A Competition-Based Approach for Undergraduate Mechatronics Education
Using the Arduino Platform
Radhika Grover1,2, Shoba Krishnan1, Terry Shoup3, and Maryam Khanbaghi1
1
Department of Electrical Engineering, 2Department of Computer Engineering, 3Department of
Mechanical Engineering
1
E-mail: rgrover@scu.edu
Abstract
This paper describes the content of an undergraduate class
in mechatronics at Santa Clara University. Designing an
undergraduate course in mechatronics poses a challenge as it
integrates subareas in mechanics, computer science,
electronics and control systems. The problem is compounded
when students are from different fields of engineering and
have diverse backgrounds and skills. We describe a
competition-based framework that has been integrated with
rigorous labs to develop skills in core areas that are needed to
complete a course capstone project successfully. Students
learn the basics of mechatronics and, in the project, develop a
mobile robot. The project varies from year to year. Our
course is based on the low-cost Arduino platform. This paper
briefly discusses pedagogical strategies and tools that have
been used at other schools, and then focuses on describing the
lecture, laboratory, and project components of our course.
The results are encouraging and indicate that our course
structure provides an effective means for learning
mechatronics.
Keywords
Mechatronics, robots, Arduino
1. Introduction
Mechatronics is a synergistic discipline that combines
elements from electronics, programming, control systems,
and mechanics. A large number of schools have introduced
mechatronics courses in their curricula. These courses vary
widely in the pedagogical approaches and tools used.
Some of the learning approaches discussed in literature use
a bottom-up [1] or a competition-based [3, 5-7] curriculum.
Semester-long robotics and mechatronics laboratories,
followed by a capstone project that is completed over two-
semesters, are described in [1]. The robotics laboratory is
focused on control of single-axis and multi-axis systems. In
the mechatronics lab, experiments consist of building a
proximity sensor, a driver for a stepper motor, and a digital
multi-axis controller using a PIC Microchip controller. The
project is non-competitive and students build a working
prototype. In [3], students work with several robotics kits
such as LEGO Mindstorms and the RoboMotor Experiment
Kit, and build a boxing robot using an 8-bit microcontroller.
In [6], a framework for a fire-fighting robot contest is
described. A BASIC Stamp-powered controller used in
mechatronics competition-based projects at Georgia Tech is
described in [7]. Other robot competitions include the IEEE
Micromouse [9] and RoboCup [10].
A web-based learning approach is described in [2, 8]. In
[2], various topics related to electromechanical systems, such
as electrostatics and magnetism, are discussed using text,
images, and 3-D simulations. Students design simple
experiments and work on group projects to implement
systems such as a DC motor controller and an escalator. In
[8], remote users can access a web-based virtual laboratory
containing models of intelligent gate systems, wheel
pendulum systems, and conveyor systems, among others. In
recent years, the low-cost Arduino has become a popular
prototyping platform, especially among hobbyists and also
for educational purposes [4, 11]. In [4], the author describes
the development of a biped robot with real-time motion
control using MATLAB and Arduino. The MATLAB
program on the PC sends commands to the Arduino board,
which controls the servos, and the board sends feedback from
the sensors on the robot back to the PC. A robot swarm built
using Arduinos called LumiBots, which trace their path with
a UV LED on a glow-in-the-dark mat, is described in [11].
At Santa Clara University, we have used a competition-
based approach to create an undergraduate course in
mechatronics. The learning objectives for this course are
described in [12]:
- Introduce components and technologies needed to
develop electromechanical devices with embedded
processors.
- Review the theory of operation of mechanical,
electrical and software components, and how these
components can operate as part of actuation, sensing
and control subsystems.
- Learn techniques for analog and digital sensing,
filtering, timing and logical control, power
amplification and actuation.
We have developed a set of lectures and labs that focus on
developing core skills to meet these objectives. The project
provides motivation and an opportunity to apply these skills.
Although it is more common to use microcontroller chips
such as the PIC Microchip and Atmel AVR directly, we have
opted for the Arduino platform due to the greater flexibility
offered by the latter. Arduinos are a good educational tool for
students who have never programmed on a microcontroller
before as they come well equipped with libraries, which make
it easier to interface them with a wide variety of components.
In the following sections of this paper, we describe the
structure and content of this course in more detail. In section
2, an overview of the course is presented. Sections 3 and 4
describe the classroom teaching and laboratory components
in more detail. In section 5, we provide details on the project,
and in section 6, we present the results. Our conclusions are
summarized in section 7.
2. Robotics Course Curriculum 8 (Controls) (Electronics) Lab 7:
Mechatronics is a five-unit course offered annually at Santa Robot Control Color sensor
Clara University in the winter quarter for undergraduate 9 (Electronics) (Control) Lab 8:
students, typically juniors and seniors from mechanical, Power System Robot control
electrical, and computer engineering. It is comprised of three Design
hours of lectures and three hours of lab each week. The 10 Advanced Project work
course is broken up into four components—programming, Topics
electronics, controls, and mechanics—that are taught over ten The grade distribution is 10% for homework, 10% for
weeks. quizzes, 30% for exams, 20% for lab and 30% for project.
The prerequisite for this class is an introductory course in The final exam consists of the robot competition. Thus,
electric circuits and so a majority of the class has not taken hands-on learning is emphasized in the course, with 50% of
any course on electronics. Depending on their disciplines, the grade reserved for labs and project.
students may not be familiar with C, and most have never
programmed on the Arduino microcontroller. The experience 3. Classroom Teaching
of students in mechanical design, CAD drawing and tool Four modules are presented over ten weeks to develop the
familiarity also varies significantly. This disparity in knowledge and skills related to the four core areas:
students’ backgrounds makes curriculum design more programming, electronics, controls and mechanics.
challenging. Programming Module
Table 1 shows the sequence of lectures and laboratories for During the first few weeks, students learn C language
the course that helps this interdisciplinary course provide all fundamentals and Arduino C, a modified version of C used
students knowledge and skills in all aspects of mechatronic on the Arduino platform, through lectures, labs, and
systems. The programming-based lectures alternate with homework assignments. In the first week of class, we discuss
lectures on electronics so that students can start building C programming basics, differences between C and Arduino
small circuits and programming the microcontroller from the C, and write Arduino C programs. In the third week, we
first lab. These are followed by lectures on mechanics and introduce students to the event-driven finite-state machine
controls, which help them understand how to build an based programming paradigm. Students compare interrupt
electromechanical system. The laboratory assignments and polling-based techniques through discussions and in-class
culminate with a project to design and build a robot. These demonstrations, and learn how to write interrupt service
topics are discussed in more detail in the following sections. routines to implement interrupts on the Arduino. Figure 1
shows the simple setup we use in our class to provide in-class
demonstrations of important concepts. This consists of a
Table 1: Lecture and Laboratory schedule debounced button connected to the input of the Arduino and
WEEK LECTURE LAB an LED connected to the Arduino output. As the program
executes, it displays messages on the console to simulate
1 (Programming) Lab 0: Lab
robot operations. For example, students learn to do I/O by
Introduction and Introduction, Safety
reading a button press and sending a command to turn on the
Programming Training
LED. This simple circuit also demonstrates the difference
Basics
between polling and interrupts.
2 (Electronics) (Programming) Lab
Basic Circuits; 1: Introduction to
Signal Programming
Conditioning
3 (Programming) (Electronics) Lab 2:
Finite-state Signal Conditioning
Machines;
Interrupts
4 (Electronics) (Programming) Lab
Sensors and Data 3: Elevator control
Converters system
5 (Programming) (Mechanics) Lab 4:
Robot Behaviors Platform Build
6 (Electronics/ (Programming and
Mechanics) Electronics) Lab 5:
Actuators and Sensors (Line follower,
Motors IR proximity sensor);
Robot Behaviors Figure 1: A simple hardware setup for simulating robot
behavior in the classroom.
7 (Mechanics) (Programming and
Mechanical Electronics) Lab 6:
Systems Motors Students then learn to design and implement finite-state
machines for reactive systems. In the fifth week, robot
behaviors such as home, escape, and line follower are
discussed in detail. For robots that implement multiple
behaviors, we discuss arbitration schemes to resolve
conflicts. Using the Arduino, students learn to program and
simulate robots with different behaviors and an arbiter. We
use the button in our hardware setup to simulate one or more
sensors and trigger a particular behavior. Our demonstrations
in the classroom help students visualize their robot as moving
and performing operations through their program, which
makes it easier for them to program their robot when they
start building it in the lab.
Electronics Module
The focus of this module is to get the students familiar with
the concepts of sensors, signal conditioning, motor control
and power management. We discuss the functionality and
specifications of a wide array of sensors, including how to
gather sensory information in a reliable manner. After
presenting fundamentals of electronic components, students
build circuits for sampling, amplification, and filtering the
sensory data. The topologies of data converters and their
selection are also presented. The students learn about the
different types of motors and understand relationships
between speed, torque, power and efficiency. We also
examine power requirements, DC-to-DC voltage conversion,
and current drives in detail. These topics are discussed
throughout the quarter with hands-on labs that integrate the
electronics into the other three modules.
Controls Module
Our focus in this module is to familiarize students with the
concept and basics of feedback control. We limit ourselves
for the purpose of this course to first order transfer functions.
During the lecture, students learn the importance of modeling
(a)
(c)
Figure 2: (a) RC Servo demonstration board (b) Speed control of a DC motor demonstration board (c)
Pneumatic actuator demonstration board (d) Solenoid demonstration board
the control system design, understanding the application of
Laplace transform and its role in obtaining transfer functions.
As this is an interdisciplinary course, feedback control is a
new topic for many students.
During the lab, students use the robot that they have already
built in previous modules. The objective of this lab is for the
robot to stay a specified distance away from an object, which
helps them visualize in real time the concepts of damping
coefficient and steady state error.
Students follow the following three steps in order to control
the robot using proportional control:
1. Collect data to approximate the robot by a first
order transfer function.
2. Use techniques learned during the lecture and the
lab to find a proportional gain to achieve the
specified requirements.
3. Analyze data to ensure that their design meets
the specified requirements.
Mechanics Module
The mechanics module for this course was divided into two
topical areas. The first of these topical areas related to
practical aspects of the mechanical/electrical interface in
mechatronics systems. The topics covered in this topical area
include:
 Selection and application of mechanical
actuators
 Power issues associated with electromechanical
devices
 Practical design aspects of actuator interface
circuits
(b)
(d)
  Dynamic response for systems with moving
mechanical parts
 Portable power for electromechanical systems
with emphasis on different battery technologies
and their limitations
 Mechanical aspects of RC Servo Actuators
(Figure 2(a) shows a pegboard model that was
used in the class to demonstrate the control of a
typical RC servo by an Arduino controller.)
 Important mechanical aspects in the
specification of DC Motors (Figure 2(b) shows
a pegboard model used to demonstrate the use
of pulse width modulation and an Arduino
controller to regulate the speed of a DC motor.)
 Fluid (pneumatic & hydraulic) systems (Figure
2(c) shows a pneumatic actuator driven by an
Arduino controller using a simple power relay.)
 Mechanical design considerations in the
selection and use of solenoids (The model in
Figure 2(d) demonstrates the speed of operation
of two types of solenoids when driven by an
Arduino controller and a power interface
circuit.)
 A discussion of small piezoelectric devices and
their role as mechanical actuators
The second of these topical areas is related to a general
understanding of the mechanical devices used in
mechatronics systems and the practical aspects associated
with their selection and use. The topics covered in this area
include:
 A comparison of six commercially available
mechanical/structural prototyping systems
 A comparison of the efficiency and ranges of
power capacity for various power transmission
devices including gears, chains & belts,
bearings, linkages & special mechanisms
 Sources of standard power transmission
hardware for mechatronics applications
Throughout this module, the use of demonstration systems
and samples of actual hardware proved to be especially
useful to the understanding of how mechanical devices are
deployed in mechatronics systems. The success of this
understanding was validated by the design competence
demonstrated by the students in the course capstone project.
4. Laboratories
Students work in groups of two to complete the lab
assignments and project. Table 2 shows the list of parts
needed to complete the lab assignments. We used an
Arduino Mega as the microcontroller for this project,
although the cheaper and smaller Arduino Uno could also be
used.
Table 2: List of parts given to each team
Part Quantities
Infrared proximity sensor, 1
photoresistor, line follower sensor, H-
bridge, color sensor, microcontroller,
battery pack
RC servo motors, stepper motors 2-3
DC gear motor, wheels 2
Small plastic balls of different 5
colors
LEDs, switches, resistors, variable
potentiometers, capacitors, schmitt
triggers, amplifiers
In Lab 0, students learn soldering and complete a safety-
training module. In first two labs, students write programs to
make the LEDs blink with different patterns, and experiment
with photoresistors and operational amplifiers, and other
electronic components. In the third lab, students implement
a simple elevator control system using a scheduling
algorithm that decides the order in which elevator requests
are to be serviced. Each “floor” consists of a switch and
LED pair; the program is tested using debounced switches
and LEDs connected to the microcontroller. Students start
building their robotic platform in Lab 4. They generate a
CAD model of a robotic platform with given constraints and
materials, and a mechanical drawing of robotic parts using
SolidWorks. In Lab 5, students learn how to use obstacle
detector and line follower sensors to trigger a particular
behavior, escape or line follower, respectively, on the robot.
The behavior is displayed using LEDs (preferably of
different colors) connected to the digital output pins of the
microcontroller. Each LED represents a particular state in
the behavior implemented by the robot. After the motors
assignment (Lab 6) is completed, the code to light up these
LEDs can be replaced directly with the code to move the
robot’s wheels, thereby completing the implementation of
the behaviors. The objectives of Lab 6 are to operate servo
and stepper motors with a microcontroller and to drive a
Brush DC motor using an H-bridge. In Lab 7, students
connect a color sensor to the microcontroller through the
I2C interface and experiment with it to record the color of
balls provided to them. This can be used in the final project
to differentiate the color of the balls distributed by the robot.
In Lab 8, students learn proportional control by
implementing a distance follower robot. The robot must stay
a specified distance away from an object. If that object
moves, which can be estimated by a step change in the
distance sensed, the robot must respond appropriately as
described in the assignment.
After the lab assignments have been completed, students
brainstorm ideas to design a robot that can complete the
tasks outlined in the project. Several lab assignments can be
incorporated into the project directly, thereby reducing the
time needed to complete the project.
5. Course Capstone Project
One goal of the capstone project is to integrate the various
topics discussed in the laboratory assignments. Students
work in groups of two to design and build robots that solve a
practical problem. Working in teams encourages teamwork
and creativity. For the competition held in winter 2013,
students needed to build an autonomous robot that could
follow a path with a few detours from a start point to a finish
line. Four identical towers were placed at the end of each
detour along the length of the path; robots moved to each
tower by following a line as shown in Figure 3. The final
exam consisted of the competition.
Figure 3: The layout of the course used in the
competition.
Each tower consisted of three shelves, and each shelf
could hold a ball of a specific color. The robot had to hold
and distribute five colored plastic balls (1 red, 1 yellow, 1
blue, 1 randomly selected red, yellow or blue, and 1 pink).
Balls were loaded in a random order in a hopper on the
robot. The objective of the competition was for the robot to
distribute one ball at each tower and place it on the
corresponding shelf. A pink ball had to be unloaded at the
finish line. Although the electronic parts needed to construct
the robots were supplied to the class, students were allowed
to purchase any additional materials, within a budget, to
complete the design.
Students participated in a competition during the finals
week. They were graded on their robots’ ability to complete
Figure 4: Some of the robots designed by students for the course capstone project.
a set of individual tasks pertaining to the project and
participate in a competition. Points were assigned for the
ability to:
Follow the line from the start to the finish line
Follow the line to each of the four towers
Drop a ball into the correct shelf of a tower
Discard the pink ball at the end
Students devised different creative solutions to the
problem. The robots were constructed using materials such
as plastic, metal, wood, cardboard, and paper. Figure 4
shows some of the robots designed by the students.
6. Student Learning
There were 15 teams in the class. Of these, all but two of
the teams in the class completed the individual tasks
required by the project successfully to participate in the
competition, and about half of the teams performed well in
the competition. Students rated themselves highly on the
course evaluation form to the following questions:
The course has contributed to my capacity for critical
evaluation: 4.4/5.0
The course has stimulated me to do independent thinking:
4.4/5.0
Student written evaluations also indicate that the project
and labs provided a good learning experience:
“This course provided me with the necessary electrical
and mechanical backgrounds for robotic design. In addition,
this course taught me how to adapt to design requirement
changes. I believe this skill will be very useful in industry.”
“Practical approach in teaching topics regarding electronic
circuits.”
“The project was really good hands on experience that
helped us internalize what we'd learned.”
‘The lab portion of the class was helpful as it was a way
to develop certain skills and understanding necessary to
complete the final project.’
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consuming and that its organization could be improved. To Laboratory for Experiential Engineering Education”,
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work outside laboratory hours. Students also found the Computing (JERIC), Special Issue on Robotics in
course challenging especially when it came to integrating all Undergraduate Education, Part 1, 4(2), 2-28, 2005.
the lab experiences into the final open-ended project. In [6] Verner, Igor, and Ahlgren, J.,“Robot Projects and
addition, there was a steep learning curve for many students. Competitions as Education Design Experiments”,
The true interdisciplinary nature presented the instructors Intelligent Automation and Soft Computing, Special
with the challenge that for most of the course only a third of Issue, Global Look at Robotics Education, 13(1), 57-
the students in the class were more familiar with any topic 68, 2007.
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in future offerings by adding C programming as a study of Mechatronics.” Emerging eLearning
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In this paper, we have discussed our experience of
IEEE International Conference on, vol., no., pp. 887,
developing a mechatronics course using in-class
892, 13-15, April 2011.
demonstrations and exercises, hands-on labs, and a project.
[10] RoboCup. [Online] Available: http://www.robocup.org
We have described a sequence of lecture topics and
[11] Kronemann, M. L. et al, “LumiBots – Making
laboratory assignments that can be used to develop relevant
Emergence Graspable in a Swarm of Robots,”
core skills. Our results show that the labs and lectures
Proceedings of the 8th ACM Conference on Designing
described in this paper provide an effective, low-cost
Interactive Systems, pp. 408-411, 2010.
platform for a mechatronics curriculum. Instructors who
[12] Mech 143 ABET Syllabus. [Online] Available:
would like to adapt these assignments to their own
http://www.scu.edu/engineering/me/undergraduate/upl
curriculum can contact the first author of this paper.
oad/MECH-143-ABET-Syllabus.pdf
8. Acknowledgments
The robots shown in this paper were developed by our
students Michael Mifsud and Leif Kjos; Fernanda Braga and
Richard Dobbins; and Jamie Kalb and Mark Spain. We
would also like to thank the teaching assistants Yuval Prag,
Reece Kiriu, Jeffrey Kapper, and Jake Hedlund for helping
us with the class.
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