Preliminary Experience From the T-Sat Project

Abstract

The design of complex systems requires input from many disciplines including science, engineering technology, business, and law. Students from a single department are seldom exposed to interdisciplinary projects through classroom activities. Such multi-facet experience is obtained through extracurricular activities and design competitions. The Canadian Satellite Design Challenge was recently introduced to design, build, test, and launch an operational small satellite. The University of Manitoba has a team of 79 undergraduate and graduate students from several faculties, working together to design a triple pico-satellite (T-Sat).This paper presents some of the lessons learned from the first phase of the T-Sat project and insight into some of the benefits of interdisciplinary, complex projects on engineering education.

The T-Sat1 Nanosatellite Design and Implementation Through a Team of Teams

“…The CSDC plans to expand the understanding and skills learned in their university courses through hands-on experience designing and managing a large complex project. The University of Manitoba (UofM) team consists of more than 100 registered undergraduate and graduate students from Engineering, Science, Business, Architecture, and Art, all collaborating on the T-Sat1 mission and achieving good results (e.g., (Kinsner et al, 2011b;Schor et al, 2012b)). The students belong to the University of Manitoba Space Applications and Technology Society (UMSATS), and rely on an infrastructure consisting of more than 50 advisors from academia, industry, business, military and government that provide valuable feedback on the project (Kinsner et al, 2011b).…”

Some Challenges in the Design and Education of Intelligent Machines and Systems

“…Could the experiential learning concept be extended to the entire educational program, spanning four years? An example of such a multi-year project is the T-Sat project at the UofM [KBSD11]. The project is to design, implement, and test a triple picosatellite (code T-Sat) under the umbrella of the first Canadian Satellite Design Challenge that started in 2010.…”

Reinforcing the Design Foundation of Asynchronous Serial Data Communications Using Logic and Protocols Analyzers

“…The logic and protocol analyzers can also be used in the teaching-teachers workshops [KiBC11] and the visualization of signals for high school students during various outreach activities [KBSD11].…”