Page 83 - The Mechatronics Handbook

instructional sequences, material delivery techniques, visualization and demonstration approaches, and
other supplemental materials to accomplish a wide range of educational and research goals. There is an
increase in the number of students whose good programming skills and theoretical background match
with complete inability to solve simple engineering problems. The fundamental goal of mechatronic
courses is to demonstrate the application of theoretical, applied, and experimental results in analysis,
design, and deployment of complex electromechanical systems (including NEMS and MEMS), to cover
emerging hardware and software, to introduce and deliver the rigorous theory of electromechanics, to
help students develop strong problem-solving skills, as well as to provide the needed engineering practice.
The courses in mechatronics are intended to develop a thorough understanding of integrated perspectives
in analysis, modeling, simulation, optimization, design, and implementation of complex electromechan-
ical systems. By means of practical, worked-out examples, students will be prepared and trained to use
the results in engineering practice, research, and developments. Advanced hardware and software of
engineering importance (electromechanical motion devices, actuators, sensors, solid-state devices, power
electronics, ICs, microprocessors, and DSPs) must be comprehensively covered in detail from multidis-
ciplinary integrated perspectives.
At Purdue University Indianapolis, in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the
following undergraduate courses are required in the Electrical Engineering plan of study: Linear Circuit
Analysis I and II, Signals and Systems, Semiconductor Devices, Electric and Magnetic Fields, Microprocessor
Systems and Interfacing, and Feedback Systems Analysis and Design. The following elective undergraduate
courses assist the mechatronic area: Electromechanical Motion Devices, Computer Architecture, Digital
Signal Processing, and Multimedia Systems. In addition to this set of core Electrical and Computer
Engineering courses, there is a critical need to teach the courses in mechatronics.
The mechatronic curriculum should emphasize and augment traditional engineering topics and the
latest enabling technologies and developments to integrate and stimulate new advances in the analysis
and design of advanced state-of-the-art mechatronic systems. For example, the following courses should
be developed and offered: Mechatronic Systems, Smart Structures, Micromechatronics (Microelectrome-
chanical Systems), and Nanomechatronics (Nanoelectromechanical Systems).
The major goal is to ensure a deep understanding of the engineering underpinnings, integrate engineering–
science–technology, and develop the modern picture of electromechanical engineering by using the
bedrock fundamentals of mechatronics. It is recognized by academia, industry, and government that
the most urgent areas of modern mechatronics needing development are MEMS and NEMS. Therefore,
current developments should be concentrated to perform fundamental, applied, and experimental
research in these emerging fields.

6.8 Introductory Mechatronic Course

At Purdue University Indianapolis, in the Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engi-
neering departments, an Electrical/Mechanical Engineering senior-level undergraduate–junior graduate
mechatronic course was developed and offered. The topics covered are given in Table 6.1.
This course is developed to bridge the engineering–science–technology gap by bonding innovative
multi-disciplinary developments, focusing on state-of-the-art hardware, and centering on high-perfor-
mance software. The developed course dramatically reduces the time students need to establish basic skills
for high-technology employability. The objective of this course is twofold: to bring recent developments
of modern electromechanics and to integrate an interactive studio-based method of instruction and
delivery. During the past decade, there has been a shift in engineering education from an instructor-
centered lectures environment to a student-centered learning environment. We have developed a mecha-
tronics studio that combines lectures, simulation exercises, and experiments in a single classroom in order
to implement new teaching and delivery methods through an active learning environment, activity-based
strategies, interactive multimedia, networked computer-based learning, multisynchronous delivery of
supporting materials, and effective demonstration. Simulation-based assignments can be used to illustrate
problems that cannot be easily studied and assessed using classical paper-and-pencil analytic solutions.

©2002 CRC Press LLC