Teaching and Learning Resources: Project-Based Learning

Project-based learning uses active learning techniques and gives students direct exposure to hardware and software. By extending the approach to incorporate industry-standard software such as MATLAB and Simulink, instructors not only keep students motivated but also prepare them for a range of careers. Simulink enables these goals with built-in support for interfacing with low-cost hardware, including Arduino^®, BeagleBoard, and LEGO^® MINDSTORMS^® NXT platforms. This built-in support is also available in MATLAB and Simulink Student Version.

Mechatronics and Controls

Arduino, when used with Simulink, enables students to develop algorithms that interface with a variety of peripherals and electronics for mechatronics and control systems. Students can develop software in Simulink, implement algorithms as standalone applications, and tune parameters while the application is running.

Control Systems Engineering, 7e
by Norman S. Nise, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Advanced Mechatronics: Monitoring and Control of Spatially Distributed Systems
by Dan Necsulescu, World Scientific Publishing Co.

Basic Engineering Circuit Analysis, 11e
by J. David Irwin and R. Mark Nelms, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Signal Processing

BeagleBoard provides a low-cost platform for teaching audio processing and computer vision applications. By using Simulink with BeagleBoard, students can verify their algorithms during simulation and then implement them as standalone applications.

Practical Image and Video Processing Using MATLAB
By Oge Marques, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Digital Signal Processing: A Computer-Based Approach, 4e
By Sanjit K. Mitra, McGraw-Hill

Multidimensional Signal, Image, and Video Processing and Coding, 2e
By John W. Woods, Academic Press

Robotics

LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT and Simulink offer an environment that lets students model, simulate, and design algorithms for a range of robotics applications. The platform is also widely used for teaching programming.

Robotics, Vision and Control: Fundamental Algorithms in MATLAB
By Peter Corke, Springer

Mobile Robots: Navigation, Control and Remote Sensing
By Gerald Cook, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Simulation of Dynamic Systems with MATLAB and Simulink, 3e
By Harold Klee and Randal Allen, CRC Press, Inc.