Well, not really. We intentionally ordered these robots.

Seven TurtleBot3s – 5 Burgers and 2 Waffles (Sounds like a late lunch order, with a shake) — will become part of the library’s list of items that students and faculty can check out through Circulation.  Using summer innovation grant funds and working with Professor Anthony Clark for guidance on robots that would be useful to Computer Science, Engineering, and Physics, we were able to purchase these seven bots.

Professor Anthony Clark, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, noted, “I will be using the TurtleBot3s in both undergraduate and graduate courses. Students will learn complex theoretical concepts in class and will have an opportunity to put them into practice with these very capable devices. These robots will provide a great opportunity for our students to learn skills that will be in high demand in the coming years.”

The Robotis website notes, “The goal of TurtleBot3 is to drastically reduce the size and lower the price of the platform without sacrificing capability, functionality, and quality. Optional parts such as chassis, computers and sensors are available, and TurtleBot3 can be customized in various ways. TurtleBot3 is willing to be in the center of the maker movement by applying the latest technical advances of the SBC(Single Board Computer), the Depth sensor and 3D printing technology. TurtleBot3 is a collaboration project among Open Robotics, ROBOTIS, and more partners like Intel, Onshape, OROCA. The Open Robotics is in charge of software and community activities, while ROBOTIS is in charge of manufacturing and global distribution.”