Mechatronics vision requires data standards and interfaces
More and more people are talking about "mechatronics" as a distinct engineering discipline. I'm not sure that I buy that distinction.
By Maury Wright, Editorial Director -- EDN, November 20, 2007
This year, EDN, along with sister publications Design News and Control Engineering, launched the Mechatronics Zone Web site. As you all know, engineers have long integrated electronic-control systems with mechanical sensors and actuators to create products that span a wide range—from factory automation to toys. Of late, however, more and more people, ranging from academics to chip and software vendors, are talking about mechatronics as a distinct engineering discipline. I'm not sure that I buy that distinction.
But the Mechatronics Expo, which we co-hosted last month in Burlington, MA, revealed some interesting ideas on modeling electromechanical systems. EDN and its sister publications comprehensively cover the mechatronics arena; that coverage led to our partnership on the Web site and the Mechatronics Expo. (See “Mechatronics Expo helps define the field, integrate engineering disciplines” for a summary of the presentations from the expo.)
“Mechatronics” is not a new term; its usage dates back at least 25 years. Search the Web, and you will find many definitions. Basically, mechatronics combines electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science. A growing number of universities, including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of California—Berkeley offer degrees in mechatronics, generally within their mechanical-engineering departments.
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To me, the idea of modeling a complete electronic and mechanical system was by far the most interesting concept the expo presented. In the electronics arena, we are comfortable using modeling and simulation tools. There are fewer such tools in the mechanical arena, although tools such as SolidWorks do support modeling of mechanical systems. Today, however, no currently available tools allow you to model both the electronic and the mechanical systems and allow them to interoperate during development. Such an electromechanical-modeling and -simulation environment would speed product development by allowing work to proceed simultaneously in both domains and by allowing designers to catch problems early in the design cycle.
National Instruments has been among the most ardent promoters of an environment in which you jointly model and simulate an electromechanical system. At this year's National Instruments Week conference, which took place in Austin, TX, in August, the company presented a demonstration of a SolidWorks model working with a control system that NI developed in LabView. It was a compelling demo but a long way from having broad applicability.
Our Mechatronics Expo revealed the obstacles to mechatronics modeling and simulation. The electronics domain has modeling and simulation standards and technologies galore. No analog-component vendor would release a product without offering a SPICE model. Those models are one piece in a large stack of technologies that allows electronics engineers to model complete electronic systems.
The mechanical domain, however, lacks a foundation for modeling. There are no standards, such as SPICE, for modeling baseline components, such as sensors and actuators. So, is there life in a vision of a new approach to mechatronics-system design with modeling and simulation? Or is the mechatronics trend at the university level just an indication that more and more from the mechanical domain has moved into the electrical domain? Mechanical engineers can now take advantage of complex electronic devices, such as microcontrollers and FPGAs, because the software tools have become so easy to use.
I'm struggling with the mechatronics trend. I see possibilities in modeling and simulation. But that vision will require the creation of standards for models. It will require data-interface standards that allow software tools from different domains to interoperate. The electronics industry has been working on the electronics side of the issue in the EDA arena for more than 25 years, and the EDA world is far from perfect. Integrating electronics and mechanics in the modeling domain will be a stiff challenge.
Contact me at mgwright@edn.com.
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