Saeid Bayat

Saeid Bayat

Postdoc at the University of Michigan. Interested in control co-design, multidisciplinary design optimization, renewable energy systems, AI-based design, data-driven surrogate modeling, mechatronics, and hardware-in-the-loop experimentation.

Introduction to Mechatronics (SE 423) – Co-Instructor

Undergraduate course, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, Industrial & Enterprise Systems Engineering, 2024

Role

Served as one of two co-instructors for SE 423 – Introduction to Mechatronics, an undergraduate course that integrates embedded programming, sensing, actuation, and feedback control through lectures, structured labs, and a semester-long mobile robotics project. The course focuses on microcontroller-based implementation using the TI LaunchXL-F28379D board, real-time C programming, and system-level mechatronic design.

Responsibilities

  • Co-designed and delivered lecture content on topics such as digital I/O, ADC/DAC, PWM motor control, timers and interrupts, serial communication (UART, SPI, I²C), sensors (IR, LIDAR, IMU, rate gyros, encoders), filtering, and path-planning algorithms.
  • Led lab sessions focused on hardware/software integration, including motor control, sensor interfacing, signal processing, and real-time implementation in Code Composer Studio and LabVIEW.
  • Guided student teams through a semester project in which they built and programmed autonomous mobile robots, emphasizing incremental milestones, debugging strategies, and system integration.
  • Evaluated homework, lab check-offs, LabVIEW assignments, and final project demonstrations, with attention to both technical correctness and evidence of sustained effort over the semester.
  • Held office hours and project help sessions to support students with embedded C programming, control implementation, and troubleshooting of hardware issues.

Topics and Skills Emphasized

  • Embedded C programming on TI microcontrollers and real-time interrupt-based control.
  • Sensor integration and calibration (optical encoders, IR sensors, gyros, IMUs, LIDAR, cameras) and basic sensor fusion and Kalman filtering. =
  • PWM motor control, H-bridge circuits, and closed-loop speed and position control.
  • Signal processing for mechatronics applications, including filtering and FFT-based analysis.
  • Robot navigation concepts such as dead-reckoning, bug algorithms, and A* path planning.
  • Team-based design, documentation, and technical communication through project reports and demonstrations.