form that K-12 teachers need.
• Are you someone who is good at walking people through things? Perhaps you can be a resource who can help teachers and students when they run into problems.

To summarize, if you’re interested in any way, we can definitely use your help. Your involvement might be just the thing that sparks a child’s interest in STEM. If you want to get involved, please contact your Section ExCom or send an email to xrp@ieee.org and let’s start a conversation.