UMaine Mechatronic Summer Camp
DESIGNING ROBOTIC SYSTEMS: STARTING FROM THE BASICS
June 21-26, 2020
Have you ever wondered how YOU can make a machine that responds to its environment? This week long course will cover the basics of how to build a machine which looks at sensors that 
respond to stimuli such as light or pressure, uses a microprocessor to make decisions about those inputs, and then takes action to create a desired outcome such as motion. This course will be fundamentally different from others because we will use the basic building blocks of everyday products as opposed to more “packaged” systems like the Lego Mindstorm. Students can expect a mixture of lectures with demonstrations followed by exploration time. On the final day the students will be challenged to build a car capable navigating a maze without any user input.
After the initial housing check in on June 21, the five day course will cover:
June 22 – Making your robot think – Programming the Arduino Uno
• Uploading programs to the arduino
• Monitoring data sent back to the PC
• Use of prototyping boards so the Arduino can interface with the outside world
• Variables
• Reading digital pins
• Reading analog pins
• Conditional “IF” statements
• Looping
June 23 – Making your robot feel – Sensing temperature, light, force, and rotation
• Voltage dividers
• Photocells for sensing light
• Thermistors for sensing temperature
• Strain gauges and op amps for measuring force
• Encoders for measuring rotational speed and position
June 24 – Making your robot move – Power switching, brush motors, stepper motors, servos, and solenoids
• Transistors – the muscle behind modern electronics
• “H” bridges for making reversing brush motors
• Stepper motors and drivers for precision movements
• Servos
• Solenoids
June 25 – Making your robot communicate – RS-232, CAN bus networks.
• Bits and bytes
• Decimal to binary and why it is important
• RS-232 – Let’s chat
• CAN bus – the central nervous system of every modern car on the road today.
June 26 – Making your robot remember – Sending data to a PC / Challenge time
• The Crosby Machine Controller – Using the Arduino and a PC as a graphing datalogger
• Challenge build time
Accommodations:
Do you live too far away to make the 8:00 start time each day??? No problem. We have arranged for double accommodations in our on campus housing. On campus lodging includes meals and a evening recreation center pass.
Tuition:
The course fee will be $260 for the five day seminar. This includes a take home kit with all of the hardware necessary for completing the experiments. If you require the optional meals and housing accommodations they can be purchased for an additional $495.
Registration:
Students may register at: SOMETHING GOES HERE. before 3/20/20. If you would more information you can email the instructor, Stephen.abbadessa@maine.edu
Class size is limited to twenty students so register early.
