New Frontiers of Mechatronics Education for Mobility, Energy, and Production Engineering

该项目将有助于全国对受过良好教育的生产工程工程师和技术人员的需求。它将通过支持机电一体化教育讲习班来做到这一点。机电一体化是一门综合了电子学、力学、控制理论和计算机科学知识的多学科/交叉学科。工业机器人是机电一体化系统的一个例子。对机电一体化很重要的混合系统包括生产系统、汽车子系统(如防抱死刹车)和日常工具(如自动对焦相机、录像机、硬盘和CD播放机)。机电一体化领域为面临与自动化相关的失业的现有劳动力以及未来的工人提供了许多就业机会。这些讲习班将探索进入机电一体化职业生涯的教育途径，从K-12到在职专业人员，包括开发新的机电一体化课程和动手实验室。除了确定教育途径外，研讨会还将探索利用机电一体化技术发展机电一体化劳动力的新教学方法，包括使用虚拟、增强和混合现实方法。研讨会还将探讨机电一体化生产工程领域的劳动力多样性和公平问题。讲习班的结果将在项目网站上公布，供任何感兴趣的个人或团体免费下载。将举办两次讲习班，一次在密歇根州底特律的韦恩州立大学(侧重于机电一体化在地面机动性和替代能源中的应用)，另一次在加州州立大学长滩(侧重于机电一体化在航空航天工程中的应用)。工作坊将包括来自本地工业界和大学的代表。讨论将集中在教学方法、工具、评估方法、机电一体化技术进步以及包括劳动力多样性在内的社会影响。在研讨会上，行业人员将讨论机电一体化市场和技术的当前挑战和未来趋势。研究人员和大学教职员工将展示最新的研究和最新发明。工程教育教师和K-12教师将为新的教学技术贡献经验和想法，如设计软件、控制硬件和软件，以及通过虚拟现实、增强现实和混合现实扩展现实可视化。专家们还将讨论生产工程机电一体化劳动力的发展和壮大，包括如何发展多样化的劳动力队伍，并提供平等的机电一体化教育和职业机会。该项目由NSF的EHR核心研究：生产工程教育和研究(ECR：PEER)计划资助，该计划旨在改善未来和现有生产工程专业人员的教育。它还旨在研究这些项目采用的创新教育战略的有效性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated engineers and technicians in production engineering. It will do so by supporting workshops on mechatronics education. Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary/ interdisciplinary science that integrates knowledge from electronics, mechanics, control theory, and computer science. An industrial robot is an example of a mechatronics system. Hybrid systems important to mechatronics include production systems, automotive subsystems such as anti-lock brakes, and everyday tools such as autofocus cameras, video, hard disks, and CD players. The field of mechatronics offers many employment opportunities for existing workforces that face automation-related job loss, as well as for future workers. The workshops will explore educational pathways into mechatronics careers, from K-12 through working professionals, including development of new mechatronics curricula and hands-on laboratories. In addition to defining education pathways, the workshops will explore new teaching methods using mechatronics technologies for mechatronics workforce development, including the use of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality approaches. The workshops will also explore workforce diversity and equity issues in the mechatronics production engineering field. Results of the workshops will be published on a project website for free download by any interested person or group. This report will include descriptions of the participants and insights resulting from the workshops.Two workshops will be held, one at Wayne State University in Detroit Michigan (focused on focusing on mechatronics applications in the ground mobility and alternative energy) and the other at California State University, Long Beach (focused on mechatronics applications in aerospace engineering). The workshops will include representatives from local industry and universities. Discussions will center on pedagogies, tools, assessment methods, technological progress in mechatronics, and societal impacts including workforce diversity. In the workshops, current challenges and future trends in mechatronics markets and technologies will be discussed by industry personnel. Researchers and university faculty will present recent research and the latest inventions. Engineering education faculty and K-12 teachers will contribute experiences and ideas for new teaching technologies such as design software, control hardware and software, and extended reality visualizations through virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality. Experts will also discuss the development and growth of a mechatronics workforce for production engineering, including how to develop a diverse workforce and provide equitable access to mechatronics education and careers. This project is funded by NSF's EHR Core Research: Production Engineering Education and Research (ECR: PEER) program, which seeks to improve the education of future and current professionals in production engineering. It also aims to study the effectiveness of the innovative educational strategies adopted by these projects.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.