Teaching Rigid Body Dynamics

In this blog, we discuss computational thinking and the role that MATLAB can play in supporting a computational thinking approach to learning.
Over the past few months, we’ve received a lot of questions from our users about rigid body dynamics. We hope this video series will serve as a guide to help you understand how to use MATLAB to implement a Lagrangian dynamics approach for deriving motion equations for rigid body systems.
Contents:
- Part 1: Computational Thinking
- Part 2: Spring-Mass-Damper System Case Study
- Part 3: Two-Degrees-of-Freedom Non-Planar Robotic Manipulator Study
- Part 4: Automation
- Part 5: Four-Degrees-of-Freedom Non-Planar Robotic Manipulator Study
- Part 6: Summary of Computational Thinking Implementation
Part 1: Computational Thinking
This video explores basic concepts of the computational thinking approach and discusses how it can support the teaching of rigid body dynamics.
Part 2: Spring-Mass-Damper System Case Study
In this video, the presenter uses the classic spring-mass-damper system and, through it, demonstrates the workflow of how MATLAB® supports a computational thinking approach.
Part 3: Two-Degrees-of-Freedom Non-Planar Robotic Manipulator Study
Reapplication of the workflow pattern to a larger two-degrees-of-freedom system is the focus of this video
Part 4: Automation
This video outlines the available choices for extending the proposed computational workflow to general multi-degrees-of-freedom systems.
Part 5: Four-Degrees-of-Freedom Non-Planar Robotic Manipulator Study
The final case study is the focus of this video. This case study derives the equations of motion for a four-degrees-of-freedom non-planar robotic manipulator.
Part 6: Summary of Computational Thinking Implementation
This video offers a quick recap of the key features in MATLAB® that support a computational thinking approach when teaching rigid body dynamics.
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