"Teaching System Dynamics with Arduino, MATLAB, and Simulink" Courseware

Teaching System Dynamics with Arduino, MATLAB, and Simulink

By Professor Robert Webster
Mechanical Engineering
Vanderbilt University

Professor Jenna Gorlewicz
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Southern Illinois University

System Dynamics is a junior-level mechanical engineering course and the laboratory, where the paddle is the focus, is an additional component of the course where students work in small teams.

Students learn to create models of the haptic paddle in Simulink and to interface these models to their paddles in a closed-loop feedback control exercise. Students also have the opportunity to develop and interact with virtual environments in Simulink, enabling two-way interaction with the paddles. Further, using MATLAB's built-in system identification and analysis capabilities, students can quickly analyze a system's response to various inputs. This platform allows students to take on a much greater role in modeling and controlling the haptic paddle and the virtual systems they interact with while simultaneously developing valuable experience with practical engineering software.

Learning Outcomes

• The ability “to feel what the system feels” to develop intuition and conceptual understanding.
• At the conclusion of the course students will be able to answer 25 conceptual, multiple choice questions that relate to specific key concepts learned from the haptic paddle laboratories.