PROJECT-BASED LEARNING IN MECHATRONICS ENGINEERING: MODELLING AND DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTONOMOUS WHEELED MOBILE ROBOT FOR FIREFIGHTING

Abstract

The mechatronics engineering education has advanced rapidly since the introduction of mechatronics as a new discipline in engineering education. The project-based learning becomes also one of the most effective approaches in teaching mechatronics subjects such as robotics and mechatronics system design. The main objective of this paper is to present the role of project-based learning in the mechatronics engineering education. An autonomous wheeled mobile robot that scans a rectangular area looking for a heat source (simulated by a burning candle) extinguishes it and returns back to its home position is designed. The project was developed successfully and the students got the second position in a robotic competition organized by the university. The design details as well as the performance analysis of the mobile robot will be presented here. Also, the milestones of the project will be discussed and analyzed.

Keywords

• Mobile robot,firefighting,competition,project-based,mechatronics education

References

1. Gardner, H. (1991). The unschooled mind: How children think and how schools should teach.New York: Basic Books. Khoon, T. N., Sebastian , P., & Saman, A. S. (2012). Autonomous Fire Fighting Mobile Platform. International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent Sensors 2012 (IRIS 2012), Volume 41, 2012, 1145–1153. Kiranmai K., & Kumar, K. (2013). Design and implementation of supervising Robot by using SMS, International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical, Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering, Vol. 2, Issue 11, 5718-5724. Krajcik, J. S. & Blumenfeld, P. C. (2006). Project-Based Learning, In: The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences. R. Keith Sawyer (Ed), Cambridge University Press. Pack, D. J., Avanzato R., Ahlgren, D. J. & Verner, I. M. (2004). Fire-fighting Mobile Robotics and Interdisciplinary Design- Comparative. IEEE Transactions on Education, Vol. 47, No. 3, 369-376. Setiawan, J. D., Subchan , M. & Budiyona, A., (2007). Virtual Reality Simulation of Fire Fighting Robot Dynamic and Motion, Intelligent Unmanned Systems, SCI 192, 191-203. Tavera, M. J. M., Lengerke, O., Dutra, M. S., & Diaz, E. Y. V. (2012). Navigation and Sensing System on a Fire Fighting Robot. ABCM Symposium Series in Mechatronics , Vol. 5, 988-996.