ERAU-Prescott Robotics
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Space Robotics
The Space Robotics Laboratory at ERAU Prescott
is located in the STEM Education Center (Bldg. 76). -
Hexapod Mobile Robot
Six-legged robotics platform has been designed
by team PreSept for agile obstacle avoidance. -
Capstone Class 2017
Team members from left to right: Robert Noble,
Austin Wild, Jennifer Stiles, Nick Harris,
Hilary Nelson, and Andrew Dittrich. -
Capstone Class 2017
Team members from left to right: Steven Rudrich,
Sarah Pearson, Magnus Bergman, Kristin Sandager,
David Olson, Davis Fischer, Kevin Horn,
Mariah Sampson, Evan Kline, and Trentin Post. -
Capstone Class 2018
Team members from left to right: Mathew Todd,
Jacqueline Worley, Grayson Lynch,
Chad Abramson, Garrison Bybee, Riley Griffin,
Morgan Garone, and Sara El Baissi. -
Capstone Class 2018
Team members from left to right: Justin Maza,
Theodore Lilyeblade, Clayton Walker,
Bruce Nelson, Jonathan Buchholz, Andrew Petersen,
Emma Hutchison, and Alexandra Indritz.
ME 404/404L - Mechatronics and Mechatronics Laboratory
Robotics is inherently an interdisciplinary field. Mechanical systems provide robots with locomotion and a means to manipulate the environment. Electrical systems power on-board devices and enable robots to sense the world around them. Software controls the physical systems and provides robots with the ability to intelligently respond to diverse situations. Well-rounded roboticists are proficient in all three of these areas. Mechatronics (ME404) and Mechatronics Laboratory (ME404L) constitute a crash course in practical electrical engineering topics for mechanical engineers on the robotics track. The primary emphasis of the course is gaining hands on experience with microcontrollers and electrical components in the laboratory. Students learn interfacing considerations while writing C programs to read data from sensors and control motors. For the final project, students must apply their knowledge to produce a fully autonomous mobile robot capable of performing a basic navigational task.
Topics include:
- Programming microcontrollers in C;
- Microcontroller simulation and debugging;
- Basic microcontroller I/O with switches and LED’s;
- Polled and interrupt driven pushbuttons with debouncing;
- Timers and 7-segment displays;
- Interfacing ultrasonic sensors using output compare and input capture;
- Interfacing IR sensors and potentiometers using A/D converters;
- Controlling servos using PWM’s;
- Motors, H-bridges, and rotary encoders;
- Batteries and voltage regulators;
- Diodes and transistors (BJTs and MOSFETs);
- Brushed DC motors;
- System integration to produce an autonomous mobile robot.
