First official Arduino engineering kit is powered by Mathworks
Powered by MatLab and Simulink software, the first official Arduino engineering kit has been developed by a partnership between Arduino and MathWorks. It provides a hands-on educational approach for Arduino at the university level in the fields of engineering, IoT, and robotics.
The Arduino engineering kit is the first product released as a result of the partnership and will be available for purchase on the Arduino online store. The kit consists of three Arduino-based projects that teach students how to build modern electronic devices. It challenges them intellectually and helps them develop physical engineering skills that will better prepare them to enter the commercial market following graduation, says Arduino.
“We have been working hard to develop educational products that can inspire students around the world with a strong emphasis on a project-based educational approach,” said Fabio Violante, Arduino CEO. “We’re excited to be working with MathWorks to facilitate this process in universities around the world, aligning education with industry.”
The Arduino engineering kit enables college students and educators to incorporate core engineering concepts into their Arduino projects, thanks to industry-standard tools for algorithm development, system modelling, and simulation.
“We designed the Arduino Engineering Kit the way we would have liked to have learned mechatronics, control algorithms, state machines, and complex sensing when we were in our first years of engineering school: in a fun and challenging way,” said David Cuartielles, Arduino co-founder and Arduino Education CTO. “It’s all about hands-on activities built on top of well-grounded theoretical concepts. But more importantly, after finishing the basic materials, there’s plenty of flexibility to experiment, for the students to deviate and test their engineering creativity.”
Inside the new kit is an Arduino MKR1000 board, several customised parts, and a complete set of electrical and mechanical components needed to assemble three projects. The first project is a self-balancing motorcycle which will manoeuvre on its own on various terrains and remain upright using a flywheel for balance. Another project is the mobile rover. This vehicle can navigate between given reference points, and perform tasks, such as moving objects with a forklift. The third project is the whiteboard drawing robot which can replicate a drawing it is given on a whiteboard.
In addition to the hardware included, after registering online, students will have access to a dedicated e-learning platform and other learning materials. Additionally, they are granted a one-year individual license for MatLab and Simulink, which provides them with hands-on experience in system modelling and embedded algorithm development.
