Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering II 

This is the TekBots platform used in ECE 112: Introduction to Electrical & Computer Engineering - Concepts. It consists of four boards: motor controller board, analog board, charger board and sensor board. This TekBots base has the ability to avoid obstacles by sensing them with its two whiskers. Upon making contact with an obstacle, a TekBot robot will reverse then turn away from the object and proceed away from it.

The following lab material requires Adobe Acrobot Reader to view.

Hardware Used

• Mechanical Base
• Analog Sensor Board
• Analog Controller Board
• Motor Controller Board
• Charger Board

Useful Tutorials

• How to Solder (Video)
• Basics of Protoboarding (Video)
• How to Solder
• A More In-Depth Look at Soldering

Lab Manual

Complete ECE 112 Manual

Preface

This section introduces the ECE 112 Lab Manual. It includes explanations of important symbols and lab safety tips.

Section 1: Battery Charger and Base Assembly

In this section, students learn the purpose of the various blocks of the charger board, along with building and testing those blocks. The TekBot mechanical base is also built.

Section 2: Theoretical Exercises

This section has four exercises to explore some useful electrical engineering concepts. The use of breadboards for prototyping is introduced. The exercises include determining power dissipation using the passive sign convention and measuring resistor combinations.

Section 3: Motors and BJTs

This section explores the functions of diodes and bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) through various experiments. The motor controller board is also introduced to the TekBot system.

Section 4: Comparators

This section examines the behavior of comparators in a circuit. The sensor and analog controller boards are also built, tested, and explained. At the end of the lab they are added to the TekBot, thereby completing the TekBot. Students are encouraged to customize and improve upon the basic TekBot through innovative challenges.

Appendix A: General Reference

Contains instructions for using the digital multimeter (DMM), common schematic symbols, the resistor color codes, and a capacitor code chart.

Appendix B: Parts List

Contains a list of the parts used for each board of the TekBot. The list includes a description, image, and reference designator for each part. Use in conjunction with the schematics appendix to determine part placement.

Appendix C: Schematics

Contains a block diagram and schematic for each board of the TekBot.

Appendix D: Silk Screens

Contains the silkscreen for each board of the TekBot.

Appendix E: Suppliers

Contains a list of the suppliers where TekBot parts are bought.