2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

2023 ASEE Workshop Combining Arduino and MATLAB for Controls Experiments

Presented at Multidisciplinary Engineering Division (MULTI) Technical Session 3

Mathworks, along with several colleges, put on a workshop at ASEE 2023 that demonstrated using MATLAB’s features with the Arduino microprocessor to conduct control experiments. In this paper, we highlight activities that were successful and others that needed improvement based on participant feedback and observations. The paper details the experiments and materials required to conduct these experiments using hands-on approaches. In many of these experiments, we employed project-based learning (PBL) techniques and a variety of cost-effective hardware. In addition, we offered alternatives to these hands-on techniques using the simulation capabilities found in the MATLAB software. Student workshop feedback statistics and course instructor observations are provided as a measure of merit. This paper may serve as a guide for future implementations of this workshop offered by Mathworks or other users.

Authors

Dr. Stephen Andrew Wilkerson P.E. York College of Pennsylvania [biography]

Stephen Wilkerson (swilkerson@ycp.edu) received his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1990 in Mechanical Engineering. His Thesis and initial work was on underwater explosion bubble dynamics and ship and submarine whipping. After graduation he took a
Gen Sasaki MathWorks [biography]

Gen Sasaki is a Principal Customer Success Engineer at MathWorks. In this role, he partners closely with educators and students across universities, ensuring they leverage MATLAB to its fullest potential. Gen holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, with a specialization in control systems. His professional journey spans nearly three decades, during which he has made significant contributions to the automotive and aerospace sectors, focusing on powertrain systems and a variety of embedded controls.
Dr. Stephen Andrew Gadsden McMaster University [biography]

Dr. S. Andrew Gadsden is currently the Associate Chair (Graduate Studies) and an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at McMaster University. He is the Director of the Intelligent and Cognitive Engineering Laboratory.
Dr. Scott F. Kiefer York College of Pennsylvania [biography]

Scott Kiefer has spent the past twenty-one years teaching mechanical engineering at four different colleges. He started at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez in the traditional role of teaching and administering a modest graduate research program. At Trine University, a small private school in Angola, Indiana, he focused on undergraduate education while teaching ten different courses ranging from introductory freshman courses to senior capstone. Scott also served as an advisor to many different undergraduate research projects. He then moved on to Michigan State University and took a position as a teaching specialist concentrating on undergraduate classroom instruction. Scott finally settled at York College of Pennsylvania. He has been at York College for over ten years and feels as if he has found a place where the focus on teaching and students aligns well with his background and interests.
Mr. Brian Nguyen McMaster University
Noah Roberts MathWorks [biography]

Noah Roberts is a Product Marketing Engineer at MathWorks. In this role, he works closely with Customer Success Engineering and supports STEM Outreach initiatives. Noah holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and Electrical & Computer Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

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