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Advice for teachers -
Systems Engineering

Unit 2: Electrotechnological systems – Area of Study 2: Producing and evaluating electrotechnological systems

Outcome 2

Produce, test and evaluate an electrotechnological system, using the systems engineering process.

Examples of learning activities

  • Use research tools such as internet search engines, library resources and textbooks to collect relevant technical information relating to the chosen electrotechnological system, its subsystems and operational components.
  • Use software such as Wolfram SystemModeler, Autodesk Inventor or Solidworks to model the system being created. Refer back to a preferred design idea and make modifications.
  • Follow the design process to produce and evaluate subsystems using Circuit Wizard or Proteus.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Produce, test and evaluate an obstacle-avoiding robot.
  • Use fault-finding and diagnostic techniques that employ multimeters or oscilloscopes to assess the effectiveness of systems and subsystems within the project.
  • Test, evaluate and provide a written report containing the data in raw before critically analysing the effectiveness of the system.
  • Reflect on the effectiveness of the systems engineering process and how well it allowed for the development of the electrotechnological system. Refer back to the evaluation criteria. This report can be produced as a video or audio file.

  • View the ABC Education clip entitled 'Sirius about underwater exploration'. Discuss the advantages that the unmanned (autonomous) underwater vehicle has over humans in exploration and mapping.

  • Evaluate the use of robots in farming. Watch the ABC Education clip entitled ‘The many applications for robots in farming’ for stimulus. Discuss other ways that robotic technologies could be used to improve farming practices.
Example icon for advice for teachers 

Detailed example

'Mission impossible' robot

An obstacle-avoiding robot is an ideal project for students to undertake because this technology is becoming more prevalent these days. Discuss with students:

  • real-world examples of this technology being used every day, such as delivering meals in hospitals and autonomous cars on the road
  • concepts of control, including the function of subsystems within a robot
  • simple collision-detection methods and how they can be built into more complex systems, with the potential for more than one robot working in a team; for example, swarm technology.

Discuss the ethics of this type of technology. Use stimulus material to assist students with this discussion; for example, the ABC Education clips entitled ‘Telerobots, we need you’ and ‘Drones as an everyday reality’.

Ask students to complete a report (written or electronic) on their design of an obstacle-avoiding robot that includes:

  • type and size of the obstacles that will be avoided
  • method needed to move around the obstacles
  • demands on other parts of the system; for example, power constraints
  • how the effectiveness of their solution will be measured
  • identification of ethical considerations of their robot.
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