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.
A Flipped Lab Experience for Mechatronics Education
Joshua Hurst received his BS, MS and Ph.D. all in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 2002, 2003 and 2008. He worked on navigation and guidance systems for self-guided vehicles and on flight control systems before joining the Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering Department at Rensselaer in 2011. His interests are in the areas of mechatronics, dynamic systems, control and optimization.
Sandipan Mishra received his B.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 2002 and his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 2008, both in Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Mishra joined RPI's faculty in the Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering Department in Fall 2010. His interests are in the area of systems and control theory, learning control, nonlinear estimation, and precision Mechatronics.
Hurst, J., and Mishra, S. (June 1, 2016). "A Flipped Lab Experience for Mechatronics Education." ASME. Mechanical Engineering. June 2016; 138(06): S7–S11. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2016-Jun-5
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