MAE 3780 - Mechatronics

Fall. 4 credits.

Prerequisite: MATH 2930, PHYS 2213, or permission of instructor.

Staff.

At the intersection of mechanical and electrical engineering, Mechatronics involves technologies necessary to create automated systems. This course introduces students to the functional elements of modern controlled dynamic systems. Topics include analog circuits - both passive and active elements, filter design, diodes, transistors, MOSFETs and power amplification, pulse width modulation, transduction - electro-mechanical devices such as electromagnetic systems, gear trains and mechanisms, optical encoders, discretization, digital logic devices, microprocessors and programming. Time permitting, piezoelectric and shape memory material transduction will be covered. Lab experiments culminate in the design, fabrication, and programming of a microprocessor-controlled robotic vehicle, which laboratory groups enter into a class-wide competition.

Outcome 1: Students will be able to apply Kirchoff’s laws to modern circuits and electro-mechanical devices. Students solved for the dynamic response of first order systems.

Outcome 2: Perform experiments on electrical circuits containing modern components and electro-mechanical systems; laboratory reports were delivered for each formal experiment and the final project.

Outcome 3: Design and construct a robotic vehicle which using sensors to determine where it is with respect to its environment. Each robotic vehicle system utilized unique sensor configurations and software for each project. The software controlled a small microprocessor that the vehicle carried, in addition to a sensor suite, motor drivers, actuators, and battery pack.