ME8283

The purpose of this course is for advanced mechanical engineering students to gain additional mechatronic skills by learning how to use microcontrollers to implement control systems in the context of a practical product or device. Embedded microcontrollers are ubiquitous in modern products from washing machines to cell phones to automobiles to space rockets. Knowing how to design and program microcontrollers, how to interface microcontrollers to sensors and actuators, and how to implement control algorithms on a microcontroller is an important skill for the modern control system design engineer. The course is hands-on and follows a learn by doing approach. Students spend 1/3 the course in a microcontroller boot camp and 2/3 on a substantial microcontroller project. The lectures cover didactic material related to microcontrollers, sensors, actuators, electronics circuit design and fabrication and control algorithm implementation.

prereq: An introductory system dynamics and controls course or permission of instructor.