Introductory Experiential Learning Projects Using Soft Robotics and Embedded Systems

This paper will outline experiential learning project efforts that undergraduate exchange students who participated in the summers of 2021 and 2022 involving soft robotics, embedded systems, and other automation endeavors ongoing at the Robotics Automation and Manufacturing (RAM) Laboratory at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). The exchange students worked under the supervision of the primary author during the 10-week internship program sponsored by Maryland Space Grant Consortium. During the 2022 summer, they also supported a UMES graduate student with some of the ongoing field efforts related to agricultural automation and robotics.