HYDRA 2.0: Towards developing a holistic tool for STEM education

In the current research a holistic tool towards STEM education is introduced. The proposed method is implemented using an enhanced version of a previously introduced educational framework [5], namely HYDRA 2.0. The proposed system offers a set of hardware and software tools which allow the creation of working artefacts. An application using augmented reality has been developed allowing the users to interact and obtain information about the different building blocks. In order to adopt the aforementioned tools in a classroom environment, an educational procedure consisting of sequential tasks and actions has been introduced and modeled using Timed Petri nets, for representation, monitoring, what-if analysis and root cause analysis purposes. To highlight the applicability of the proposed approach a sample test case which results in a mobile robot with autonomous capabilities is presented and future extensions and conclusions are discussed.