Robotics platform for universities of developing countries

Universities in Africa face a number of challenges, one of which is availability of facilities for engineering projects. Students graduate with engineering degrees having done very little practical application of their knowledge in university projects. This was especially true in Zimbabwe during the severe economic depression in recent years. As the economic situation in Zimbabwe improves it is a challenge to universities to improve exposure of engineering students to practical industry-related engineering challenges. In this article we present a proposed mobile robot chassis, work to date and the problems faced in a prototype project working towards the proposed platform. The platform is intended for enforcing engineering practices learned during undergraduate courses, development and testing of new products, providing a platform for university-industry collaboration and for conducting research in various disciplines in electronic engineering.