Today’s engineering systems are
highly complex but the typical university curriculum in engineering is often
encumbered by mid twentieth century convention. For many professors, a
significant part of the answer is better, richer hands-on education, and the undergraduate
laboratory is one of the most important targets of their attention. Quanser has
been collaborating with leading engineering universities to bring new life and relevance
to the modern engineering lab.
Quanser systems are more than
high performance devices. They are designed to support a pragmatic strategy of
hands-on education innovation. At the core of this is a well-earned reputation for
delivering flexible, cost-effective solutions through modular design of its product.
A
Modular, Cost-Effective Educational Strategy
The modularity of the Rotary Servo product line is a great example of how a sound design can
drive effective educational strategy. By adding one of ten unique add-on
modules to the base servo motor, professors can extend the reach of their labs
well beyond the traditional experiments.
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| The Rotary Servo product line is a prime example of Quanser's modular, cost-effective strategy: it features simple components that can be combined to create complex experiments that offer students new challenges. |
Students can explore the complexities
of flexible beams, or gyroscopic effects, or the dynamics of a multi-DOF
system, and so much more. Overall, the design makes it easy to increase the
number of stations while exponentially increasing the range of exercises and
even courses through the add-on modules. In all, this is a highly cost-effective
framework for an institution’s lab road map.
The
Quanser Driving Simulator – a HIL Automotive “Video Game”
For Quanser, however,
modularity is more than add-on hardware components. Recently, at the annual
Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) in San Antonio,
Texas, we demonstrated a unique application of the Rotary Servo system. Called
the Quanser Driving Simulator (QDS), this concept
demonstration presented a rich automotive application layer via the QUARC® software and its standard library
of 3D visualization tools.
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| The Quanser Driving Simulator is a rich and creative application of the modular Rotary Servo system. A true Hardware-in-the-Loop automotive control system, it is presented within a video game-like framework. |
The concept, on the
surface is, “a video game on steroids”. But there is a profound difference. The
servo motors have been programmed to represent the speed and position control
of a real car. Through software, these motors are then connected to a model of
the vehicle dynamics, a racetrack, and a driver model. In essence this is a
true Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) automotive control system, and the control
theory runs through all of these components and the actual relevance of very
theoretical concepts become clear and intuitive. Additionally, that video game
aspect can increase the motivation aspect as it adds a very familiar and often
fun dimension to a lab, all from out-of-the-box components and readily
accessible accessories.
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| The Quanser Driving Simulator received a great deal of enthusiastic attention at the recent annual conference of the American Society for Engineering Education. |
Build Your Own Dream Lab
In many ways, the
QDS begins pointing to the proverbial dream lab. It combines accessible
hardware with meaningful applications and it illustrates how modularity extends
into the software aspects within the context of the rotary product line. Beyond
the rotary product line, however, is the potential growth via Quanser’s
extended line of products that reaches into some of the most exciting and
important application areas.
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| The Shake Table series allows you to conduct research or help students comprehend structural dynamics and control principles that can minimize damage from earthquakes. |
The Shake Table series for
earthquake simulation, the Helicopter series for
aerospace applications, or haptic experiments for biomedical applications, are
examples of Quanser products that can bring a teaching lab, literally, to state
of the art overnight. Additionally, these advanced devices are fully capable of
supporting advanced research, further increasing the benefits to the
institution.
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| The Helicopter series is just one example of Quanser's wide range of products and experiments that can lift a teaching lab to state of the art quality overnight. Like so many of Quanser's products and experiments, they are also capable of supporting advanced research. |
The Quanser dream lab is fully realized by accessing all the necessary
accessories and utilities – DAQ, power supplies, courseware, system models, and
more. Quanser fundamentally believes that the best labs are ones that are easy
to deploy, maintain, and readily scale, giving instructors and students the
time to do what they do best – creatively explore complex concepts.
- Tom Lee
As Chief Education Officer at Quanser, Tom Lee is focused on spearheading the development of Quanser's global academic community. He is closely involved with Quanser's technology and solution development process and the company's partner and alliance programs. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, and an MASc and BASc in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo.
