CEID Research Symposium 2022 Abstract Booklet

Kia ora koutou and welcome. This booklet contains the abstracts presented at the 2022 CEID Research Symposium. This event has been revived after a lapse of several years. Research in CEID encompasses a variety of disciplines such as: • Engineering education • Electrical engineering • Mechanical engineering • Civil engineering Applied research and cross-disciplinary research is encouraged in CEID. Technology and innovation is one of the major themes (e.g. sports engineering, biomedical, electrical power, materials, robotics and automation). In addition to this, sustainability and environmental issues are important to CEID research. This is reflected in the symposium abstracts. The aim of the symposium is to promote the sharing of research ideas and progress in a “friendly” environment. It also informs the Research Leader, Team Manager, and Centre/Group Director of research progress within the centre. It is anticipated that researchers will expand their abstracts into conference/journal papers in due course

Integrating an electronic compass for position tracking on a wheeled tricycle mobile robot

Dead-reckoning via encoders on wheeled-mobile robots is a simple but inaccurate method to estimate position. The major drawback of encoders is wheel slippage errors that accumulate over time. This problem is often addressed by using additional sensors such as compass, gyroscope, or GPS. This paper details the integration and effectiveness of a relatively low-cost solution using an electronic compass to reduce positioning error on a wheeled tricycle mobile robot. A customised Visual Studio program has been developed to adjust the settings of the electronic compass and integrate it with the Visual Studio based robot control system. The electronic compass heading data is fused with the encoder odometry heading data in three different ways: simple fusion, linear weighted fusion, and Kalman filter fusion. Simple fusion and linear weighted fusion rely on parameters determined from angular acceleration and angular velocity, respectively. The Kalman filter uses variance data for the encoders and electronic compass to determine an optimal heading. Experiments have been conducted in an indoor corridor environment to evaluate and compare the various fusion methods. Position error is successfully reduced and is sufficient to locate the robot within the corridor

Utilizing digital assessment strategies for theory & practical work in mechatronics

In recent times, education has become ubiquitous due to the digital revolution. Learning is now possible from a plethora of online resources in formats such as text, audio, or video. While it is common practice to use digital formats for providing learning resources, many educators still prefer traditional methods such as paper-based (handwritten and/or typed) or in-person for assessment. This is often used to reduce the risk of plagiarism and ghostwriting, or to verify practical work achievement. On the other hand, emphasis is now being placed on learning 21st century skills which includes Information, Media, and Technology Skills (Trilling & Fadel, 2009). These fall under the general umbrella of Digital Literacy Skills. It is important for engineering students to develop these skills because it is very likely they will have use them in their work life as engineers or technicians. For example, manufacturers and suppliers of mechatronics related tools/equipment (e.g. for automation and control) now provide technical resources in digital formats such as web pages, document files, and even videos (Mathworks, n.d.; SchneiderElectric, n.d.). In addition to this, online collaborative work environments across diverse geographic locations are becoming popular and these skills are likely to very valuable. This paper considers the perspective that digital assessment outweighs traditional methods in benefits due to its applicability in the changing work environment. Traditional assessment methods could be used as a secondary tool to follow up when educators have concerns about student work submitted via digital means. Hence, the focus of this paper is on discussing some options for moving towards digital assessment for theory work (such as tests) and practical work in mechatronics related courses on the diploma and degree programmes

Utilizing digital assessment strategies for theory & practical work in mechatronics

In recent times, education has become ubiquitous due to the digital revolution. Learning is now possible from a plethora of online resources in formats such as text, audio, or video. While it is common practice to use digital formats for providing learning resources, many educators still prefer traditional methods such as paper-based (handwritten and/or typed) or in-person for assessment. This is often used to reduce the risk of plagiarism and ghostwriting, or to verify practical work achievement. On the other hand, emphasis is now being placed on learning 21st century skills which includes Information, Media, and Technology Skills (Trilling & Fadel, 2009). These fall under the general umbrella of Digital Literacy Skills. It is important for engineering students to develop these skills because it is very likely they will have use them in their work life as engineers or technicians. For example, manufacturers and suppliers of mechatronics related tools/equipment (e.g. for automation and control) now provide technical resources in digital formats such as web pages, document files, and even videos (Mathworks, n.d.; SchneiderElectric, n.d.). In addition to this, online collaborative work environments across diverse geographic locations are becoming popular and these skills are likely to very valuable. This paper considers the perspective that digital assessment outweighs traditional methods in benefits due to its applicability in the changing work environment. Traditional assessment methods could be used as a secondary tool to follow up when educators have concerns about student work submitted via digital means. Hence, the focus of this paper is on discussing some options for moving towards digital assessment for theory work (such as tests) and practical work in mechatronics related courses on the diploma and degree programmes

A Low Cost Linear Force Feedback Control System for a Two-Fingered Parallel Configuration Gripper

This paper presents a simple linear control based force feedback for the gripper of a SCORBOT ER-4u robotic arm. The SCORBOT ER-4u is a 5 degree of freedom (DOF) dexterous robotic arm with a rigid 2-fingered parallel configuration gripper. A Flexi-Force Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR) is attached to one of the claws of the gripper and interfaced to a notebook computer using Arduino Uno microcontroller. The force sensor aids the robotic arm in three different ways: one, senses if an object has been successfully grasped, second determine the coefficient of friction of the object, and third prevent damage when the object will be grasped. The gripper along with the force sensor is calibrated prior to grasping objects. During calibration, samples of the object to be manipulated are used to establish the extents of the gripper on the basis of its grasping force. By following calibration pattern, the gripper is able to grasp objects with approximately the same coefficient of friction. Most importantly, it ensures that the object to be grasped is not damaged by applying sufficient amount of force based on the object’s weight. The experimental analyses of the proposed work have shown interesting results to control both the SCORBOT ER-4u robotic arm and the force sensor for grasping masses, strictly conforming to the safety margin of the object

Implementing project based learning and tools to develop employability skills for early tertiary learners in engineering education

From recent studies and research, it is clearly defined that 21st century industries/employers seek engineering graduates that have employability skills. From the new trends, major emphasis on practical applications compared to theory is given in engineering education. The pathway from education to employability is critical for an early tertiary learner to establish their career. Currently, industry bodies are actively sourcing graduates that can deliver employability skills such as, professional communication, problem solving and teamwork competency and many more. Learning technical and subject knowledge is essential in engineering, however employers also strive for candidates that can deliver a large range of professional/employability skills (Mishra, 2016). In order to overcome and adapt to new challenges and problematic scenarios, employers look for exceptional employability attributes. This excessive demand of professionally equipped graduates has caused the desire of many universities and institutes to develop their learners with strong theoretical knowledge and embed graduate attributes into courses through assignments and projects (Zaharim et al., 2010). Project based learning (PjBL) has found to be an authentic, modernised and successful teaching and learning pedagogy that has supported this shift from disciplinary theoretical knowledge to practical learning (Shekhar, 2014). This paper presents the overview and implementation of PjBL and educational tools called Rauemi Ipurangi – an online interactive activity-based resource. Also, two imperative questionnaires are designed to gather feedback from the early tertiary learners on the competency of their employability skills to analyse and evaluate the students’ performance. Rauemi Ipurangi is created and developed to focus on three key employability attributes: teamwork, communication and wellbeing. The resource also comprises of ultural/indigenous Māori frameworks known as the model of Te Whare Tapa Wha by M. Durie to promote diversified employability environment in New Zealand. Learner profile & employability skills self-assessment questionnaires are used to collect feedback from the students throughout the semester, to analyse their experience in attaining graduate attributes earlier in their year 1 courses of their engineering programme

Implementing project based learning and tools to develop employability skills for early tertiary learners in engineering education

From recent studies and research, it is clearly defined that 21st century industries/employers seek engineering graduates that have employability skills. From the new trends, major emphasis on practical applications compared to theory is given in engineering education. The pathway from education to employability is critical for an early tertiary learner to establish their career. Currently, industry bodies are actively sourcing graduates that can deliver employability skills such as, professional communication, problem solving and teamwork competency and many more. Learning technical and subject knowledge is essential in engineering, however employers also strive for candidates that can deliver a large range of professional/employability skills (Mishra, 2016). In order to overcome and adapt to new challenges and problematic scenarios, employers look for exceptional employability attributes. This excessive demand of professionally equipped graduates has caused the desire of many universities and institutes to develop their learners with strong theoretical knowledge and embed graduate attributes into courses through assignments and projects (Zaharim et al., 2010). Project based learning (PjBL) has found to be an authentic, modernised and successful teaching and learning pedagogy that has supported this shift from disciplinary theoretical knowledge to practical learning (Shekhar, 2014). This paper presents the overview and implementation of PjBL and educational tools called Rauemi Ipurangi – an online interactive activity-based resource. Also, two imperative questionnaires are designed to gather feedback from the early tertiary learners on the competency of their employability skills to analyse and evaluate the students’ performance. Rauemi Ipurangi is created and developed to focus on three key employability attributes: teamwork, communication and wellbeing. The resource also comprises of cultural/indigenous Māori frameworks known as the model of Te Whare Tapa Wha by M. Durie to promote diversified employability environment in New Zealand. Learner profile & employability skills self-assessment questionnaires are used to collect feedback from the students throughout the semester, to analyse their experience in attaining graduate attributes earlier in their year 1 courses of their engineering programme