Implementing a multidisciplinary system design and engineering course using Solar Splash '97

Chen, J.C.; Hughes, E.A.; Wang, Shih-Liang; Collis, W.J.

doi:10.1109/fie.1997.635941

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…On the other hand, while a typical senior design team could be comprised of four or five ME or ECE students, the Solar Splash project was naturally interdisciplinary. Note that while this inherent feature of Solar Splash has been described quite some time ago [11], few teams feature multi-department collaborations.…”

Section: Unm Solar Splash -History and Distinctive Featuresmentioning

confidence: 97%

Using the Solar Splash Competition to Train the New Generation of Maritime Engineers in Solar Power Use

Vorobieff

Lehr

2019

WIT Transactions on the Built Environment

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We present a program (UNM Solar Splash) developed at the University of New Mexico with the goal of training engineering students in building solar-powered watercraft. The program is run as a hybrid between a senior design capstone course and a graduate problems course. It is motivated by the pressing need to minimize the environmental impact of maritime transport, in particular, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. One of the most promising ways to address this need is the expansion of solar-powered water transport. To support such an expansion, we need to train a new generation of specialists with a synergy of skills in mechanical and electrical engineering. Each year, the student team builds a solar-electric speedboat to participate in an international student competition. What distinguishes our program from the competitors is the collaboration of advanced undergraduate and graduate students with majors in both mechanical and electrical engineering.

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Section: Unm Solar Splash -History and Distinctive Featuresmentioning

confidence: 97%

Using the Solar Splash Competition to Train the New Generation of Maritime Engineers in Solar Power Use

Vorobieff

Lehr

2019

WIT Transactions on the Built Environment

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“…The SAE Energy-Efficient vehicle design is one example of student design competitions that promote student contribution in engineering design of a product [1]. Students have designed, constructed and tested a solar-electric boat [2]. Robotics has been a very appropriate field where multidisciplinary teams can work together and get a product design experience.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vision Guidance Development For A Ground Robotic System

Sharma,

Thompson,

Kumagai

et al.

1999 Annual Conference Proceedings

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This paper describes a student project that involved the design and construction of a ground robotic system guided by a vision system. The project has been carried out by students in Engineering Technology, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Computer Science. The project has served to meet the senior project requirement of several of the students in the division.The construction of this experimental robotic system is based on a golf cart. A 3.5 horsepower DC motor powers the movement of the vehicle. A CCD camera mounted at the front part of the vehicle captures the road image and this image data is sent to a PC. Then this PC processes the acquired image and transmits a command signal to a stepper motor system controlling the vehicle's steering wheel for direction control. Through this project, students experience building of a mechatronics system and implementing a software system that commands the functions of various components in an orchestrated manner. This system building experience will be a great asset to these students who will work in the extremely high-tech multi-disciplinary industrial environment of today and in the future. The project is also aimed at the international student competition event for this type of robotic vehicle. By setting a goal like this, students learn how to work in a team, which is another essential skill required in the real world. The paper will describe this project's coordination, management and cooperation that were handled by the students under the guidance of the professors.The technical part of this paper focuses on the development of the vision guidance navigation algorithm. This algorithm is designed to navigate the vehicle along a course prescribed by the left and right boundary lines. The CCD camera of the vehicle captures the images of these lines within a rectangular image window. Then a light intensity profile along a horizontal line drawn across this rectangular image window is obtained. The motion command to the steering wheel stepper motor is generated by comparing the centroid of two light intensity peaks representing those boundary lines to the current orientation of the vehicle.

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