Preparing Next Generation Mechanical Engineers for a Smart World: Integrating Mechatronics and Internet-of-Things Technologies

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This project aims to serve the national interest by enabling the future mechanical engineering workforce to contribute to the Industry 4.0 revolution through development of a modernized mechatronics course that incorporates Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. This project will create new educational materials and contribute to STEM education research through generation of new knowledge. Smart products are becoming universal and STEM workforce demands are shifting rapidly. However, the current mechanical engineering curriculum has not kept pace. This project will address the gap between workforce demands and the preparation of undergraduate engineering students by infusing skills from computer science into a new modernized mechatronics course grounded in the IoT technologies. The instructional model will incorporate project-based learning and active learning as well as software engineering methods from computer science. The expected outcome is a future mechanical engineering workforce that can design smart products with cloud connectivity to contribute to the Industry 4.0 revolution.An innovative aspect will be the use of a formal software engineering technique by mechanical engineering students to develop high quality code. The project will contribute to STEM education research by generating new knowledge regarding the efficacy of the new curriculum and challenges to its implementation as well as through the creation of assessment tools including IoT skills checklists, concept inventories, and scoring rubrics specific to IoT projects. The findings, all products of the project, and the assessment findings will be broadly disseminated through conferences, educational journals, a new project website, the NextGen STEM project website, and on YouTube with short videos. Many universities have mechatronics courses, which can be replaced by the new course. Coupled with the inexpensive hardware and the free open-source software, the products of the project can easily be transferred to other institutions increasing the potential for high impact in STEM education. The NSF IUSE:EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.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.