What Do Mechatronic Engineers Do?
Mechatronic engineers work in all aspects of the development of the smart machine – from design and testing through to manufacture and ultimately deployment of an operation. The industries involved include robotics, medical equipment and assistive technology, human-machine interaction, manufacturing, unmanned aerial and ground vehicles, andeducation.
Mechatronic engineers work at companies that require high-tech development into what they are producing. These engineers may work in a laboratory, a processing plant, or an engineering office. Research opportunities for mechatronics engineers abound in emerging fields like bioengineering, nanotechnology, and robotics. These engineers are playing a large role in the development of electric cars and self-driving vehicles.
You will find mechatronic engineers in the defense industry developing futuristic vehicles, and you’ll also find them revolutionizing consumer products. They may work in smaller innovative high-tech companies, designing software, parts, and equipment. You’ll find them in mining as well as the oil and gas industry, since the equipment for these industries now includes electronics, mechanical equipment, and systems development.
The automotive industry leans heavily on mechatronics, as well. Electronics that control mechanical systems account for much of the value of new vehicles. These systems manage everything from stability control and antilock brakes to climate control and memory-adjustment seats.
In its essence, mechatronic engineering involves creating smart machines that are aware of their surroundings and can make decisions. While this seems like the perfect definition of a robot, smart machines also involve equipment that does not look robotic yet behaves like a robot in that it can be programmed to conduct specific movements that accomplish goals. A programmed conveyor belt can be a smart programmable machine – a robot.
These smart machines are complex equipment made up of several parts: the mechanical system itself, the sensing and actuation, the control systems, and the software. Developing and operating these intelligent machines involves the full range of disciplines included in mechatronics.
