Multidisciplinary undergraduate mechatronic experiments

Mechatronics is a relatively new field that represents the integration of mechanical, electronics engineering and computer technology for the design of products. With the availability of microprocessors at low cost, more and more products are becoming mechatronic in nature. Engineers faced with the task of developing mechatronic products must understand the principles of mechatronic design, which requires multidisciplinary knowledge. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and teach multi- and interdisciplinary courses that provide students with cross-platform skills and expertise to meet the rapidly changing needs of industry. Towards this end, an undergraduate mechatronics course has been developed at GMI. This course is heavily laboratory and project oriented. Several laboratory experiments and projects that are mechatronic in nature have been developed for this course, and this paper presents various issues associated with this course, and the development of undergraduate student experiments and projects in mechatronics at GMI. These projects provide a true multidisciplinary experience by integrating core mechanical engineering disciplines, basic electrical engineering and electronics engineering and computers