Labs-to-Go System Identification Experiments

Labs-to-go is an innovative take-home laboratory system suitable for a variety of undergraduate laboratory experiments in civil, mechanical, and computer engineering. Conventional labs are expensive in terms of hardware, lab space, and support staff. Furthermore, for urban universities, the majority of students commute. The labs-to-go project can reduce the pressure on limited lab resources and required commuting via take-home kits which provide a learning experience equivalent to traditional labs. The apparatus consists of a set of smart beam elements, each comprised of an aluminum plate, a piezoelectric actuator, a piezoelectric bending sensor, and mounting hardware, with display and control provided using a personal computer with a digital signal processing interface subsystem. The students assemble (with extensive online teaching assistant support) a specified configuration and then measure and control its behavior using algorithms they develop as part of the assignment. The laboratory experiments fall into two general classes: measurement and control. This paper describes the measurement experiments, in which students use the apparatus to determine the dynamics of the structures and to develop experience with sensing, signal conditioning, and identification. The assessment results confirm that the labsto-go concept is viable and offer insight into improvements which can enhance the learning outcomes. INTRODUCTION The undergraduate engineering laboratory experience develops essential skills in manipulating variables, correcting for desired results, and drawing conclusions (Feisel, 2005). Engineering labs provide an outlet for applying these skills that traditional lecture courses do not, especially in allowing students to design systems according to defined parameters, challenging students to pursue their curiosity, and providing experience in utilizing engineering tools. Most importantly, labs provide the opportunity for students to authenticate (Edelson, 1997) what they’ve learned in lecture and to start applying their learning to the real world. Conventional labs are expensive and require resources, such as hardware and lab space, which are scarce. Many urban universities, such as University of Houston (UH) and University of Houston – Clear Lake are also commuting universities. For example, at UH, only slightly more than 20% of students live in dorms and the rest commute. More than 40% of students spend more than 30 minutes commuting to UH (one-way) per day. There is also a great demand to offer undergraduate education to full time employees from companies in the surrounding Houston area. Distance education addresses this problem, but traditional lab courses are not suitable for distance delivery since the experiments have to be conducted in labs. The labs-to-go 1151 Earth and Space 2012 © ASCE 2012