Mechanics & Electronics

As computation becomes more accessible, both in cost and in size, the everyday products we encounter have the potential to become more independent and provide alternative services than their main function. Often, these are referred to as ‘smart’ products, which can be a chair that analyze posture at seating times, or a vacuum that navigates and maps the floor that needs to be cleaned. 

In this class, the basics and fundamentals of how these products work are covered in a bottom up approach. This means rather than focus on designing a ‘smart chair,’ the class will go over the basics of how electrical circuits work, how various sensors work, and how the mechanics aspects of a moving chair could work. 

This class is designed as both mechanics and electronics, rather than a more integrated mechatronics class. The difference is largely in that the fusion of the two components requires a broader knowledge base, including programming and control theory.