Design and assembly of a magneto-inertial wearable device for ecological behavioural analysis of infants

There are recent evidence which show how brain development is strictly linked to the action. Movements shape and are, in turn, shaped by cortical and sub-cortical areas. In particular spontaneous movements of newborn infants matter for developing the capability of generating voluntary skill movements. Therefore studying spontaneous infants’ movements can be useful to understand the main developmental milestones achieved by humans from birth onward. This work focuses on the design and development of a mechatronic wearable device for ecological movement analysis called WAMS (Wrist and Ankle Movement Sensor). The design and assembling of the device is presented, as well as the communication protocol and the synchronization with other marker-based optical movement analysis systems

Development and Implementation of Mechatronics Education at Kettering University

The Mechanical Engineering Department at Kettering University has completed development of a significant new component of education in mechatronics. The work began in the fall of 1997 as the principal part of an award for “Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement” by the Division of Undergraduate Education of the National Science Foundation. It has culminated with the successful implementation of two undergraduate courses in mechatronics, two mechatronics laboratories and a website to support the educational endeavors of the mechatronics students. As will be described in this paper, the first course and its laboratory exercises are designed specifically to provide the students with meaningful experiences in the applications of mechatronics design principles. The knowledge gained in this first course will be applied in the second course, where the fundamental focus is to provide a complete experience in the innovation, design and fabrication of a new mechatronic product. This is all done in a team environment. The long-term goal is to integrate business management students into the product development team to provide marketing support

Application of Content and Language Integrated learning (CLIL) in Designing Moodle Learning Activities for Students of Mechatronics

Antud magistritöö eesmärgiks oli läbi viia uuring Tartu Kutsehariduskeskuse (Tartu KHK) mehhatroonika eriala õppijate ja kutseõpetajate seas, et välja selgitada õppijate sotsio-lingvistilised vajadused inglise keele omandamisel. Uurimuse tulemuste põhjal oli kavandatud koostada algupärane LAK (lõimitud aine- ja keeleõppe) ainekava mehhatroonika eriala jaoks. Lisaks ainekavale oli plaanis koostada näidisülesandeid Moodle keskkonnas B2- keeleoskustaseme õppijatele. Vajadus uute integreeritud ainekavade ja materjalide osas on suur, sest vastavalt uuele Kutseõppeseadusele (Riigikogu 2013) aastal 2018 peab toimuma lõplik üleminek uutele lõimitud õppekavadele, kuis suurem osa keeleõppest peaks toimuma erialast lähtuvalt. Seega esimese sammuna mehhatroonika eriala õppekava integreerimisel viidi Tartu Kutsehariduskeskuses vajaduste uuring ning koostati näidisainekava ja –õppeülesandeid. Edaspidi saaks neid kasutada abimaterjalina integratsiooni edaspidiste staadiumite läbiviimisel. Käesolev magistritöö koosneb sissejuhatusest, põhiosast ja kokkuvõttest. Põhiosa võib jagada kaheks osaks – teoreetiliseks ja praktiliseks. Teoreetiline osa on koondatud esimesse peatükki ning annab ülevaate LAK-õppe olemusest ja selle rakendamisest haridussüsteemis ja õppematerjalide koostamisel. Praktiline osa on kajastatud kahes peatükis. Peatükk 2 tutvustab vajadusi väljaselgitavat uuringut, mis oli läbi viidud Tartu KHK-s veebruarist aprillini 2013, uuringu metodoloogiast ja tulemustest. Uuring andis ülevaadet mehhatroonika erialaga seonduvatest lingivtilistest vajadustest, kuigi tuleb tõdeda, et tihtipeale õppijate ja kutseõpetajate arvamused ühe või teise aspekti kohta olid subjektiivsed, mõjutatud responentide isiklike hoiakute ja keeleoskuse poolt. Kolmas peatükk keskendub magistritöö jaoks loodud LAK näidisainekava ja – õppeülesannete tutvustamisele ning samuti hõlmab ülevaadet Moodle keskkonna iseärasuslikest joontest ja võimalustest. Lõimitud ainekava keele ja mehhatroonika ainete õpetamiseks koosneb sissejuhatusest ja kuuest moodulist, mis lisaks töökeskkonnaohutusele ja tööga seotud dokumentatsioonile hõlmavad ka mehhatroonika põhivaldkondi (elektroonika, mehhanika, elekter, arvutiteadused) Antud magistritöö oli koostatud kooskõlas Tartu KHK Tööstustehnoloogia osakonna vajadusega läbi viia mehhatroonika õppekava lõiming ning töö kirjutamisel on lähtetud konkreetse kutsekooli võimalustest ja inim- ning õppevara ressursidest. Töö võib olla abiks edaspidise koostöö arendamiseks kutse- ja keeleõpetajate vahel ainete lõimimisel. Magistritöö toetub 46-le allikale ning sellel on 9 lisa

Heterogeneous simulation and interoperability of tools applied to the design, integration and development of safety critical systems

A key issue of the assessment of the Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is the integration between the requirement, functional and physical analyses. It turns out into a full capability of correlation and data exchange among the tools currently available to manage those three activities and, in particular, into a tight cooperation between the functional modeling and the physical one, being based on several methods of engineering, widely applied since longtime (mathematical, analytical, numerical and experimental). A successful accomplishment of this task within the frame of the development of the MBSE represents a milestone for both the methodology and the tools of the Systems Engineering. The application of models and simulations to support the engineering activities has spread over different domains and is strictly related to the decision making process applied to finalize an effective system design. Many kind of models are often performed to develop the systems currently populating the wide scenario of complex and smart products. When the product is a result of a material processing, some geometrical models allow describing shape and properties of the manufactured product, whose behavior is then predicted by resorting to some numerical discretization funded on a set of equations to be solved. Those models mainly describe the real nature of system, not only as is designed but even as is manufactured, thus allowing the required verification and validation activities. Due to this motivation those models belong the so–called physical modeling, whose key targets are both a mathematical modeling and a quantitative evaluation of performance. According to the MBSE the above described activity is never sufficient to completely define the details of the system under design and development. Moreover, to face the inherent complexity of new systems, being characterized by a number of functions, components and interfaces, a clear traceability from requirement to numbered part is needed. A bright allocation of each requirement to the system functions first, and to its logical blocks then, is definitely a key issue of the proposed approach. Those two main goals require a preliminary functional modeling activity, never characterized by numbers, while is dominant a prediction of system operation, behavior, interaction with other systems and stakeholders, and even a preliminary definition of well assessed requirements to motivate a consequent set of proposed layouts, based on some selected technolog

Tracking the consequences of design decisions in mechatronic systems engineering

19 pagesInternational audienceThe design of mechatronic systems involves several technical and scientific disciplines. It is often difficult to anticipate, at the outset, the consequences of design decisions on the ultimate effectiveness of such complex systems, in which case the evaluation process is required to support the designers each time engineering choices must be made or justified. Since designers may belong to different technical and scientific cultures however, their understanding of both the design stakes and the evaluation process is too often biased. Moreover, design choices take place in an uncertain context and according to multiple criteria, some of which may be contradictory. In order to track the consequences of design decisions, we are proposing a conceptual data model to perform evaluations within the MBSE framework of Systems Engineering. We then proceed by relying on the relationships demonstrated by such a model to identify the potential impacts of design choices on future product performance. Since data available during the conceptual phase of the design are typically uncertain or imprecise, an original research protocol is extended to a qualitative impact analysis for the purpose of highlighting the most promising alternative system design solutions (ASDS). An example in the mechatronics field serves to illustrate our proposals

MAX: a mechatronic model building environment

Abstract: A description is given of the state of the art and the functionality of MAX, an expert system for supporting conceptual design of mechatronic systems. Three model building principles are combined in MAX: – embedding equations in networks: a tight coupling between the graphical model formulation and the underlying equations assists the user in model building and evaluation. – multiple model formulations: one system can be manipulated and inspected simultaneously in multiple formulations (languages). – polymorphic modelling: a submodel definition is divided into a type that defines essential properties, and a specification that defines incidental properties. One type generally has multiple specifications, and types are organised hierarchically inside the library. By means of a simple case study, the utility of these principles is demonstrated. It is shown that MAX is a powerful model building environment that is well adapted to usage by designers.

Tailoring the V-Model for Optics: A Methodology for Optomechatronic Systems

The integration of optical technologies into once purely mechatronic systems enables innovative functions, but simultaneously increases the complexity of previous mechatronic system development. Therefore, a process has been elaborated to develop these so-called optomechatronic systems by Knöchelmann at the Institute of Product Development at Leibniz University Hanover, which is based on the V-Model of VDI 2206 and can be applied to various fields of application. For a target-oriented development in a specific product context and for systems with competing main requirements, detailing and adapting the process is recommended. High-resolution lighting systems are one of them, where requirements for high optical efficiency and image quality lead to a conflict of objectives. Focusing on the optics domain, Ley elaborated methods for the preliminary and detailed design of high-resolution lighting systems to address the aforementioned conflict of objectives. This contribution focuses on the integration of Ley’s design methods into Knöchelmann’s process model within the phases of system design and domain-specific design, allowing us to analyze the impact of the system design on the fulfillment of main requirements to achieve an optimal solution of the conflict of objectives. To illustrate this, the integrated process model is described using an example from automotive lighting technology