Mechatronic Innovative Applications

Present day mechatronic systems are designed with synergistic integration of mechanics, electronics and computer technology to produce intelligent devices for the purpose of solving real-world problems. Crucial requirements for a mechatronic system are robustness and fault tolerance, i.e. it should have the ability to process incomplete, imprecise or uncertain information. Such systems often have to work in collaborative environments while being subjected to adverse conditions yet adhering to strict safety standards. This e-book explains the fundamentals of designing such systems from the first principles and how to embed intelligence into them. Examples in this volume are not restricted to production lines, but extend to extreme safety based systems such as space and underwater robotics, autonomous transportation systems, aviation systems and medical robots. Moreover, this e-book also presents recent developments in the design of innovative and intelligent mechatronic systems, applied to robotics and transportation systems, thereby providing an authoritative support for researchers and professionals having basic knowledge in mechatronics.

Mechatronics is a blend of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer control and information technology. Mechatronics is a design process to create more functional and adaptable products. By integrating the best design practices with the most advanced technologies, mechatronics aims at comprehending high-quality products, promising at the same time a substantial reduction of time and costs of manufacturing. Mechatronic systems are manifold and range from machine components, motion generators, and power producing machines to more complex devices, such as robotic systems and transportation vehicles. Over the years mechatronics has come to mean 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. Mechatronics has been popular in Japan and Europe for many years but has been slow to gain industrial and academic acceptance as a field and practice in Great Britain and the United States. In the past, machine and product design has been the domain of mechanical engineers. After the machine was designed by mechanical engineers, solutions to control and programming problems were added by software and computer engineers. This sequential-engineering approach usually resulted in less-than-optimal designs and is now recognized as less than optimal itself. The prime role of mechatronics is one of initiation and integration throughout the entire design process, with the mechatronics engineer as the leader. Mechatronic Systems Applications delivers an excellent review of contemporary work in the sphere of mechatronics with applications in numerous fields, like robotics, medical and assistive technology, human-machine interaction, unmanned vehicles, manufacturing, and education. Experts in the interdisciplinary mechatronics field must be able to use the special knowledge resources of other people and the particular blend of technologies that will provide the most economic, innovative, elegant, and appropriate solution to the problem at hand. Industry needs mechatronics engineers to continue to rapidly develop innovative products with performance, quality and low cost.

This book covers a variety of topics in the field of mechatronics engineering, with a special focus on innovative control and automation concepts for applications in a wide range of field, including industrial production, medicine and rehabilitation, education and transport. Based on a set of papers presented at the 1st International Conference “Innovation in Engineering”, ICIE, held in Guimarães, Portugal, on June 28-30, 2021, the chapters report on cutting-edge control algorithms for mobile robots and robot manipulators, innovative industrial monitoring strategies for industrial process, improved production systems for smart manufacturing, and discusses important issues related to user experience, training and education, as well as national developments in the field of mechatronics . This volume, which belongs to a three-volume set, provides engineering researchers and professionals with a timely overview and extensive information on trends and technologies behind the future developments of mechatronics systems in the era of Industry 4.0.

This book covers a variety of topics in the field of mechatronics engineering, with a special focus on innovative control systems and automation concepts for a wide range of applications. Based on a set of papers presented at the 2nd International Conference “Innovation in Engineering”, ICIE, held in Minho, Portugal, on June 28-30, 2022, the chapters report on cutting-edge control algorithms for mobile robots, automatic monitoring systems and intelligent predictive maintenance techniques. They cover advanced scheduling, risk-assessment and decision-making strategies, and their applications in industrial production, training and education, and service organizations. This volume, which belongs to a three-volume set, provides engineering researchers and professionals with a timely overview and extensive information on trends and technologies behind the future developments of mechatronics systems in the era of Industry 4.0.

Offering a comprehensive overview of the challenges, risks and options facing the future of mechatronics, this book provides insights into how these issues are currently assessed and managed. Building on the previously published book ‘Mechatronics in Action,’ it identifies and discusses the key issues likely to impact on future mechatronic systems. It supports mechatronics practitioners in identifying key areas in design, modeling and technology and places these in the wider context of concepts such as cyber-physical systems and the Internet of Things. For educators it considers the potential effects of developments in these areas on mechatronic course design, and ways of integrating these. Written by experts in the field, it explores topics including systems integration, design, modeling, privacy, ethics and future application domains. Highlighting novel innovation directions, it is intended for academics, engineers and students working in the field of mechatronics, particularly those developing new concepts, methods and ideas.

Mastering the art of mechatronics' currently looks like one of the most attractive tasks of modern engineering technology and science. Many applications resort to the interdisciplinary approach of mechatronics to enhance the performance, quality and safety of either product or process. Some are very traditional (like hard disk drives, biomedical, automotive and aerospace systems) while others are fairly new (like micro and nano electromechanical systems, unmanned air vehicles, intelligent machining, manufacturing systems or bioinspired devices). This book describe some practical examples, which demonstrate how different competences, disciplines and technologies meet in an innovative mechatronic system. They deal with several domains like the hard disk drive technology, biomedical prostheses, fluidic automation, UAV Vision System, vibration monitoring and suppression in steelmaking plants, materials machining and smart composites. These examples will show the reader, who is still looking for the real meaning of mechatronics, how some innovative technologies allow implementing a sort of artificial intelligence in several systems currently produced. Examples describe neural network positioning control, chaos prevention, myoelectric stimulation of prosthesis, human detection by vision system, multi-physics modeling and control of dynamics. Some topics are related to small scale, as in the case of a finger of a biotronic hand. Nevertheless, the same approach is applied even to huge machines, like the electric arc furnace. It is worth noticing that the authors resorted even to the additive manufacturing, as in prototyping bio-prostheses, or to fiber optics embedded into composite structures. Those technologies allow reducing cost, weight or volume of product. In some cases, the mechatronic approach improves the quality and the accuracy of some material processing, like in rolling or in turning against the risk of selfexcited chatter vibration. The examples described in this book cover a wide range of mechatronic applications

Mechatronics in Action’s case-study approach provides the most effective means of illustrating how mechatronics can make products and systems more flexible, more responsive and possess higher levels of functionality than would otherwise be possible. The series of case studies serves to illustrate how a mechatronic approach has been used to achieve enhanced performance through the transfer of functionality from the mechanical domain to electronics and software. Mechatronics in Action not only provides readers with access to a range of case studies, and the experts’ view of these, but also offers case studies in course design and development to support tutors in making the best and most effective use of the technical coverage provided. It provides, in an easily accessible form, a means of increasing the understanding of the mechatronic concept, while giving both students and tutors substantial technical insight into how this concept has been developed and used.

From large-scale industrial systems to components in consumer applications, mechatronics has woven itself into the very fabric of modern technology. Among the most important elements of mechatronic systems are electromagnetic sensors and electromechanical actuators. Cultivated over years of industrial and research experience, Sensors and Actuators in Mechatronics: Design and Applications builds a practical understanding of the features and functions of various electromagnetic and electromechanical devices necessary to meet specific industrial requirements. This work focuses on various components that receive less attention in the available literature, such as magnetic sensors, linear and latching solenoid actuators, stepper motors, rotary actuators, and other special magnetic devices including magnetic valves and heart pumps. Each chapter follows a consistent format, working from theory to design, applications, and numerical problems and solutions. Although the crux of the coverage is design and application, the author also discusses optimization and testing, introduces magnetic materials, and shares his enlightened perspective on the social and business aspects of developing world-class technologies. Examples from mainly the automotive industry illustrate the wide variety of mechatronic devices presented. Providing a complete picture from conception to completion, Sensors and Actuators in Mechatronics: Design and Applications places critical tools in the hands of any researcher or engineer seeking to develop innovative mechatronic systems.