Tabletop Robotics For Engineering Design

摘要

The Mechanical Engineering Section at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy has developed a comprehensive activity based course to introduce second year students to mechanical engineering design. The culminating design activity for the course requires students to design, construct and test robotic devices to solve an engineering challenge. Teams of students are provided with a standard kit of parts consisting of metal hardware and fasteners, motors, connecting wires and a programmable remote control system. The teams use these materials to design and construct robotic devices that accomplish a simulated maritime mission. The kit of parts is reusable each year and requires little machine-shop work to create machines, thereby making this project ideal for repeated use. The experience is modeled on the capstone design activity and contains many attributes of the final design experience. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy has been the only program using this commercially available kit of parts and has worked with the vendors to improve the system as a tool for engineering design education.