Mechatronics Education Research Articles

Highly Automated Electric Vehicle Platform for Control Education

The paper presents a small-scale electric vehicle framework for vehicle control education and research. The main goal of the project is to serve as a good experimental platform for the students on any level of vehicle mechatronics education. It offers wide range of possibilities for embedded system, control design and machine learning applications. The proposed system is a redesigned version of our former experimental vehicle framework. The project was scheduled for two main goals. One was to design and implement a Robot Operating System based vehicle with Ackermann steering. The other was to develop a platform, which can be highly integrated into vehicle control education. In the paper the system architecture, the sensors and the control units are detailed, furthermore the educational benefits and some use cases are presented.

Mechatronics Capacity Building in Tanzania

The paper deals with a capacity building project carried out by Politecnico di Milano and the three main technical universities of Tanzania aimed at stimulating high education in mechatronics and at giving professors the tools to design new mechatronics courses in the universities of the Country. This work is focused on the activities carried out at Mbeya University of Science and Technology (M.U.S.T.) where, within one week of intensive course, Tanzanian professors had the opportunity to develop a mechatronic system. The approach was aimed not just at teaching main subjects of a mechatronics course, but also at suggesting how these courses could involve university students on topics that will be a challenge for the emerging industry of the country.

Mechatronics Capacity Building in Tanzania

The paper deals with a capacity building project carried out by Politecnico di Milano and the three main technical universities of Tanzania aimed at stimulating high education in mechatronics and at giving professors the tools to design new mechatronics courses in the universities of the Country. This work is focused on the activities carried out at Mbeya University of Science and Technology (M.U.S.T.) where, within one week of intensive course, Tanzanian professors had the opportunity to develop a mechatronic system. The approach was aimed not just at teaching main subjects of a mechatronics course, but also at suggesting how these courses could involve university students on topics that will be a challenge for the emerging industry of the country.

MECHATRONICS EDUCATION: NEEDS AND CHALLENGES

Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary branch that combines electronics, mechanics, and computer science. Due to the digital revolution, mechatronics is growing fast, rapidly spreading from manufacturing to many new sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, security, and transportation. As a consequence, mechatronics training courses are proliferating at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Nowadays, a considerable number of educational institutions, both academic and vocational, are offering mechatronics education, however their programs are not homogeneous and depend on teaching staff competence and available resources. This paper presents NewMetro, an EU funded project that aims to develop an innovative European framework of competences for mechatronics education and an educational model able to address the needs of young people as well as adult workers undergoing requalification programs. The philosophy of the project and the first activities carried out are illustrated and discussed.

Development of a Modern Learning Environment for Education in Mechatronics and Industrial Automation

Mechatronic systems represent the interaction in real automation applications of the mechanical systems and the electronic control. Modular mechatronic systems implementation results not only in the improvement of the system abilities but also in savings of time to market because of the possibility to select, wire and adjust fewer components. The usage of programmable logic controllers (PLC) for the core of the modular system has been accepted as a general approach in the industry automation. The goal of the presented research is to develop a reliable electronic system and proper assignments for practice in the mechatronic field including real components – PLCs, motors, motor drives and sensors. The practical implementation of the laboratory set-up is explained. Some software examples are presented.

New motion control machine elements representation for mechatronic education

The paper presents a new proposal for representing machine designs involving motion control. The new mechatronic approach for machine design is moving from a mechanic concept where mechanical transmissions, mechanical gears and coupling etc. are being implemented by electronic coupling, gears, etc. New concepts such as electronic virtual axis are also being employed very often. This brings that, in regards with machine design communication, mechanic elements represented in the past by mechanical drawings are being replaced by new electronic concepts. However, these new electronic motion control concepts should be also represented for a full understanding of the machine behaviors. Drawings are a fundamental tool to communicate preliminary designs, both in an academic and education environments as in professional ones. The new mechatronic elements graphical representation presented in the paper has the objective of bringing the gap between a pure mechanical machine design view and an automated one, including new electronic motion control concepts, and remarking the relevant “mechanic” information from the electronic motion control point of view. All this should facilitate the presentation and explanation of system-based mechatronic designs both in the classroom and at the professional level.

9-213 メカトロニクス教育運営におけるプロジェクト・マネジメントの適用と評価(口頭発表論文,(8)ものつくり教育-IV)

9-213 メカトロニクス教育運営におけるプロジェクト・マネジメントの適用と評価(口頭発表論文,(8)ものつくり教育-IV)

Developing a Laboratory for Engineering Education in Mechatronics

This paper reports the development processof a laboratory in mechatronics for mechanicalengineering education at the undergraduate level. The labwas developed to meet two primary objectives: creatingand enhancing opportunities for student skill developmentin the context of two key Canadian EngineeringAccreditation Board (CEAB) graduate attributes, andproviding hands-on experience in mechatronic design inline with current trends in mechatronics education andindustrial practice.Of the twelve CEAB attributes, “Design” and “Useof Engineering Tools” are most compatible with the labin mechatronics. The mechatronics lab was developed,providing occasion for students to engage in engineeringdesign work and use modern engineering equipment inthe process.In step with trends and requirements of industry,mechatronics education in recent years has made a shifttoward integration of microcontrollers with sensors andactuators as integral parts of mechatronics design work.Mechatronics equipment has also become more widelyavailable at lower cost, enabling broader access andcreating the possibility of replicating industrial projectson a smaller scale within a university lab. Themechatronics lab reflects these developments.This paper also explores the continuity of learningoutcomes from lectures to labs and the connectionbetween these outcomes and graduate attributes. Itoutlines some of the issues and limitations encountered.We also report on qualitative student experience based oninteractions and informal student feedback.

Mechatronics Education using a Maze-solver robot.(2nd Report)

Mechatronics Education using a Maze-solver robot.(2nd Report)

Practice and Evaluation of Developed Method about Mechatronics Education of Project-Based Learning for University Students of Engineering

Practice and Evaluation of Developed Method about Mechatronics Education of Project-Based Learning for University Students of Engineering

Undergraduate-Student Teaching Materials for Mechatronics

This study develops teaching materials for mechatronics in higher education. Industrial societies require numerous mechatronics engineers, and most technical universities provide mechatronics exercises in their curriculums. However, it is difficult for teachers and students to modify and improve the mechatronic teaching materials because the provided materials are finished products. Therefore, a simple and inexpensive educational system is developed to overcome the disadvantages of the finished products. In this paper, an experimental apparatus is proposed for mechatronics education, and a practical example is presented that involves learning control methods, sensors, actuators, and mechanics.

迷路探索ロボットを教材に使ったメカトロニクス教育の実施と評価

迷路探索ロボットを教材に使ったメカトロニクス教育の実施と評価

Autonomous Vehicle Function Experiments with Low-Cost Environment Sensors

Abstract The paper presents the development of an experimental vehicle framework for testing autonomous vehicle functions. The development of system serves primarily the education and the scientific work of the students. It is a good experience for the students on any level of mechatronic education because of its diverse possibilities for mechanical engineering, embedded systems, or control design. Overall system architecture, sensors, actuators and control solutions are outlined in this paper along with the development of a low-cost 3-D LIDAR sensor and some Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) experiments.

A Flipped Lab Experience for Mechatronics Education

This article discusses different lab experiences for mechatronics education. Integrated software tools like MATLAB and Simulink and the availability of low-cost hardware are enabling technologies for the development of innovative laboratory and curriculum paradigms. An example of this is the laboratory curriculum developed for the Mechatronics course at Rensselaer, consisting of the Rensselaer Mechatronics Hardware Kit and the associated RASPLib software package, which allow the students to take the laboratory experience out of the classroom and into their dorm rooms. This has created unique opportunities for learning and pedagogy. The Mini Inverted Pendulum project provides students a complete Mechatronics design experience. The end objective is clear: use the motor and sensors in the Mechatronics Kit to balance the pendulum.

マイコンボード TK400 を活用したメカトロ教育の事例紹介

マイコンボード TK400 を活用したメカトロ教育の事例紹介

휴대용 소형 전자장비를 이용한 편리하고 경제적인 메카트로닉스 교육

Abstract : Although mechatronics education in a mechanical engineering curriculum is recently recognized as important, its experimental education has been done generally in the laboratory equipped with all the apparatus and could not be done at home by students. This paper introduces experimental educations on mechatronics, e.g., digital logic circuits, 7-segment LED drive, square wave generation, microcontroller programming using assembly and C languages, timer interrupt, and step motor drive using a small 5 V power supply, a breadboard, various electronic and electric components, a microcontroller and its programmer, a step motor, and a student’s PC. In the developed mechatronics course, experimental educations are scheduled in parallel with content’s lectures together, and cheap and economic experimental environment is prepared for students in which students can easily practice experimental works in advance or later at home by themselves. § 이 논문은 2015년도 대한기계학회 교육부문 춘계학술대회(2015. 6. 25.-26., 고려대) 발표논문임. † Corresponding Author, cgkang@konkuk.ac.kr

Control Education for Mechatronics: Robust State-Feedback Controller Design

The paper surveys selected state space robust control methods suitable for implementation in motion systems, and their implementation on a laboratory plant - the Modular Servosystem. Robust control theory is taught within control engineering courses in the MSc study program Applied Mechatronics, robust methods and algorithms are developed and verified in the control engineering laboratory during the solution of student and research projects. The project-based learning on suitable laboratory plants is a well-established method for control engineering education in mechatronics.

マイコンボードTK400を活用したメカトロニクス教育実践

マイコンボードTK400を活用したメカトロニクス教育実践

About Mechatronics in the Engineering Education at the Faculty of Mechanics Craiova

In the conditions of the accentuated globalization and marked by a strong economical concurrence, the development of the present society imposes a new type of education. This must take into account all dimensions of the human being because our whole individual and social life is structured by education. The confirmation of the creative valences of Mechatronics in all fields makes possible the appearance of a new philosophy compatible with the actual technological and informatical development in society. At the base of the Mechatronics’ principles in Education is situated the development of the systemic thinking and the formation of the work abilities in team based on the informatics role in all fields. In mechatronic Education is followed by the formation of the information, mental action and social skills.

Proactive Teaching of Mechatronics in Master Courses – Project Case Study

University education of young people in very complex branches like robotics is nowadays an issue. Methods like e-learning, distance education etc. are implemented. The authors of the article consider that practice courses play an irreplaceable role in mechatronics education. The paper deals with description of internship concept of French Military Academy of Saint-Cyr for master degree students. A real system of robot arm manipulator playing a Tic Tac Toe game with a human is presented as a case study of a typical issue solved by the students.