Practical Training Using Simulation and Robotic Kits for Better Future Engineers

Abstract

Every engineering course has two main parts; theoretical and practical. In the last decades, the gap between various engineering institutions has been reduced by using online resources, where all the students and lecturers have access to technological advances in their field. The difficulty arises in the practical part; to gain valuable engineering skills, students need hands-on experience, which means implementing the theoretical part and infer the results of their work. The top-tier institution provides its students with needed equipment and facilities, while many others struggle to fund one plat-form (e.g. universities in small cities and developed regions). To address this problem, we propose using simulation and robotic kits (Lego Mindstorms) in the practical part of courses related to mobile robots, and fuzzy logic. To show that, it is possible to improve the engineering curriculum in the cases of low funds, and improve the quality of future engineering graduates.