Mechatronics is the synergistic integration of mechanism, electronics, and computer control to achieve a functional system. Because of the emphasis upon integration, this course will center around system integration in which small teams of students will configure, design, and implement a succession of mechatronic subsystems, leading to a main project. Lectures will complement the laboratory experience with comparative surveys, operational principles, and integrated design issues associated with the spectrum of mechanism, electronics, and control components. Class lectures will cover topics intended to complement the laboratory work, including mechanisms, actuators, motor drives, sensors and electronic interfaces, microcontroller hardware and programming and basic controls. During the first week of class, each student will be asked to complete a questionnaire about their technical background. The class will then be divided into multi-disciplinary teams of three students. During the first half of the class, lab assignments will be made every 1-2 weeks to construct useful subsystems based on material learned in lecture. The lab assignments are geared to build to the main project.
Meeting of the Minds:
Current team pages: