Two Engineering Technology faculty members, Dr. Richard Chiou and Dr. Yalcin Ertekin, received the "Best Paper Award" from the Manufacturing Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) at the organization’s annual conference in June 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. Richard Chiou, Dr. Yalcin Ertekin, and Dr. Bill Tseng (The University of Texas at El Paso) were recognized for their conference paper entitled "MAKER: Autonomous Solar-Powered Vehicle as a Learning Tool in Robotics and Green Energy."
This paper presents the design, construction, and programming of an autonomous solar-powered ground vehicle by combining advanced autonomous robotics with green energy technology. The vehicle has been based on a customized remote control car whose steering is controlled autonomously using an Arduino microcontroller. The vehicle is able to drive to preset destinations using a global positioning system (GPS) receiver module and a compass to navigate to waypoints until the destination is reached. The vehicle can be powered using a lithium polymer (LiPo) battery that is recharged using solar panels. A maximum power point tracking (MPPT) solar charger is used between the panels and the battery in order to provide the maximum charging current to the battery. A Bluetooth module is used to allow for wireless communication between the vehicle and an Android Smartphone. The paper aims to convey the importance of integrating educational robotics integrated with green energy as a technological learning tool for undergraduate students and explain how it helps students prepare for the future of industry.
Pictured above: Dr. Richard Chiou received the Best Paper Award from the ASEE Conference Manufacturing Division’s Awards Chair, Dr. David Wells, during the Conference’s division social.