Introducing CAD/CAE tools in Robotics Education: a Case Study from the Deetechtive Project

Innovative educational models in engineering are essential in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to keep-up with fast-changing requests from the labour market and to promote deep-tech entrepreneurship inside the student community. Within this scenario, the present paper reports about a successful initiative, conducted in the framework of the European Project Deetechtive, focused on introducing engineering design concepts and related virtual prototyping tools in the context of Robotics Engineering. In particular, a project-based learning activity, aimed at initiating PhD students (with a background outside mechanical engineering), to the use of Computer-Aided Design/Engineering (CAD/CAE) tools is reported. After a short introduction concerning the role of CAD/CAE in engineering design, the short course has equipped students with the basic skills necessary to draw functional components of a simple robotic manipulation system. The course comprised a low-level theoretical introduction (with due reference for future studies), with hands-on lab exercises on advanced CAD/CAE software such as PTC Creo. Overall, the paper outlines the educational objectives, details the phases of the classes, and discusses the design/simulation packages employed during the teaching activity.