In line with the CTC 101 program for upper secondary schools rolled out by the Arduino organisation, the Arduino Engineering Kit is said to enable 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.

David Cuartielles, Arduino co-founder and Arduino Education CTO said: “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. “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.”

The new kit is based around an Arduino MKR1000 board, several customised parts, and a complete set of electrical and mechanical components needed to assemble three projects:
•    whiteboard drawing robot: accepts a drawing it is given and (hopefully) replicates it on a whiteboard;
•    self-balancing motorcycle: maneuvers autonomously on various terrains and (ideally) remains upright using a flywheel for balance;
•    mobile rover: navigates between given reference points, moves objects with a forklift, and more.

After online registration, students (we won’t say pupils) can access a dedicated e-learning platform and other learning materials. Besides they are granted a one-year individual license for MATLAB and Simulink, which provides them with hands-on experience in system modeling and embedded algorithm development.

Roy Lurie, vice president of engineering, MATLAB products at MathWorks, summed up: “Today’s engineers are being asked to build increasingly smart, autonomous and connected systems. The Arduino Engineering Kit with MATLAB and Simulink gives students a unique, hands-on experience with the tools that are used to build these systems by engineers around the world.” Q.E.D?