INSTRUCTION OF INTERACTIVE GRAPHICS AND COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN BASED ON MICROCOMPUTERS.

Polytechnic Institute of New York has organized its computer graphics laboratory based on microcomputers equipped with bit-mapped color display and light pen. Special instructional programs have been developed in-house to aid and complement the classroom instruction of interactive computer graphics (ICG) and computer-aided design (CAD) courses in both undergraduate and graduate levels. The use of relatively inexpensive microcomputers for exposing the students to ICG and CAD has been a success. This paper presents the relevant curricula structure in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, the computer programs developed for the new structure, and sampled student projects performed on the microcomputer.