(1391)A FULLY AUTOMATIC SORTING MACHINE USING USB CAMERA –AN INNOVATION IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION

摘要

This paper discusses the integration of research, teaching and learning. The MalaysianEducation System is currently putting much emphasis on active learning, problem basedlearning and two-way communication in the lecture halls as opposed to the one-waylecture delivery systems. In the engineering education system, discovery learningpromotes creativity, innovation and students ability to understand underlying concepts.This paper suggests research collaboration between lecturer and final yearundergraduate student as a powerful extension to discovery learning. Both student andlecturer are actively involved in this lifelong learning journey, putting on great effort toensure the success of their research. Recently, the end product of a researchcollaboration between a student and a lecturer of the Faculty of Electronics andComputer Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka has received a bronze medalat the Ideas, Inventions, New Products 2009 (IENA ’09) in Nuremberg, Germany and asilver medal at the Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition 2009 in KualaLumpur, Malaysia. The product presents the idea of machine vision in a simplifiedmanner. This paper further discusses on the experience gained through the researchcollaboration between an industrial electronics engineering undergraduate and a statisticslecturer. The outcome of this collaboration, an automatic sorting machine which consistsof a PC-based controller with parallel port and a USB camera will also be discussed.This machine inspects and sorts objects based on pattern, colour and size. It comes withspecial features such as touch screen, GUI, HMI, voice feature, statistical info atfingertips and tower light. This product comes with an SMS alert system, which is helpfulduring emergencies and for sending reports.