**2. Visual impairment**

Vision, as one of our five senses, enables us to learn about our environment. Being able to see not only helps us to orientate ourselves but also shapes our perception of the world and all it has to offer. Not everyone, however, possesses full vision. "Many people have some type of visual problem at some point in their lives" [3]. Some minor problems can occur, for instance: in seeing objects that are far away (near-sightedness) or that are extremely close or in very small print (far-sightedness). "These types of conditions are often easily treated with eyeglasses or contact lenses" [3].

or other technology-related topics. In working with LEGO Mindstorms, a set of soft- and hardware to build programmable robots, they get a chance to learn on a cognitive, emotional, and haptic level. Unfortunately, not every pupil is able to participate in courses like these due to a lack of accessibility. For example, Ludi states that "awareness of potential career paths and access to adequate preparation remain barriers to students who are visually impaired" [1]. For pupils who are visually impaired or blind, it is essentially impossible to fully partici-

The Center for Learning and Knowledge Management, in conjunction with the Institute of Information Management in Mechanical Engineering of RWTH Aachen University and a group of experts, set out to develop a special and accessible course for the visually impaired and blind students. The experts consulted a group of psychologists, school and university teachers, and experts in the field of accessibility as well as in robotics. They took the original course design from an existing robotics course for high school students and transformed it into an accessible course design. The original course consists of theoretical input about building robots and programming as well as the subsequent practical phases, in which the students apply their knowledge on EV3 roboters. At the beginning of each course, the robotic equipment is explained and the problem that needs to be solved is presented. The students—in compliance with the supervisors—then analyze the problem and identify the necessary steps to be taken and in doing so, the desired outcomes of the experiment are met. The applied combination of both theoretical and practical factors has proven to facilitate an authentic learning environment and strong learning results [2]. However, developing a new and adequate course simply by applying technical adjustments is not sufficient. Therefore, all changes applied to the course went hand in hand with an adjust-

When designing a programming course for pupils with disabilities, it is crucial to develop these strategies as well as a list of the required tools as a first step. From the gathered findings, the resulting new course design allows students who are visually impaired to participate in the same courses and benefit from the same experiences—such as programming and building a robot—as their fellow pupils. This paper will present an overview of types of visual impairment, different lab settings and an insight into the original course design. This will be followed by results from the expert design workshops in terms of technical and didactic adjustments to the course. Finally, the paper will conclude with the full development cycle of the courses at RWTH Aachen University from design to testing, implementation, and

Vision, as one of our five senses, enables us to learn about our environment. Being able to see not only helps us to orientate ourselves but also shapes our perception of the world and all it has to offer. Not everyone, however, possesses full vision. "Many people have some type of visual problem at some point in their lives" [3]. Some minor problems can occur, for

pate in a programming process or in building a robot.

134 Causes and Coping with Visual Impairment and Blindness

ment of teaching and learning strategies.

further development.

**2. Visual impairment**

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), apart from these minor eye problems, "285 million people are estimated to be visually impaired worldwide: 39 million are blind and 246 have low vision" [4]. Other key facts from the WHO about visual impairment state that around "90% of the world's visually impaired live in low-income settings," "82% of people living with blindness are aged 50 and above" and that 80% of all visual impairment can be prevented or cured [4]. Many people worldwide are only visually impaired because they do not have access to reading aids or medical care in general; most people with visual impairment come from low-income or developing countries. "Globally, uncorrected refractive errors are the main cause of moderate and severe visual impairment; cataracts remain the leading cause of blindness in middle- and low-income countries" [4]. The risk of going blind is estimated to be 10 times higher in developing countries than in industrialized countries [5]. In comparison to persons with low vision, persons who suffer from blindness face additional challenges. These can manifest themselves in social challenges by the difficulty of participation in social activities and events, navigation and orientation in unfamiliar environments as well as difficulties in using technology such as computers and smartphones. Although many people with blindness use tools such as blind rods, screen readers, and other helpful measures, not everyone has the financial background or even enough self-esteem to counterbalance the previously mentioned disadvantages.

According to the National Eye Institute in the United States, "less familiar visual impairments include:


In contrast, there are no reliable numbers of visually impaired children and teenagers in Germany. Nevertheless, visual impairment is a big issue and causes imbalances, particularly

**3.2. Student laboratories in Germany**

dents in different parts of Germany will be presented.

C++, soldering and building a LEGO-Mindstorm robot [8].

robot to find its way around autonomously [10].

and have included children with disabilities since 2013 [11].

**3.3. Student laboratories worldwide**

Around the globe, there are laboratories available that also work in equal or related fields of robotics, though very few are constantly available for secondary school students. This is largely due to the fact that equipment is often very expensive, difficult to acquire, and too conceptually complex for young persons to use. The special challenge of the RoboScope (http:// www.robo-scope.de/home.html) of RWTH Aachen University is to give students—both sighted as well as visually impaired or blind—something that inspires them and makes them curious. By giving them an achievable, yet challenging task, it aims to foster a desire to work in a respective field of engineering. In the following, a few examples of robotics labs for stu-

Designing Hands-On Robotics Courses for Students with Visual Impairment or Blindness

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.73285

137

Other universities like the Technical University of Hamburg/Harburg cooperate with companies to encourage pupils to learn programming skills. For instance, they offer seven different courses based on interests and experiences at the university, which may consist of weekly meetings at the school or participation in a voluntary project team. In different modules, such as a trial course, pupils learn while using LEGO Mindstorms robots and basic graphic programming. In higher modules, they get introduced to programming languages like C and

The concept of offering certain courses based on a student's interests and experiences is also common across other universities or institutions. The Technical University of Kaiserlautern provides three different classes, from basic programming to getting a robot to follow lines in a labyrinth up to a course in preparation for a robotics tournament. The main field of attention

The "TUMLab," the Technical University of Munich's lab situated in the German Museum, offers a similar course based on this technology. In five different modules, pupils get to know diverse sensors and how to apply them ingeniously. Herein, lies the main goal of getting a

The "Technikum29" in Kelkheim-Hornau in Germany offers a workshop for learning about and using sensors, branches, subprograms, busses, interrupts, and how to develop logical decisions and games using a Raspberry Pi and similar single-board computers. As a distinguishing factor from the robotics summer camp of the University of Darmstadt, which focuses on ages 10–14, the Technikum29 requires its participants to be at least 14 years old. At the robotics summer camp, younger pupils learn to communicate using Bluetooth technologies and to build their own robot with a LEGO Mindstorms packet. Older pupils get to discover and solve problems and tasks given from the instructors, who are computer science students at the University of Darmstadt. Both courses take place during 1 week of the summer holiday

In Switzerland, the ETH Zürich focuses on preschool children and offers a "Bee-Bot" kit that consists of a child-friendly bee-shaped robot. Teachers can rent six small robots, playing cards, and teaching accessories such as activity mats and charging stations for 2 weeks. The

lies in sensor technology with the aid of tactile, light, and ultrasonic sensors [9].

**Figure 1.** Retinitis pigmentosa, http://www.rsb.org.au/retinitis-pigmentosa.

in education, higher education and career opportunities, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) focused education. The robotics courses for students with visual impairment or blindness at RWTH Aachen therefore aim to overcome these inequalities.
