Lawrence Tech Mechatronics

CurtisEllzey — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:28:00 GMT

Professor Vladimir Vantsevich introduced Lawrence Tech’s master’s degree program in mechatronic systems engineering in 2006. This unique high-tech educational program, the first in Michigan, includes research options for students. Mechatronics degree programs, common in Europe and Asia but still a rarity in the United States, meld mechanical, electrical and computer engineering disciplines. Vehicles rely more and more on sophisticated electronics and computer controls. Vantsevich was very familiar with this approach after a nearly 30-year academic career in Belarus, where he specialized in designing driveline systems and control devices for multi-wheel-drive vehicles. To outfit the laboratory, equipment and software was contributed by Bosch, dSPACE, Eaton, Festo, Kistler Instrument, KUKA Robotics and National Instruments. Chrysler contributed nearly $50,000 for academic support programs and also donated hardware. This high level of interest indicates that the private sector sees good things coming from the program. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in robotics, aerospace, automotive and other industries will benefit if there are more American engineers available to bring mechatronics to the product design and production process. The suppliers will benefit if the next generation of engineers understand how to take advantage of the specialized engineering equipment and software.

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Kinematically Redundant Robotics

Terry Knight — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:31:00 GMT

The majority of robotics used in industry are in very structured environments. To program and teach a robot a specific task in industry, like spray painting an area, takes a significant amount of time. Dr. Anthony Maciejewski and his team of Randy Hoover and Shantell Hinton at Colorado State University are working on a way to not only automate the process but also to reduce configurations that create kinematic singularities which reduce motion by dropping off a degree of freedom of the robotic movement.

(3247 Views, 8 Comments)

Educational Videos : Software

Lawrence Tech Mechatronics

Kinematically Redundant Robotics