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

该项目将有助于满足国家对生产工程中受过良好教育的工程师和技术人员的需求。它将通过支持有关机电一体化教育的讲习班来实现这一目标。机电一体化是一门多学科/跨学科的科学，它整合了电子、力学、控制理论和计算机科学的知识。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（如防抱死制动器）和日常工具（如自动对焦相机、视频、硬盘和CD播放器）。机电一体化领域为面临自动化相关失业的现有劳动力以及未来的工人提供了许多就业机会。研讨会将探索机电一体化职业的教育途径，从K-12到工作专业人员，包括开发新的机电一体化课程和动手实验室。除了定义教育途径外，研讨会还将探索利用机电一体化技术促进机电一体化劳动力发展的新教学方法，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。工作坊的成果将公布在项目网站上，任何有兴趣的人士或团体均可免费下载。这份报告将包括对参与者的描述和从研讨会中得出的见解。将举行两个讲习班，一个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和替代能源方面的应用），另一个在长滩的加州州立大学（侧重于机电一体化在航空航天工程方面的应用）。讲习班将包括来自当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、机电一体化的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，行业人士将讨论机电一体化市场和技术的当前挑战和未来趋势。研究人员和大学教师将展示最新的研究和最新的发明。工程教育教师和K-12教师将为新的教学技术提供经验和想法，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的扩展现实可视化。专家们还将讨论生产工程机电一体化劳动力的发展和成长，包括如何发展多元化的劳动力，以及如何提供公平的机电一体化教育和职业机会。该项目由美国国家科学基金会EHR核心研究：生产工程教育与研究（ECR: PEER）项目资助，该项目旨在改善未来和当前生产工程专业人员的教育。它还旨在研究这些项目所采用的创新教育策略的有效性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.