Here are ten surprising things you can do with a degree in Mechatronics:
- Work in an automated factory where robots assemble automobiles with little human intervention. Imagine banks of robots welding and riveting metal together under the watchful eyes of mechatronics engineering technologists.
- Design a greenhouse that can grow food more productively than a farm. Using programmable controllers to carefully manage lighting, irrigation, nutrition and temperature, food yields can be optimized in a small space.
- Help produce computer vision systems in automobiles that can eventually drive themselves. Produce computers that process input from video cameras so fast that they can simulate a human response. Imagine that these computers are networked together so that different vehicles can talk to each other and prevent accidents before they happen.
- Install a solar energy collection system on a residence so that the extra energy can be sold to the power company in the day time. An efficient high-tech power grid will be able to draw energy from solar cells distributed all over the country and make sure this energy gets where it is needed. Mechatronics engineers will be needed to help build this new power grid.
- Help produce high-tech bio-sensors to integrate into building security systems. From fingerprint sensors to retinal scans, high-tech security measures are only going to become more common. Mechatronics engineers will be needed to build and manage these systems.
- Build flying drones that can deliver mail and packages from distribution centers right to the doorstep of any home in America. These small unmanned planes can be sent almost anywhere without a human pilot.
- Produce virtual reality interfaces that will allow users to visualize huge amounts of data more efficiently than ever before.
- Use nanotechnology to develop tiny robots that will help clean up environmental disasters. These microscopic robots will be able to capture pollutants and remove them from the environment.
And Maybe, Just Maybe in the Future…
- Help create intelligent refrigerators that let you know when you need milk, cheese, eggs and more. It could even print out a shopping list for you. Imagine that it could even place an order for these items and have them delivered to your home by the flying drones mentioned above. Mechatronics engineers will be vital to creating this high-tech future.
- Design and build Iron Man armor like Tony Stark. Well, maybe that really is just science fiction! There will certainly be many military applications of mechatronics.
Working in these kinds of advanced manufacturing environments is nothing like you might imagine. Unlike years past, these are clean environments that look more like laboratories than factories. The people who work there are highly-skilled professionals that program, monitor, and troubleshoot advanced manufacturing systems.
