2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Automated systems are an integrated part of our daily lives from coffee makers to microwaves and dishwashers. Designing, building, and maintaining an automated system is a complex task requiring knowledge of hardware, software, and how to interface components such as sensory devices and controllers. Students often lack a system level perspective of automated systems and how each component contributes to a system. Mastery of these concepts and skills is made even more challenging by limited availability of equipment, limited lab time, and lack of system-level lesson plans.

To alleviate these challenges and to make learning system integration concepts accessible, efficient, and interesting, interactive modules on sensors, PLCs, and robot controller interfacing and case studies of simple assembly lines and industry press machine were designed and evaluated.

Groups of learners ranging from 34 to 65 individuals reviewed the modules. They completed pre- and post-tests to assess instructional effectiveness, a survey to provide feedback about the design and usefulness of the modules, and a self-assessment of their knowledge of I/O, PLC and Robot interfacing concepts. Results suggest that the modules and case studies have a positive impact on student learning. In addition, the self-efficacy survey results suggest that the experience of using the modules—together with lectures and labs—has a strong positive impact on learners’ self-efficacy related to PLC programming, sensory devices, and robot interfacing knowledge.