Take-Home Mechatronics Control Labs: A Low-Cost Personal Solution and Educational Assessment

Abstract

Control theory, once described as the “Physics of the 21st Century,” is pervading to almost all subjects of higher learning. However, it is a difficult topic for many students, especially when introduced at the undergraduate lower level. Providing hands-on experience is often a great aid for teaching difficult concepts, but for control theory forcing a hands-on component can distract from the learning if the students are unprepared. An effective control theory laboratory curriculum builds on the foundations of statics and dynamics, circuit theory, signal processing and programming course-work. However, undergraduate students have a limited educational experience and are typically lacking in one or more of those foundations. Coupled with the unfamiliarity of the common equipment found in teaching labs, students often find themselves overwhelmed and struggle with the setups, limiting their exposure to the topic of control theory. Some industry and education companies have introduced extensive control workstations to bring integrated control theory to a teaching laboratory; however these systems are expensive and specialized, limiting their reach and effectiveness. In this paper, a low-cost mechatronics control theory personal laboratory setup with a proposed curriculum is developed for undergraduate students that addresses their uncertain foundation and improves accessibility by introducing portability to maximize the learning outcomes.

Developing an Affordable and Portable Control Systems Laboratory Kit with a Raspberry Pi

“…The literature shows that the cost of equipment per laboratory station varies from $180 [13] to $32,493.74 [14]. This research looks to replace the basic functionality of these laboratories with an affordable kit.…”

“…A lab kit allows students to take home the laboratory equipment to complete the experiments on their own time [13,15]. These kits started to become more popular as the cost of the required hardware has decreased [15].…”

Servo-In-A-Box

“…The entire system costs $80 without motor and power supply, which could add another $20. Similarly, the solution in [12] requires assembly but not Matlab. A very recent proposal is [11,13], which is based on also off-the-shelf popular microcontroller board, RaspberryPi®, and discrete electronics and motor.…”

“…However, with the proliferation of distance learning degree programs, there have been ongoing efforts to figure out how to enable hands-on lab experience remotely [1][2][3][4][10][11][12][13]. Many online engineering programs failed to obtain ABET accreditation [8] due to lack of hands-on laboratories.…”

BYOE: Affordable and Portable Laboratory Kit for Controls Courses

“…6,7 Experiments based on DC motors 1,2 and inverted pendulums 6,8 have been identified to meet these goals for controls laboratory experiences.…”