Advances and Challenges in Educational Robotics, Volume III

Dear Colleagues,

The radical digital transformation and widespread introduction of robots into industry and everyday life are the realities of the current era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0). Education nowadays is facing challenges to adapt and keep pace with the fast-changing technological world. There is an urgent need for radical pedagogical reform, namely in the form of Education 4.0, which aims to introduce Industry 4.0 concepts and technologies at all levels of education and utilize these technologies to teach various subjects more effectively and efficiently. A key component of this reform is the upgrade of educational robotics. Understanding how modern robot systems work and being able to interact with them in shared environments has become essential for everyone. Exploring experiential learning to design, construct, program, control, and operate smart and connected robot systems is at the core of engineering education across the disciplinary areas. Through performing applied robotics tasks in physical or virtual environments, in the lab or online, students can better understand the concepts from various STEM subjects and develop technical competencies and generic skills needed for Industry 4.0. The great challenge of educational robotics nowadays is to develop  novel learning environments, instructional strategies, and evaluation methods for Education 4.0. 

This Special Issue aims to present new innovative approaches to teaching smart robotics and using robot systems to enhance the learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the era of Industry 4.0. We invite the submission of original contributions reporting on the development of robotic environments and platforms, the implementation of educational robotics programs and competitions, and evidence-based evaluations of their learning outcomes.

Of particular interest are papers in which robotics activities focus on learning about Industry 4.0 technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, virtual and augmented reality, cyber–physical systems, and additive manufacturing. The papers contained in this Special Issue will evaluate the learning outcomes of robotics activities and students’ perceptions of learning experiences. The papers included in this Special Issue should focus on formal or informal education in universities and schools.

Prof. Dr. Igor Verner
Prof. Dr. Anna Syberfeldt
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Robotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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