Development of Educational Materials on Energy, Information and Control, Based on Motor Control Technology

In recent years electrical energy has become the most commonly cited technological issue in resolving global environmental problems. Simultaneously, the importance of motors as sources of motive force continues to increase. In spite of this social environment, there is little significant discussion of appropriate direction for university-level education in electrical science. In our Electrical and Communication Engineering over the last few years, while teaching discrete courses in individual subjects, the authors have also engaged in serious discussion on how to teach various subjects so that they can be easily digested by students, including how electrical energy is utilized, how information can be utilized and how to implement it, and how to control sophisticated industrial equipment. In particular the authors focused on mechatronics technology, a field in which Japanese industry leads the world, and developed methods of teaching knowledge and technology related to the core motor control technology in a collaborative, interactive fashion. Concretely, the authors (a) designed and fabricated a power amplifier appropriate for educational usage, (b) designed and fabricated an embedded computer capable of utilizing a variety of motor control methods, and (c) developed software to facilitate a clearer understanding of motor control internal operation. This paper discusses the functions and implementation methods of the power amplifier in detail. The other items will be detailed in future papers