An update on the framework for a junior level design course

Abstract

This paper presents a follow up look at a one semester, junior-level design course in electrical engineering at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. A summary of the class's objectives, content, system of systems-based projects and use in assessment are presented for the past three years. The course has evolved from that reported previously where it was centered on mobile robots, sensing and coordinated behavior to its current incarnation that focuses on the design of beacon-finding mobile robots. Beacon-finding robots are the result of the evolution of the course and desire to have students address projects with design and integration of multiple, independent systems. Students are tasked to build an autonomous mobile robot that can detect a Radio Frequency (RF) beacon, and ultimately use the robot's location and measurements from the beacon to determine the beacon's location without necessarily driving to it. The project blends several technical areas of electrical electrical engineering that include electromagnetics, RF, control theory, analog and digital electronics, signal processing, programming, and microcontrollers along with broader skills related to communication and design.