An experience on mechatronics teaching on undergraduate students by means of the Skybot platform: from classroom to robot competition

This paper analyzes the learning experiences and opinions from a group of undergraduate students in a course about Robotics. The contents of this course were taught as a set of seminars. In each seminar, the student learned interdisciplinary knowledge of computer science, control engineering, electronics and other fields related to Robotics. The aim of this course is that the students are able to design and implement their own and custom robotic solution for a series of tests planned by the teachers. These tests measure the behavior and mechatronic features of the students' robots. Finally, the students' robots are confronted with some competitions. In this paper, the low-cost robotic architecture used by the students, the contents of the course, the tests to compare the solutions of students and the opinion of them are amply discussed.

Multimodal Man-machine Interface and Virtual Reality for Assistive Medical Systems

The results of research the intelligence multimodal man-machine interface and virtual reality means for assistive medical systems including computers and mechatronic systems (robots) are discussed. The gesture translation for disability peoples, the learning-by-showing technology and virtual operating room with 3D visualization are presented in this report and were announced at International exhibition "Intelligent and Adaptive Robots–2005".

Sistema mecatrônico de tempo real para monitoramento da qualidade da água embarcado em veleiro robótico autônomo

We propose a mechatronic system for monitoring water quality in rivers, lakes, dams and sea, able to perform the acquisition, processing and presentation of data via the web in real time, in order to facilitate analysis quickly and needs by interested communities. The hardware architecture and software monitoring system has been developed so that it can be generic, that is, supporting different applications. Nevertheless, as a validation of the proposed system, we built a prototype that operates embarked on an autonomous robotic sailboat, a responsible platform for collecting the data in multiple predefined points from a ground station with a planning system navigation. This final application combines the advantages of autonomy of a robotic sailboat with the need for fast and accurate monitoring of water quality, in addition to the use of an autonomous robotic sailboat unmanned facilitate the development of other research in this area.

A Stationless Bikeshare Proof of Concept for College Campuses

Bikeshares promote healthy lifestyles and sustainability among commuters, casual riders, and tourists. However, the central pillar of modern systems, the bike station, cannot be easily integrated into a compact college campus. Fixed stations lack the flexibility to meet the needs of college students who make quick, short-distance trips. Additionally, the necessary cost of implementing and maintaining each station prohibits increasing the number of stations for user convenience. Therefore, the team developed a stationless bikeshare based on a smartlock permanently attached to bicycles in the system. The smartlock system design incorporates several innovative approaches to provide usability, security, and reliability that overcome the limitations of a station centered design. A focus group discussion allowed the team to receive feedback on the early lock, system, and website designs, identify improvements and craft a pleasant user experience. The team designed a unique, two-step lock system that is intuitive to operate while mitigating user error. To ensure security, user access is limited through near field ii communications (NFC) technology connected to a mechatronic release system. The said system relied on a NFC module and a servo working through an Arduino microcontroller coded in the Arduino IDE. To track rentals and maintain the system, each bike is fitted with an XBee module to communicate with a scalable ZigBee mesh network. The network allows for bidirectional, real-time communication with a Meteor.js web application, which enables user and administrator functions through an intuitive user interface available on mobile and desktop. The development of an independent smartlock to replace bike stations is essential to meet the needs of the modern college student. With the goal of creating a bikeshare that better serves college students, Team BIKES has laid the framework for a system that is affordable, easily adaptable, and implementable on any university expressing an interest in bringing a bikeshare to its campus.

Privacy matters: issues within mechatronics

As mechatronic devices and components become increasingly integrated with and within wider systems concepts such as Cyber-Physical Systems and the Internet of Things, designer engineers are faced with new sets of challenges in areas such as privacy. The paper looks at the current, and potential future, of privacy legislation, regulations and standards and considers how these are likely to impact on the way in which mechatronics is perceived and viewed. The emphasis is not therefore on technical issues, though these are brought into consideration where relevant, but on the soft, or human centred, issues associated with achieving user privacy.