Mobile Mini-Robots for Engineering Education*

In industry, engineers usually design equipment to perform given tasks, while the particular technologies employed for the solution do not matter greatly. In contrast, traditional university courses are related to the training of specific techniques. In order to bridge this gap, a robotics workshop has been introduced into the final year curriculum of the Master course Mechatronics at the Fachhochschule RavensburgWeingarten University of Applied Sciences (FHR-W) in Weingarten, Germany. In response to the given tasks, students have to develop a related system design of a mobile robot. The control system, consisting of sensors, actuators, microprocessors and software, is one key component. The students can select from different prefabricated electronic and mechanical components to generate their robots. Mobile Mini-Robots for Engineering Education*