Introduction to engineering design

The development of the Rice University course ELEC 201, Introduction to Engineering Design included the compilation of an extensive set of class notes. The notes are not a text for the course, but rather a set of reference materials.

The printed version of the class notes was a book of over 400 pages long. The notes were derived in part from course notes developed by Fred Martin for a class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but a considerable amount of new material has been added, and every subject area has undergone major revision for use at Rice. The many people who contributed to the book are listed in the acknowledgements. The majority of the 1998 printed book is available here, largely in its original form. It should be considered a work in progress. In particular, web navigation within the book is, to put it kindly, inconvenient, primarily because some of the sections are quite long. Sections covered by the book includes:

• Assembly Manual – The Assembly Manual is still printed, and is included here as a pdf file. Information on wiring sensors, motors, and cables used for an ELEC 201 robot is included on this web page.
• Basic Mechanics – Describes basic mechanics, friction, and the simple machines that comprise the building blocks of more complex machines, like robots.
• Basic Electronics – Introduces the concepts of charge, current, voltage, and electronic components to the uninitiated.
• Hardware – Describes the functionality and architecture of the ELEC 201 RoboBoard, assuming minimal prior background in electronics.
• Motors – A brief primer on the dc motors used in the course.
• Batteries – Discusses battery technology in general, the battey used in ELEC 201, and the battery charger operation.
• LEGO Construction – The secrets of using LEGO Technics building materials to construct robust machines, including gear trains.
• Sensors – Explains the principles of operation and applications of various robotics sensors in the ELEC 201 kit; specific wiring diagrams are in the Assembly Manual.
• Interactive C – A reference manual for the C language dialect that has been developed for the ELEC 201 course. Students new to programming or the C language will find the the new IC Tutorial worthwhile.
• Control – Investigates how to program a mobile robot to face up to the uncertainties and challenges of practical operation.
• Assembly Language Programming – How to program the Motorola 68HC11 microprocessor using assembly language; for enthusiasts only, not something ELEC 201 students need to know.
• Circuit Board Data – Schematics and printed circuit board layouts.

A glossary and a short bibiliography to other sources of information are also provided.

Note:
• The instructions for assembling the circuit boards is still printed so that students can check off the steps as they proceed. To avoid confusion, the possibly incorrect assembly instructions have been removed from the online book, but are available as Postscript and pdf files.
• The presentation of Interactive C in the book is still valid, but the student may find the new IC tutorial more helpful initially.
• Material that changes yearly, such as dates, the game, registration details, etc., has been moved to the web pages under the tabs at the left. Some additional non-essential, dated information has been removed pending its revision.

[Description and screenshot taken from the Rice University page for these course notes. This work is licensed by Jim Young under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 2.0), and is an Open Educational Resource.]

Link: http://www.clear.rice.edu/elec201/Course_Notes.htm
Author: James F. Young; John K. Bennett
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Rights: Copyright James F. Young. Use subject to a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 2.0). For full details see http://www.clear.rice.edu/elec201/Book/copyright.html