Comprehensive Learning through the MultiDisciplinary Design of an Automated Guided Vehicle

Published in: Engineering Innovations for Global Sustainability: Proceedings of the 14th Latin American and Caribbean Conference for Engineering and Technology
Date of Conference: July 20-22, 2016
Location of Conference: San Jose, Costa Rica
Authors: Alberto Aguilar
Camilo Lozoya
L. Orona
Salvador Romo
Armando Román
Refereed Paper: #380

Abstract:

Often, academic assignments for engineering courses include Project Oriented Learning (POL) as a method to evaluate the knowledge and skills that students acquired during a certain term. Also, educational institutions motivate their faculty to generate projects in which a real situation is involved. In other cases, educators design activities that integrate a multidisciplinary approach. However, conceiving and implementing a project which has these three characteristics is a difficult task. In this paper, a project which considers all three is presented, from the inception of the idea thru the implementation of the entire process. During one semester, students from diverse majors designed, built, and tested an autonomous vehicle to provide tours to prospective students and their parents. This project involves a multidisciplinary approach with undergraduates and faculty from four different areas: mechanics, mechatronics, industrial design, and computer science.