An Educational Approach to Robotics

The School of Engineering of the University of Bergamo offers a Mechatronic curriculum both to MSc students of Mechanical Engineering and MSc students of Computer Science Engineering. This curriculum is composed of several courses covering a wide range of subjects, among the others: Functional Design of Mechanical and Mechatronic Systems, Fundamentals of Control Systems, Modeling and Simulation of Mechanical Systems, Mechanics of Robots, etc. The course of “Mechanics of Robots" is delivered in the first semester; this 6 ECTS course introduces students to basics of modeling, motion planning, and design of robotic systems. Students that attend the course have all a similar background in mechanical engineering with basic knowledge about control theory and about design and optimization of motion laws (this topic is covered in the course on “Functional Design of Mechanical and Mechatronic Systems“). Besides, in the same semester, students attend the Class of “Modeling and Simulation of Mechanical Systems” that provides a comprehensive overview of the Multibody approach to rigid body dynamics. The final examination consists in the presentation of a project, that may include the construction of a manipulator prototype, chosen among a range of proposals introduced at the beginning of the course. Students can work in teams composed of up to three members. The present paper describes in details each phase of the students activities in developing a project about a SCARA robot and highlights how this “hands on” educational approach allows willing and motivated students to improve their practical skills and to reach competences on the design of robotic systems.