NSF Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement Program in Microprocessor and Intelligent Control Applications

现代机械系统越来越依赖于复杂的传感、信号处理和控制技术。在这个行业中，在功能、灵活性和可靠性方面的快速增长与复杂性的相应上升是同步的。从人力资源的角度来看，这一趋势的含义是明确的：大学教育必须适当提高本科教育的技术水平，以服务于现代工业的需要。作为学院应对这一挑战的共同努力的一部分，提供了一个面向应用的微处理器和智能控制应用实验室，通过提供强调详细建模、基本控制器设计、仿真、实际考虑和实现的练习来增强本科生的实践经验；同时，让学生接触当前和新兴的技术（例如，使用压电元件/形状记忆合金的智能仪器和驱动，以及基于模糊逻辑的智能控制系统设计）；通过跨学科的教师指导、团队组建和开放式作业，提高学生的综合思维和团队合作能力。新实验室是现有的本科课程“机电系统控制与微处理器应用”的附属实验室。虽然重点是为本课程服务，但新实验室的设施影响了系内其他几门本科和研究生课程。新设备包括一台Windows NT服务器、一台打印机、多应用板、微控制器应用培训单元、1/0接口板、实时内核和控制工具箱软件、直流电机和伺服放大器。＊

Modern mechanical systems are becoming increasingly reliant on sophisticated methods of sensing, signal processing, and control technology. Within this industry, rapid growth in terms of function, flexibility, and reliability is being paralleled with a comparable rise in complexity. From the human resource point of view, the implication of this trend is clear: college education must appropriately advance the technical level of undergraduate education in order to serve the needs of modern industry. As part of a concerted college effort to meet this challenge, an application-oriented laboratory on microprocessor and intelligent control applications is provided to enhance undergraduate hands-on experience by providing exercises that emphasize detailed modeling, basic controller design, simulation, practical considerations, and implementation; simultaneously, to expose students to current and emerging technology (e.g., smart instrumentation and actuation using piezoelectric elements/shape memory alloy and intelligent control systems design for instance based on fuzzy logic); and to improve students' integrative thinking and teamwork skills through interdisciplinary faculty instruction, team formations, and open-ended assignments. The new laboratory is the accompanying laboratory to an existing undergraduate course entitled Electromechanical System Control and Microprocessor Applications. While the emphasis is to serve this course, the facility of the new laboratory affects several other undergraduate and graduate courses within the department. New equipment includes one Windows NT server, one printer, multi-application boards, training units in microcontroller applications, 1/0 interface boards, real-time kernel and control toolbox software, dc motors, and servo amplifiers. *