Use of design competitions in mechatronics education

Abstract

Design competitions are commonplace in courses that teach mechanical design. The competitions provide not only a structured design challenge, but also great motivation for the students to design and build a well-functioning device. This paper describes how design competitions have been integrated into mechatronics education at Georgia Tech. Three types of competitions are described. The first contests are used in the introductory mechanical design course. The course requires the students to work in teams to create a mechatronics device, so the course can also be considered an introductory mechatronics course. The second type of competitions are used in a graduate-level controls implementation course. Finally, an extracurricular contest that requires the students to build an autonomous “satellite” is described.