MECHATRONICS
Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering that includes a combination of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, telecommunications engineering, control
engineering and computer
engineering.[1][2] As technology advances the subfields of engineering multiply and adapt. Mechatronics' aim is a design process that unifies
these subfields. Originally, mechatronics just included the combination of
mechanics and electronics, hence the word is a combination of mechanics and electronics; however, as technical systems have become
more and more complex the word has been broadened to include more technical
areas.
The word "mechatronics"
originated in Japanese-English and was created by Tetsuro Mori, an engineer of Yaskawa Electric Corporation. The word
"mechatronics" was registered as trademark by the company in Japan with the registration number of
"46-32714" in 1971. However, afterward the company released the right
of using the word to public, and the word "mechatronics" spread to
the rest of the world. Nowadays, the word is translated in each language and
the word is considered as an essential term for industry.
French standard NF E 01-010 gives the
following definition: “approach aiming at the synergistic integration of
mechanics, electronics, control theory, and computer science within product
design and manufacturing, in order to improve and/or optimize its
functionality".
Many people treat
"mechatronics" as a modern buzzword synonymous with "electromechanical engineering".[3][4] However, other people draw a distinction between an
"electromechanical component"—does not include a computer; an electro-mechanical
computer (such as the Z4)—does
not include an electronic computer; vs. a "mechatronic system"—a
computer-controlled mechanical system, including both an electronic computer
and electromechanical components.[5]
Contents
Description
A mechatronics engineer unites the
principles of mechanics, electronics, and computing to generate a simpler, more
economical and reliable system. The term "mechatronics" was coined by
Tetsuro Mori, the senior engineer of the Japanese company Yaskawa in 1969. An industrial robot is a prime example of a mechatronics system; it includes aspects of
electronics, mechanics, and computing to do its day-to-day jobs.
Engineering cybernetics deals with the
question of control engineering of mechatronic systems. It is used to control or regulate such a system
(see control theory).
Through collaboration, the mechatronic modules perform the production goals and
inherit flexible and agile manufacturing properties in the production scheme.
Modern production equipment consists of mechatronic modules that are integrated
according to a control architecture. The most known architectures involve hierarchy, polyarchy, heterarchy, and
hybrid. The methods for achieving a technical effect are described by control algorithms, which
might or might not utilize formal methods in their design. Hybrid systems important to mechatronics include production
systems, synergy drives, planetary exploration rovers, automotive subsystems
such as anti-lock braking systems and spin-assist, and everyday equipment such as autofocus cameras,
video, hard disks, and CD
players.
Course structure
Mechatronic students take courses in
various fields:
·
Electrical engineering
·
Computer engineering (software & hardware engineering)
·
Computer science
·
Systems and control engineering
·
Optical engineering
Application
·
Automotive engineering, automotive equipment in the
design of subsystems such as anti-lock braking systems
·
Computer-machine controls, such as computer driven machines like IE CNC
milling machines
·
Expert systems
·
Industrial goods
·
Mechatronics systems
·
Medical mechatronics, medical imaging systems
·
Structural dynamic systems
·
Transportation and vehicular systems
·
Mechatronics as the new language of the automobile
·
Computer aided and integrated manufacturing systems
·
Engineering and manufacturing systems
·
Packaging
·
Microcontrollers / PLCs
·
Mobile apps
·
M&E Engineering
Physical implementations
Mechanical modeling calls for
modeling and simulating physical complex phenomenon in the scope of a
multi-scale and multi-physical approach. This implies to implement and to
manage modeling and optimization methods and tools, which are integrated in a
systemic approach. The specialty is aimed at students in mechanics who want to
open their mind to systems engineering, and able to integrate different physics
or technologies, as well as students in mechatronics who want to increase their
knowledge in optimization and multidisciplinary simulation technics. The
specialty educates students in robust and/or optimized conception methods for
structures or many technological systems, and to the main modeling and
simulation tools used in R&D. Special courses are also proposed for
original applications (multi-materials composites, innovating transducers and
actuators, integrated systems, …) to prepare the students to the coming
breakthrough in the domains covering the materials and the systems. For some
mechatronic systems, the main issue is no longer how to implement a control
system, but how to implement actuators. Within the mechatronic field, mainly
two technologies are used to produce movement/motion.
Variant of the field
An emerging variant of this field is biomechatronics,
whose purpose is to integrate mechanical parts with a human being, usually in
the form of removable gadgets such as anexoskeleton. Such an
entity is often identified in science fiction as an android.
This is the "real-life" version of cyberware.
·
Robotics
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