"Hands-On Mechatronics": Problem-Based Learning for Mechatronics

The project "Hands-On Mechatronics" aims to develop a problem-based learning environment for mechatronics. This environment is based on four specific aspects: a mobile robot competition as motivation factor, a WEB environment as framework for all student, the SmartEASE robot as experimental platform and a good software environment for design and fast prototyping. The actual status of this concept is applied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) with participants coming from several schools of different levels. We present the actual implementation of the concept "Hands-On Mechatronics", the hardware and software tools used and some problems found in our approach