Development of a Senior Mechatronics Course for Mechanical Engineering Student

This paper presents the development of a mechanical engineering senior elective course titled: “ME472 Principles and Applications of Mechatronics System Design”. The main objective of this course is to teach students the principles and applications of mechatronic systems. Ten hands-on laboratory projects and two course projects were integrated into the course to enhance a student’s comprehension of mechatronics concepts. Students were required to complete each course project independently. The outcome of the course was assessed by homework assignments, quizzes, examinations, lab project reports, and course projects. In addition, two class surveys and one course evaluation were conducted during the course. The following paper discusses in detail the content and structure of the course. Student feedback and lessons learned were incorporated as well. It was found that the majority of students were able to perform successfully in all lab projects and exams/quizzes. Both microprocessor and MechLab projects were rated the most favorable projects by the students. In addition, for the subsequent senior design project course, students were able to integrate microprocessors and microcontrollers in their mechanical system design which implies a great potential for the student to implement this technology in their future career.