1. MECHATRONICS Defining Mechatronics

2. What is Mechatronics?  Think about… Modern washing machine Modern washing machine Aircondition unit Aircondition unit Hard disk drive Hard disk drive Modern automotive engine Modern automotive engine ABS in automotive ABS in automotive Camera Camera Robot Robot Process/packaging automation Process/packaging automation  What do all these have in common?

3. Takashi Yamaguchi, who works at Hitachi Ltd.'s Mechanical Engineering Laboratory in Ibaraki, Japan, mechatronics is "a methodology for designing products that exhibit fast, precise performance. These characteristics can be achieved by considering not only the mechanical design but also the use of servo controls, sensors, and electronics." Giorgio Rizzoni, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State University in Columbus, mechatronics is "the confluence of traditional design methods with sensors and instrumentation technology, drive and actuator technology, embedded real-time microprocessor systems, and real-time software." "Mechatronics is really nothing but good design practice," said Masayoshi Tomizuka, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. "The basic idea is to apply new controls to extract new levels of performance from a mechanical device." Mechatronics is nothing new; it is simply the application of the latest techniques in precision mechanical engineering, controls theory, computer science, and electronics to the design process to create more functional and adaptable products. Steven Ashley, Associate Editor of Mechanical Engineering Magazine, ASME.

4. A blend of mechanics and electronics, mechatronics has come to mean the synergistic use of precision engineering, control theory, computer science, and sensor and actuator technology to design improved products and processes The diagram at left illustrates that mechatronics is where mechanics, electronics, computers, and controls intersect By Steven Ashley, Associate Editor © 1997 by The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

5.   The study of mechatronic systems can be divided into the following areas of specialty: 1. Physical Systems Modeling 2. Sensors and Actuators 3. Signals and Systems 4. Computers and Logic Systems 5. Software and Data Acquisition Key Elements of Mechatronics

7. Mechatronics is an evolutionary process, not a revolutionary one. It is clear that an all-encompassing definition of mechatronics does not exist, but in reality, one is not needed. It is understood that mechatronics is about the synergistic integration of mechanical, electrical, and computer systems. One can understand the extent that mechatronics reaches into various disciplines by characterizing the constituent components comprising mechatronics, which include (i)physical systems modeling, (ii)sensors and actuators, (iii)signals and systems, (iv)computers and logic systems, and (v)software and data acquisition. Engineers and scientists from all walks of life and fields of study can contribute to mechatronics.

8. These systems changed from electro-mechanical systems with discrete electrical and mechanical parts to integrated electronic-mechanical systems with sensors, actuators, and digital microelectronics. These integrated systems, are called mechatronic systems, with the connection of MECHAnics and elecTRONICS. The word “mechatronics” was probably first created by a Japanese engineer in 1969 [1], with earlier definitions given by [2] and [3]. In [4], a preliminary definition is given: “Mechatronics is the synergetic integration of mechanical engineering with electronics and intelligent computer control in the design and manufacturing of industrial products and processes” [5]. All these definitions agree that mechatronics is an interdisciplinary field, in which the following disciplines act together (see Fig.): mechanical systems (mechanical elements, machines, precision mechanics); electronic systems (microelectronics, power electronics, sensor and actuator technology); and information technology (systems theory, automation, software engineering, artificial intelligence).

10. References 1. Kyura, N. and Oho, H., “Mechatronics—an industrial perspective,”IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1996, pp. 10–15. 2. Mori, T., “Mechatronics,” Yasakawa Internal Trademark Application Memo 21.131.01, July 12, 1969. 3. Harshama, F., Tomizuka, M., and Fukuda, T., “Mechatronics—What is it, why, and how?—an editorial,”IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics,Vol. 1, No. 1, 1996, pp. 1–4. 4. Auslander, D. M. and Kempf, C. J., Mechatronics: Mechanical System Interfacing, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1996. 5. Shetty, D. and Kolk, R. A.,Mechatronic System Design,PWS Publishing Company, Boston, MA, 1997. 6. Bolton, W.,Mechatronics: Electrical Control Systems in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering,2ndEd., Addison-Wesley Longman, Harlow, England, 1999. 7. Mayr, I. O.,The Origins of Feedback Control,MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1970. 8. Tomkinson, D. and Horne, J.,Mechatronics Engineering,McGraw-Hill, New York, 1996. 9. Popov, E. P.,The Dynamics of Automatic Control Systems;Gostekhizdat, Moscow, 1956; Addison- Wesley, Reading, MA, 1962. 10. Dorf, R. C. and Bishop, R. H., Modern Control Systems,9th Ed.,Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River,NJ, 2000. 11. Maxwell, J. C., “On governors,”Proc. Royal Soc. London,16, 1868; in Selected Papers on Mathematical Trends in Control Theory, Dover, New York, 1964, pp. 270–283. 12. Vyshnegradskii, I. A., “On controllers of direct action,” Izv. SPB Tekhnotog. Inst.,1877. 13. Bode, H. W., “Feedback—the history of an idea,” in Selected Papers on Mathematical Trends in Control Theory, Dover, New York, 1964, pp. 106–123.