“Why do I need to learn this stuff?”

Have you ever asked yourself this question, for example, while working on exercise sheets or studying for exams? You’ll find answers to this question in this course. Even if the value of this knowledge has always been clear to you, you’ll still learn here how to apply it.

Together, we’ll examine and build a real-world technical system that is limited in its complexity, so that it can be described using the subjects you’ve already studied. A suitable example is a guitar tuner; to describe it, you can consult the following topics, among others:

• Mathematics:
  • Fourier transform
  • Eigenvalues
• Mechanics:
  • Vibrations of constrained bodies
  • External influences on vibrational behavior
  • Friction behavior
  • Acoustics
  • Step responses
• Electrical Engineering
  • Motors
  • System control
  • Amplifiers

You’ve already covered most of this in previous semesters, but can you actually apply it? For example, you can calculate the oscillation of an ideal pendulum without any trouble, but you certainly can’t describe the motion of a string you use to play with your cat. The question here is why one can be described and the other cannot, and where the limits lie (the problem isn’t the cat).

Procedure

You will select specific subtopics and study them thoroughly enough to be able to explain the content in a short lecture. In addition, we’ll give you lectures on topics you’ll need but haven’t yet covered. We’ll then use this combined knowledge to build a guitar tuner together. By directly combining theory and practice, you’ll learn to better assess the effort required for technical implementation and, in doing so, understand that without the topics you’ve learned, you wouldn’t have been able to create the product as effectively.

Optional Highlight

This semester, for the first time, we plan to run the course in parallel with our partner university, ENSAM, in Metz. The plan is to cover the same topic at both locations and, where appropriate, deliver the lectures (in German) in a hybrid format. At the end, we’ll see which team presents the better solution. We’re planning to make one visit at each location, one in the midle of the semester and, if possible, one for a joint final presentation. In addition to the competitive aspect, this will also give you the opportunity to get a taste of the dual degree program offered by KIT and ENSAM (https://www.mach.kit.edu/1723.php#ensam). Without any obligation, so you might decide to take advantage of this great option.

Bitte schicken Sie mir bei Interesse vor Vorlesungsbeginn eine unverbindliche E-Mail an dario.mager@kit.edu. Da wir die Veranstaltung auf die Teilnehmerzahl zuschneiden, erleichtert das die Planung.