Drones, Mechatronics, and the Future of Automation

One of the most radical frontiers of modern engineering is the bridge between the pure code and the physical movement. Whereas we previously have considered software and hardware separate entities, with the former being abstract logic and the latter being hard machines, with the emergence of Mechatronics, we have now seen them bonded together into a single, unified entity. To a software engineer, this is a movement away off software on a screen but on movement of matter. This field is not only the assembly of machines, but the development of a system in which mechanical framework, electronic detection and computational intelligence Sense, Think, and Act in an endless cycle of feedback

1. Mechatronics - Anatomy of a Machine

Mechatronics is, fundamentally, the biological de facto of a robot. It requires one to consider the combination of its elements to comprehend it. The Mechanical System supplies the "body" the linkages and actuators which give physical capability. The Electronic System is the "nervous system" which interprets the data through sensors and transmits the signals through wires. Lastly, the Computer System is the brain, which microcontrollers use to interpret the environment. The actual breakthrough is seen in Control Theory where the software is relied on to make the physical hardware behave in a predictable manner to a chaotic world through the use of mathematical models.

2. Drones - Flights in Mechatronics

One of the most complicated uses of this synergy is represented by drones, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). A drone is essentially a high-performance computer which has to counter the force of gravity and wind in real-time. It uses an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), a combination of accelerators and gyroscopes to identify the direction of orientation, in order to remain stable. The flight controller is obliged to work with this data, and modify the motor speeds thousands of times every second. Such accuracy will enable drones to move beyond their status as playthings, to also act as essential assets of multispectral agricultural mapping, dangerous infrastructure inspection, and autonomous last-mile logistics.

3. Automation - The Goal of the Loop

The final goal of mechatronic design is Automation- the capability of a system to act without the intervention of man. We are now moving away to Fixed Automation where a robotic arm performs one motion to Intelligent Automation. This development is motivated by Computer Vision, which enables the machines to see what is happening around them, as well as by Machine Learning, which enables machines to anticipate the failure or the optimal course of action. During this period, the code not only processes data, but it determines the behavior of the physical objects, and so the synergy of software and hardware becomes the key feature of the next industrial revolution

Finally, the engineering of the future is in the systems with the ability to sense, think, and act in real-time. It is the same in a drone flying through a thick forest, or in a warehouse where a program manages thousands of objects per hour, the main idea is to have software that brings life to the hardware. The traditional Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical engineering silos are quickly eroding, particularly to the modern student. The greatest innovations of the coming decade will not occur in either of these areas alone, however, they will occur in the cross-over between the two areas, and the next generation of developers will not need to answer the question of How do I move data? but answer the question of How do I have data? to "How do I move matter?"

Knowledge of mechatronics and automation is no longer an exclusive option course, it is the key master to the creation of the next generation technology. On your way out of the classroom into the industry, it is important to remember that you now have the power to do more than simply process information, you now have the power to move the world.