New Cobotics Course for Juniors and Seniors

Article by Mary O’Brien ’27

This year, Kellenberg started Cobotics, a new morning course before homeroom from 7 am-8 am. This class is open to juniors and seniors interested in engineering and technology.

A Cobot is a collaborative robot, so it can safely work in a classroom with teachers and students and allows students to collaborate. It also teaches them how we can use it as a tool in our lives and not something that will take over. Its mechanics include low inertia structures, which reduce impact force during movement. Its force-torque sensors instantly halt movement the moment unexpected contact or resistance is detected. Its compliant control systems allow the joints to yield rather than resist when touching external objects. Operators can physically grab the Cobot arm and guide it through desired motions by hand, which records joint angles directly into the control software without writing code. This process allows students to grasp kinematic principles without spending hours debugging code.

*Mr. Kiedaisch instructs the early morning Cobotics students to safely operate the arms in classroom tasks.*

This technology is a bridge between theoretical science and real-world execution.

Mr. Kiedaisch, one of the teachers of the course, said, “It teaches students hands-on problem solving and engineering concepts. They are able to collaborate with students who are interested in different STEM fields, and they’re applying things they’ve learned in their STEM classes to this Cobot so they can see it in reality. They can see the problem in front of them and use their problem-solving skills so it isn’t ambiguous.”

A student interested in software engineering may be collaborating with a peer focused on mechanical design or biomedical engineering. Working together in small units teaches students communication and teamwork.

For this past session, there were 19 students taking the course. There are more sessions to come, and the next one will take place from November 9th-20th. More information is available in the tech center or the IT department. Upon completion of this course, students have the opportunity to take a certification exam in Cobotics.

Ultimately, by taking this course, their technical skills will be validated, and they will have a distinct advantage on college applications for competitive undergraduate engineering, robotics, and computer science programs.