WHAT IS MECHATRONICS?
Mechatronics is a combination of mechanical engineering, electronics, telecommunications engineering, computer engineering, systems engineering and control engineering. As technology is progressing, the subbranches of engineering multiply and adapt. The objective of mechatronics is a design process that unifies these subbranches.
HISTORY OF MECHATRONICS
The word mechatronics was first used in Japan in the 1960s, and the field has grown out of robotics. Early on, robot arms were uncoordinated and had no sensory feedback, but as advances were made in programming, sensor technology, and controls, the robotic movements became more coordinated. Along the way, advances in mechatronics began to be used in vending machines, auto-focus cameras, and door openers. With the advent of information technology in the 1980s, microprocessors were introduced into mechanical systems, improving performance significantly. By the 1990s, advances in computational intelligence were applied to mechatronics in ways that revolutionized the field.
The concept of applying the mechatronics approach to design, development, and fabrication has been popular for several decades in Japan and Europe, and is gaining ground in the United States. Machines were traditionally designed by mechanical engineers, and only afterward were control and programming solutions provided by computer and software engineers. As familiarity with mechatronics has grown in this country, designers are adopting more integrated design methods.
BIOMECHATRONICS
Biomechatronics integrates mechanical parts with a human being. This is usually done in the form of removable gadgets such as an exoskeleton. Biomechatronics is the “real-life” version of cyberware.
Biomechatronics draws all its basic concepts and knowledge from a variety of fields and areas of science including biology, mechanics, electronics, and mechanical engineering. More specifically, biomechatronics deals with the interaction between organs of the human body and electromechanical devices or systems.
AVIONICS
The term avionics is a combination of the words aviation and electronics.
Avionics is also a form of mechatronics as it combines several fields such as electronics and telecommunication with Aerospace Engineering.
Avionics are the electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites, and spacecraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to perform individual functions. These can be as simple as a searchlight for a police helicopter or as complicated as the tactical system for an airborne early warning platform.
Mechatronics in palm of your hand
Chances are, you've already used several different mechatronics today.
For example, when you take a photo with your smart phone, the autofocus in the cell phone's camera automatically chooses what to focus on and how to balance light levels in order to take a lot of the guesswork out of snapping a good photo.
Sensors detect light levels and angles, computers determine distances and objects to focus on – including automatically detecting and focusing on faces in a photo – and mechanical devices controlled by the computer systems inside the camera adjust the lens’ focus and apertures. All of that happens the second or two a camera needs to take a shot.
Careers
If you’re the type of person who enjoys opening up all sorts of electronic equipment, repairing, and connecting them back together, then you may fit perfectly in the mechatronics industry.
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essential skills
Technical skills alone are not enough for a successful career in mechatronics. Essential skills are equally important and help mechatronic professionals gain employment and be considered for advancement. Those skills include:
- Problem-solving: A big part of a mechatronic job involves solving problems using mechanical, electrical, and computer devices. Additionally, you should be a strong analytical thinker with the ability to solve problems presented by clients and employers.
- Communication: Most of the time you will be developing products for your clients and you will be required to explain how a complex product will help them. Remember that not all clients are familiar with mechatronics, and you will need to explain your ideas clearly and effectively.
- Creativity: Mechatronics involves the designing and creation of smart machines that can be applied in almost all industries. Inventing something like that requires a lot of creativity.
- Collaboration: Also referred to as cooperation or teamwork, you have to be able to work with others successfully in order to work in mechatronics. It takes a team of engineers and professionals from other fields working together to complete a project. It would be difficult to successfully complete a project without working as a team.
Take this short quiz to explore if mechatronics is right for you:
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Credits:
Created with images by Louis Reed - "A close up of the production facility at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory" • ThisisEngineering RAEng - "untitled image" • Unknown - "Sikorsky CH-53 D Sea Stallion (Heavy Lift) | The CH-53’s ..." • Unknown - "Free stock photo of camera, cell, cell phone" • ThisisEngineering RAEng - "Male mechanical engineer solders circuitry for prosthetic limbs" • Octavian Dan - "Projects lettering, lighting with colored gels" • Chris Ried - "Close up technologies"