An innovative electronic engineering design course based around an anti-dodgems mobot project

Abstract

An electronic engineering design course at second year undergraduate degree level is discussed. All facets of the course centre on the design, prototyping, testing of hardware and software and engineering reporting of an “anti-dodgems mobot” project. Students integrate knowledge from analogue and digital electronics, computer architecture and programming courses to design, build and test a product. The hardware is structured in a modular manner so individual students have specific and different parts to design and develop. All students must develop the software, with each group selecting the best software for demonstration. The course delivery is based on guided discovery and is structured in a modular fashion to assist students through the milestones. Deadlines are set by which the student must have completed the initial hardware design, the printed circuit board prototype, testing of the hardware, and writing of the software. A progress report is due midway through the project and a complete engineering report is due at the completion. The students' work in teams of 3 or 4 with individual responsibilities. At the end of the project the students perform an oral presentation of their solution and demonstrate the finished product to show that it meets the minimum specifications. The project is competitive in that all groups undertake the same project with the objective of producing a result better and more creatively than their peers. Each student is individually assessed for their design, hardware manufactured, software written, written reports and oral presentation. The course succeeds in making electronics and computer engineering an enjoyable experience. (6 pages)