41099 Introduction to Mechatronics Engineering
The Complete Study & Assessment Guide · Spring 202641099 Overview
- Spring session undergraduate mechatronics at UTS
- Six credit points
- Weekly online workshop and in person tutorial
- Four practical assessment tasks
- Arduino kit and simulator based
Every mark in this subject comes from something you built and then explained
Introduction to Mechatronics Engineering builds one skill in two halves. The electrical half moves from charge, current and voltage through the circuit laws, dividers and power to the components a small device is made of.
- Assessed by demonstration Four built artefacts: a supervised practical quiz, a group video, a one to one viva and a project showcase.
- The viva is the gate A pass in the Assignment 3 demonstration is required to pass the subject, and a first attempt pass unlocks the higher grades.
- Explain, do not memorise Marks come from justifying component values and program structure while a tutor asks you to change them.
- Budget before you build Check the per pin current guidance and the pack capacity before a demonstration, not during it.
How 41099 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1 (A1): Mechatronics practical demonstration Level 1 | 10% | Supervised 40 minute practical quiz in class with a restricted list of permitted resources, worked from a provided starter circuit and starter code |
| Assignment 2 (A2): Mechatronics practical demonstration Level 2 | 20% | Group integration task, presented and demonstrated on video, with peer marking |
| Assignment 3 (A3): Mechatronics practical demonstration Level 3 · hurdle | 30% | One to one online viva: justify the design, then alter the supplied circuit and program on the spot |
| Assignment 4 (A4): Personalised Mechatronic Project | 40% | Self directed project proposed through a learning contract and presented at the showcase, or a reattempt of the A3 functionality in its place |
The four weights above are published in the subject's own materials for this offering and sum to 100. The subject reports a grade rather than a number, so the result is one of Z, X, P, C, D or H; a pass requires 50 per cent overall together with a pass in the Assignment 3 demonstration, and the higher grades require 65, 75 or 85 per cent, a first attempt pass in that demonstration and participation in the showcase. Per question mark values inside the supervised quiz are stated on the quiz itself rather than in advance. Confirm every weight, date and condition on the subject's assignments area before each deadline.
Assessment structure
Segment widths are drawn from the four published weights, which sum to 100. The third segment is the demonstration that must be passed to pass the subject.
Current 41099 dates
| Date | Item | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 12 August 2026 | Assignment 1, in class | Week 3, supervised class time |
| Friday 4 September 2026 | Assignment 2 due | 9:00 pm submission |
| Monday 28 September to Thursday 1 October 2026 | Assignment 3 viva | Booked timeslot in Week 9 |
| Tuesday 3 November 2026 | Assignment 4 showcase | Afternoon session |
Dates are as published in the subject's own assessment overview for this offering. Confirm exact deadlines and submission settings in the live LMS.
What 41099 covers
Introduction to Mechatronics Engineering builds one skill in two halves. The electrical half moves from charge, current and voltage through the circuit laws, dividers and power to the components a small device is made of. The programming half moves from program structure and digital output through input handling, analog conversion and non blocking timing to state machines.
The two halves meet in displays, motors and power budgets, and every assessed task asks you to build something and then explain and change it.
Circuit fundamentals: voltage, current and Ohm's law
charge, current, voltage and resistance · the three forms of Ohm's law · electrical power · the per pin current guidance- Charge, current, voltage, resistance and power as one connected set
- Where each quantity is measured, and why the meter goes in a different place each time
- Ohm's law written in the direction the question leaves open
- Sizing a component against a supply, then living with the stock value
- Power dissipation and the current a single output pin can honestly supply
Kirchhoff's laws, dividers and electrical power
the current law at a node · the voltage law round a loop · series and parallel combination · the divider rules · where the power goes- A node, and why charge cannot accumulate at one
- Declaring a sign convention before writing a node equation
- What counts as a loop, and the node rule that disqualifies most wrong ones
- Series and parallel combination derived from the two laws rather than memorised
- The voltage divider rule and the ratio that sets a node voltage
- The current divider rule, and why the other branch appears in the numerator
Resistors, LEDs, breadboards and schematics
linear against non linear parts · polarity and forward voltage · reading colour bands · breadboard continuity · schematic against wiring diagram- Why a light emitting part is not a resistor, and what the steep characteristic means
- Polarity, and the two ways to tell one end from the other
- Designing the limiting resistor from the supply, the forward voltage and the target current
- Reading four band and five band colour codes, tolerance band first
- Breadboard continuity: vertical rails, horizontal banks and the gutter between them
- Debugging against the schematic rather than against a photograph
Arduino program structure and digital output
the function that runs once and the function that repeats · pin modes · writing a pin high or low · variables, types and the assignment operator- Two framework functions with different lifetimes, and the rule for sorting statements between them
- Configuring a pin as an output, and why a pin cannot be an input at the same time
- Writing a pin high or low, and the 5 V and 0 V those words stand for
- The blocking wait, its parameter type and its range
- Declaring and initialising a variable, and why the equals sign is an instruction
Digital input: pull resistors, logic levels and debounce
why a floating input lies · pull up, pull down and the internal resistor · active low wiring · contact bounce and the timing test- An input with only a switch attached has no defined voltage while the switch is open
- External pull down, external pull up and the internal resistor compared side by side
- Inverted readings, and why the fix is usually software rather than rewiring
- Active low output wiring, where a low level lights the indicator
- Contact bounce, and a timing window that accepts one edge and refuses the rest
Analog input, ADC resolution and pulse width modulation
continuous voltage to integer code · ten bits and 1024 levels · resistive sensors through a divider · duty cycle and average voltage- Two voltage levels on a digital pin against a continuous range on an analog pin
- Resolution: 1024 codes, a range of 0 to 1023 and a step of 4.9 millivolts
- Converting a code to a voltage and a voltage to a code
- Reading a resistive sensor through a divider, and choosing the fixed partner
- Producing an average rather than a voltage, and the loads that can average it
Functions, control flow and non-blocking timing
writing and calling your own functions · choosing a control structure · arrays · why waiting blocks everything · states and transitions- Calling a function, and the parameters that make a helper reusable
- Naming conventions, and why case sensitivity is not a cosmetic issue
- Replacing a run of separate declarations with one array
- Choosing between conditional chains, selection, and the two loop forms
- Elapsed time scheduling, with one timestamp per task
- Naming states, listing their actions and writing down every transition
Displays, motors and power budgets
common anode displays and multiplexing · libraries you must be able to explain · three kinds of motor · current and energy budgets · battery safety- Common anode and common cathode displays, and why the datasheet question comes first
- Multiplexing a four digit display so the wiring stays manageable
- Libraries, and the obligation to explain one you have chosen to use
- Three kinds of motor and the different thing each needs from the board
- Pulse width as a position command rather than an average
- Current budgets at the worst moment, and runtime from stored capacity
The programming half moves from program structure and digital output through input handling, analog conversion and non blocking timing to state machines. The two halves meet in displays, motors and power budgets.
There is no written final paper: the four assessed events are a supervised practical quiz, a group integration task presented on video, a one to one viva demonstration, and a personalised project taken to a showcase.
What the assessment structure asks you to practise
The electrical half decides what is possible
Circuit reasoning is what tells you that an output pin supplies only about forty milliamps, that a light emitting part needs a resistor to set its current, and that a sensor resistance has to become a voltage before anything can read it.
Those three facts shape most of the design decisions a tutor will ask you to justify.
The programming half decides when
Program structure is about lifetime and timing rather than syntax. Configuration happens once and behaviour repeats; a blocking wait stops everything while an elapsed time test lets several things share one loop.
A device with modes is written as named states with explicit transition conditions, which is also the form that is easiest to explain aloud.
The assessment rewards the explanation, not the build
A working device that cannot be modified on request scores badly; a simpler device whose every value can be justified scores well.
Prepare by rehearsing the answer to why this and not something else for every component and every structure in your own work.
Worked example · free
Size a limiting resistor and defend every number in it
- 2Subtract the part's forward voltage from the supply to find the resistor's share.
- 2Divide by the design current, then move to a stock value in the safe direction.
- 2Recompute the resulting current and check it against the published maximum.
Key terms
- Node
- A connection of two or more elements in a circuit.
- Voltage divider
- A series resistor pair that splits a supply voltage in proportion to the two resistances.
- Forward voltage
- The voltage a light emitting part drops once it is conducting, set by its material and colour.
- Limiting resistor
- The series resistor whose value decides the operating current of a light emitting part.
- Schematic
- A drawing of which components exist and how they are connected, independent of physical layout.
- Pin mode
- The configured electrical role of a pin, either sending voltage to a circuit or reading voltage from one.
- Floating input
- An input pin with no defined connection, whose reading is unpredictable.
- Pull up resistor
- A resistor tying an input to the supply so an open switch reads a high level.
- Contact bounce
- The rapid chatter of a mechanical switch as its contacts settle.
- Resolution
- The size of the smallest input change a converter can report as a different code.
- Duty cycle
- The fraction of each switching period for which the output is at its high level.
- State machine
- A program organised as named states, each with actions and conditions that advance it.
- Stall current
- The much larger current a motor draws when something prevents it from turning.
- Battery capacity
- The charge a pack can deliver over time, rated in amp hours or milliamp hours.
41099 FAQ
How do the electrical and programming halves of this subject fit together?
The subject teaches electricity first and code second, then joins them. Circuit reasoning decides what a pin may be asked to drive and what a sensor voltage means, while program structure decides when those decisions are made. Almost every problem late in the subject needs both halves at once, which is why the assessment asks you to explain a device rather than to recite either half.
How are the four assessment tasks weighted?
The subject's own materials publish four weights that sum to one hundred: the supervised practical quiz at ten per cent, the group integration task and video at twenty, the one to one viva demonstration at thirty, and the personalised project and showcase at forty. The result you receive is a grade rather than a number, but those weights are what produce it.
Which task must be passed to pass the subject?
The viva demonstration. To receive a pass you need fifty per cent overall and a pass in that demonstration, and a student who does not pass it at the first attempt may reattempt its functionality in place of the personalised project. That reattempt route preserves a pass; the higher grades additionally require a first attempt pass and participation in the showcase.
Are the practice questions in this guide official assessment questions?
No. Every question, worked example and point allocation here is written independently as a study aid. The subject does publish what each tutor checked checkpoint is worth inside the supervised quiz, but those values are not published in advance, so nothing in this guide claims to reproduce a marking scheme.
What does the viva actually ask students to do?
It asks you to justify a supplied design and then alter it on the spot while a tutor watches. That means the preparation is not rehearsing a working device but being able to answer why each component value and each program structure was chosen, and knowing where in your own work you would go to change a timing, invert a level or move an output.
How should a device be prepared for the showcase?
Freeze the program and save a dated copy, then run the device on the supply it will actually use for as long as the session lasts. Reseat every connection and stop touching the board. Rehearse four sentences covering what it does, how input reaches the decision, why each value was chosen and what you would change next. Pack spare wires and a charged pack.
Where should students confirm dates and task details?
On the subject's own pages. The assignments area lists the tasks, their weighting and their due dates, and the subject information page is named as the definitive source when anything appears in more than one place. Dates reproduced in any independent guide, including this one, should be confirmed there before each deadline.
Questions students ask in each 41099 chapter
- Why does a component need a resistor beside it rather than a smaller supply voltage?
- Lowering the supply is not available on this board, because a digital output can only produce its own supply voltage or ground. The resistor absorbs whatever voltage the component does not, and the value you choose sets the current in the whole series loop. That makes the current a design decision instead of an accident of what the supply happened to deliver. Chapter 01 · Circuit fundamentals: voltage, current and Ohm's law
- How do you know which resistance belongs on top of a divider ratio?
- The numerator is always the resistance the wanted voltage appears across. For a junction voltage measured to ground that is the lower resistor, and for the drop across the upper resistor it is the upper one. Writing that sentence before substituting numbers removes the entire family of inverted ratio errors, and it is the step a marker looks for. Chapter 02 · Kirchhoff's laws, dividers and electrical power
- Why can a light emitting part not simply be connected across the supply?
- Its characteristic is almost vertical above the forward voltage, so a tiny change in applied voltage produces an enormous change in current. Without a series resistor nothing in the circuit decides the current except the internal resistance of the supply and the part, and the result is normally far past what the part can survive. Chapter 03 · Resistors, LEDs, breadboards and schematics
- How do you decide whether a statement belongs in the one time function or the repeating one?
- Ask whether the statement describes something that is true for the whole run. Pin configuration is, so it belongs in the function that executes once. Anything whose answer can change while the board is powered belongs in the function that repeats. The distinction is about lifetime rather than style, and it is what a marker is listening for. Chapter 04 · Arduino program structure and digital output
- Why does a button without a resistor give readings that change when a hand moves nearby?
- Because while the switch is open the pin is connected to nothing and is electrically floating, so it picks up whatever is around it. The reading flickers, responds to proximity and settles differently on each restart. This is neither a faulty board nor a faulty program; it is a missing resistor, and the resistor exists to give the pin a defined level during the open half of the cycle. Chapter 05 · Digital input: pull resistors, logic levels and debounce
- Does a higher resolution mean a more accurate reading?
- Not by itself. Resolution is the smallest change the converter can report, while accuracy is whether the code corresponds to the voltage you believe it does. That depends on how steady the reference supply is and on noise along the way. In practice the last code or two wander even with a still input, which is why a threshold set exactly at a measured boundary chatters. Chapter 06 · Analog input, ADC resolution and pulse width modulation
- Why should a helper take parameters instead of reading the program's own variables?
- A helper that reaches outside itself can only ever do one job, and moving it into another project drags those variables along. One that is given what it needs and hands back a result can be tested on its own, reused for a second sensor, and described in a sentence. Deciding what to pass in rather than what to reach for is the engineering content of writing helpers. Chapter 07 · Functions, control flow and non-blocking timing
- Why can a motor never be connected straight to an output pin?
- Because the pin can supply only about 40 milliamps according to the course materials, which is suitable for indicators and small sensors and nowhere near what a motor draws. Connecting one directly does not produce a weak motor; it damages the board. The pin switches a transistor or a driver board, and that device switches the motor supply. Chapter 08 · Displays, motors and power budgets
How to prepare for the assessments
Revision in this subject is rehearsal for an explanation. For each chapter, state what is shared in the circuit, choose the relation that matches it, work one independent case, and then say out loud why each value was chosen and what you would change if the requirement moved.
Finish every answer the way the demonstration does: name the component or line you would alter, predict the new number, and say what measurement would confirm it.
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