A Multidisciplinary Control Laboratory

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Engineering - Other (59)This project is establishing a multidisciplinary, laboratory based undergraduate control curriculum across engineering departments at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The lab is being shared by students in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Program and Aerospace Program. Due to its flexibility stemming from the modular nature of the instrumentation comprising the four work stations requested here, the multidisciplinary controls/mechatronics laboratory borrows and adapts pedagogical elements that have been successfully implemented at other institutions. Prevalent themes include controlling physical devices as was implemented at the University of Urbana-Champaign, and controlling of smart structures as tested at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. A major influence comes from a paper by D.S. Bernstein where the important aspects of enhancing undergraduate control education at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor were laid out. The curriculum is being redesigned to incorporate an extensive laboratory component using the requested equipment. This allows students to become proficient in state-of-the-art real-time data acquisition and processing instrumentation, digital control implementation, and vibration testing. The physical devices that are controlled change every two years and are designed by WPI students pursuing their Major Qualifying Project (MQP). The MQP is a WPI degree requirement that is equivalent to a three course workload that leads to a written report and oral presentation and which is equivalent to a Bachelor's thesis.Project results are being disseminated at the Project Presentation Day in which graduating seniors present their MQP projects to the WPI community; during the annual campus visits of local (inner city) K-12 students which WPI already has established a leadership in encouraging K-12 students to pursue careers in STEM disciplines; through presentations/proceedings at control and engineering education conferences.