Recent developments in a mechatronics-oriented design project laboratory

This article describes a senior-level undergraduate course in mechatronics/design for mechanical engineers at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, NY, and presents an overview of the projects developed as part thereof. It is a two-semester course sequence, mandatory for all undergraduate students. Teams are typically formed by groups of three students, and a project is assigned to them at the beginning of the academic year. The assigned projects are related to the design and control of mechanical systems. The teams have a limited budget to complete the project, and can use the available resources at the Instrumentation Laboratory. The projects involve significant effort in microprocessor interfacing, signal processing, and power control for actuators. The anticipated theoretical results are analyzed and compared to the obtained experimental data. The teams submit five bimonthly reports and make a final presentation. The outcome of the best projects has been presented in regional conferences and published in several journals. The projects presented in the paper concern AGVs, heating and ventilation, process temperature control, DC motors, gear transmissions, and solar panel tracking