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Virtual reality‐based educational tools allow students to visualize and interact with three‐dimensional objects in ways that cannot be achieved using traditional teaching methods. This type of educational tool is especially relevant to mechanically‐complex courses, such as those pertaining to robotics and mechatronics. Build‐A‐Robot is such a tool, created using the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), MATLAB, and the Simulink 3D Animation Toolbox, to study the forward kinematics of serial robot arms according to the Denavit–Hartenberg convention. This tool is described, and the power of using MATLAB to directly manipulate VRML geometric dimensions is explored. The potential of this tool is evidenced by student survey responses and examination results. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 23:846–853, 2015; View this article online at http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI

This paper focuses on the nature of the rate error which arises when a first-order digital differentiator is applied to the output of a uniform quantizer for the purpose of rate estimation. The quantizer input is assumed to be a constantrate signal which is subject to a uniformly distributed noise source. New formulae are presented for the corresponding rms and spectral error characteristics. The results are applicable to the signal processing of sensor outputs, exemplified by the shaft encoder-based velocity estimation of an almost uniformly rotating mass. Both computer-generated finite data sets and experimental data derived from encoder-based shaft velocity measurements are utilized to verify the theoretical results. The results described are also applicable to a more general class of systems which involve the digital differentiation of quantized, noise-affected signals, such as first-order sigma-delta modulators with nominally constant input. , the analysis of quantization effects in data acquisition systems, hardware-in-the-loop test systems, and the design of advanced intramachine communications systems.John M. D. Murphy (M'91-SM'95) was born in Dublin, Ireland. He received the B.E., M.E., and