Chyi-Shyong Lee

The design and implementation of a low-cost and programmable home automation module

This paper presents a home automation module with programmable control instructions (PCIs). Although it is implemented by using a low-cost 8-bit microcontroller with only 8 Kbytes of ROM spaces, a time-sharing task scheduler and 10 PCIs are included in the firmware. Timer and counter control, logic functions, and temperature control are examples of PCIs. Thanks to the design of pseudo nodes, these PCIs can also be combined to implement more complex functions that home automation needs. These modules, up to 65536 theoretically, share the same IP address, and can be found over the network via different port numbers. No dedicated home server is necessary because the network communication (TCP/IP) is handled by the module. A remote control and monitoring software is also developed to let users control the home automation modules on the Internet. The programmable home automation module has a lower cost and better cost/performance ratio than current home automation modules

A Micromouse Kit for Teaching Autonomous Mobile Robots

The application of a micromouse kit to raise student interest in learning the implementation skills of autonomous mobile robots is presented in this paper. The kit is devised for both a project-oriented hands-on laboratory for graduate students, and introductory workshops for vocational high school students and teachers. To enhance the learning outcomes, micromouse contests are also organised for students to see how well the techniques are applied in their micromice. The assessments and feedback from students show the kit and the related laboratory experiences do help motivate students to learn actively and successfully the implementation skills of autonomous mobile robots.

A Hands-On Laboratory for Autonomous Mobile Robot Design Courses

Abstract This paper presents a hands-on laboratory for autonomous mobile robot design courses, which will be offered to the third or fourth year students of the department of electronic engineering in the Lunghwa University of Science and Technology. The aim of the hands-on laboratory is to introduce to the students the basic implementation issues of autonomous mobile robots from a practical point of view. Therefore, a simple line following robot with automatic control algorithms to detect the line position and to steer the motors, and a micro-mouse capable of solving a given maze are devised for the hands-on laboratory. These two autonomous mobile robot kits based on the dsPIC microcontroller are used to help students learn easily both the hardware and software implementation issues. SIMULINK behaviour models are also developed to help students quickly grasp the working principles of these two autonomous mobile robots. All the necessary software is given at no cost to the students during the class.

A project-based laboratory for learning embedded system designs with support from the industry

A project-based laboratory for learning embedded system designs with support from the industry is presented in this paper. The aim of the laboratory is to motivate students to learn building blocks of embedded systems and practical control algorithms by constructing a line following robot with quadratic interpolation technique to predict the line position. In addition to the basic hardware and software skills, several specific hardware circuits and software algorithms are included for the final project of line following robot construction. The students are allowed to discuss with the other groups of students to solve both the hardware and software problems in each experiment, although they have to answer the teacherpsilas questions on their own to get the score. To enhance the learning outcomes, a racing contest for the studentspsila line following robots is also organized to see how well the techniques learned in the laboratory are applied in the final project. The support from the local branch of Microchip Inc. lets students obtain microcontrollers at no cost. The feedbacks of students show that the final project of constructing line following robots and the racing contest really motivate the students to learn and verify actively all the skills included in the laboratory.

Enhanced problem-based learning of power converter theories and implementations with behavior model simulations

Recently, the increasing demands for high efficient power conversion systems and the rapid advancement in semiconductor devices have made the power converter design technique a necessity for electronic engineers. To speed up the learning process, the problem- based learning approach and behavior model simulations are used to redesign the first power converter design course in Lunghwa University of Science and Technology. Problems and course materials are carefully devised to help students acquire the knowledge to systematically design a power converter, to implement the converter by using PWM control ICs, and to validate its performance via behavior model simulations. The course by using problem based learning approach will also prepare students the skills in 1) logical analysis, 2) drawing a conclusion from group discussions, and 3) cooperation with others. The feedbacks of the students from the midterm and final examinations, the questionnaires, and the answers to the teachers quizzes during classes show the effectiveness of this approach.

Hands-on intelligent mobile robot laboratory with support from the industry

The widespread use of robots in many areas makes the fundamental understanding of them a necessity for many electronic system design engineers. Therefore, to effectively speed up the learning process, the applications of learning-by-doing hands-on laboratory to help students get acquainted with the design and implementation of robots is inevitable. Lunghwa University has teamed up with local microcontroller manufacturers to redesign course contents, to host free workshops supported by the Ministry of Education, and to hold national contests for intelligent mobile robots. The devised low cost educational robot kits and multimedia lecture notes not only reinforce the hands-on laboratory exercises, but also help motivate students to learn actively the intelligent mobile robots.

A Versatile Kit for Teaching Intelligent Mobile Robots

The development of a versatile kit to raise student interest in learning the implementation skills of intelligent mobile robots is presented in this paper. The kit is capable of solving micromouse mazes, line mazes, and following line tracks with different curvatures at different speed settings. It is first devised to be used in various project-oriented hands-on laboratory courses for students in the department of electronic engineering of Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, and introductory workshops for vocational high school students and teachers with electronic and information engineering backgrounds. To enhance the learning outcomes, contests can also be organized for students to see how well the techniques learned in the laboratory are applied in their mobile robots.

A Hands-On Laboratory for Introductory Automatic Control Courses

Abstract This paper presents a hands-on laboratory for introductory automatic control courses, which will be offered to the third or fourth year students of the department of electronic engineering in the Lunghwa University of Science and Technology. The aim of the hands-on laboratory is to help reinforce the learning process of the students in introductory automatic control courses from a practical point of view. Therefore, a low cost (~D 60) but versatile educational platform based on the dsPIC microcontroller is devised as a learning aid to implement practical control algorithms for motion control systems. A monitor and control software running on the PC side is also developed to collect experimental results from and send commands via universal serial bus (USB) to the platform. All the necessary softwares are given at no cost to the students during the class. In addition to the theoretical part of automatic control systems and microcontroller structures, the hands-on laboratory consists of four parts of exercises which are used to help students learn step by step the automatic control theory, how to implement control algorithms in a microcontroller, and the performance requirements of motion control systems.

Work in Progress: A Joint Effort of Lunghwa University and Holtek Semiconductor Inc. on Improving Microcontroller Education

Making profits is the key objective for most industrial companies, but in our case, it is sacrificed to educate qualified and creative microcontroller hardware and firmware engineers. Holtek semiconductor Inc. donates its microcontroller integrated design modules and technical support to setup a laboratory in Lunghwa University for learning activities. Lunghwa University offers its resources, including teachers and facilities, to redesign course contents, hardware and software teaching materials, and propose a new program for the design of microcontroller and embedded systems. A creativity contest with high prize (SD 18000 in total) for the design of microcontroller and embedded systems using Holteks microcontrollers is also initiated to attract more senior high school and university students to show their creativities and technical skills. The proposed program will also encourage enrolled students to win certificates provided by the Taiwan Embedded Microcontroller Development Institute, because the Institute is supported by the government and local industries

Implementation of the line maze robot with diagonal motion control

The wheeled robots have become the interesting and important training kits for students to learn to integrate those skills about hardware circuit designs, firmware programming, motion control, and path planning techniques in these past days. Therefore, a novel line maze robot kit with diagonal path planning capabilities is presented as an example in this paper to help students. The robot uses a 32-bit microcontroller with floating point processing unit to 1) detect the track curve by using optical sensors, 2) use gyro sensor to correct moving angles, 3) control the linear and angular velocities of the robot, and 4) plan a diagonal path from the start to the target. Although students could learn the above-mentioned topics in a special topic project, they may also design their own mechanical structures and hardware circuits to improve furthermore the performance of their robots, and they are happy to join to win prizes in related contests.