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Session 3547

A Speed and Distance Measuring Exercise for the Electrical Engineering Technology Laboratory

Russell A. Aubrey Purdue University School of Technology, Anderson, Indiana

Abstract

Hands on exercises in introductory EET courses provide students with interesting instructional tools to pique their inquisitiveness and increase their knowledge. The application specific exercise being described was developed to provide students an experience connecting basic analog and digital circuits to produce a system for a specific application. While negotiating the path to the desired goal, students experience working with units of measure such as time, distance, velocity and associated math concepts. The exercise provides an opportunity for them to use light emitting diodes as a sender-receiver system in conjunction with basic circuits to measure the speed of an object passing between the sender-receivers. Additional information is obtained from the sensor system also allows the calculation of the object’s width.

This paper describes the physical structure of the exercise, the circuits developed, a description of their layout and implementation and the methodology involved in their design. Laboratory problem solving application and calculations based on this exercise are described, and laboratory scenarios are presented.

Introduction

The purpose of a laboratory exercise in Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) is to provide students with hands on experience connecting components into circuits and taking data from those circuits. This exercise provides students the opportunity to connect basic analog and digital circuits to produce a usable electronic system that will measure the speed and width of a moving object.

Methodology

The target group for this exercise is first or second semester EET students. Therefore, the first criterion endorsed was that the exercise have an interest factor that would attract and hold the students’ attention while providing a worthwhile laboratory experience. After a number of discussions with students and colleagues, the premise was established that the primary effort would be to measure the speed of an object passed between two vertical uprights. The measurement of "speed" had an interest factor for the students and the thought of measuring the speed of a "Karate Chop" soon evolved. A secondary thought developed that if speed and distance were part of the data set perhaps width measurement might be possible.

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Aubrey, R. A. (2000, June), A Speed And Distance Measuring Exercise For The Electrical Engineering Technology Laboratory Paper presented at 2000 Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri. 10.18260/1-2--8704