Assembling and Programing an Autonomous Car: Fundamentals of Mechatronics and Robotics

Faculty Advisor: Lecturer in Discipline, Columbia University

Research Program Introduction

Automation and robotics are increasingly involved in everyday life. Furthermore, robotics is an exciting multidisciplinary field in which mechanical, electrical, and computer engineers collaborate to produce outstanding results.

Students will be introduced to the basic principles of robotics by building and programming an autonomous toy car. The project's objective is to assemble a toy car from a kit and then program it to follow a predefined pattern. By doing so, students will learn the fundamentals of MEMs – micro-electro-mechanical components and mechatronics. Each element of the toy, from the sensors to the microcontroller, will be analyzed. Students will learn to program the microcontroller to enable the desired motion of the toy car while taking inputs from its sensors into account.

The project's deliverables include defining success levels, building the toy car prototype from the kit, programming the toy car to perform predefined actions, and a final presentation demonstrating their work.

Students will also learn general and subject-specific research and academic writing methods used in universities and scholarly publications. Students will focus on individual topics and generate their own work products upon program completion.

Program Details

• Cohort size: 8 students

• Workload: Around 4 to 5 hours per week (including class and homework time)

• Target students: 9 to 12th graders interested in robotics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, applied physics, and/or computer science. Coding experience is a plus.

• Required materials: A toy car kit (available for purchase online), a laptop, and free software installation used in the program.